The 2018 Sundance Film Festival concluded with the U.S. Grand Jury Prizes given to the documentary Kailash and drama The Miseducation of Cameron Post.
Directed by Derek Doneen, Kailash documents the journey of how Nobel Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi built a global movement to rescue children from child slavery in India. Satyarthi humbly shared the news on his Twitter: “Kailash is a reminder that we will see the end of child slavery in my lifetime,” he wrote. “I am humbled as Kailash was chosen the winner of the US Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival. Congratulations to Derek and his team.”
Taking home the Dramatic U.S. Grand Jury Prize was Desiree Akhavan’s The Miseducation of Cameron Post. Adapted from Emily M. Danforth’s 2012 novel, the film follows a teenage girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) who comes out as a lesbian and is sent to a gay conversion center by her religious aunt. Forrest Goodluck, John Gallagher Jr., and American Honey’s Sasha Lane co-star in the film.
“We want to dedicate this award to the LGBTQ survivors of sexual conversion therapy,” Moretz said in her acceptance speech. “We want this movie to shine a light (on the fact) that it is only illegal in nine states out of the 50 to practice sexual conversion therapy.”
As of January 27th, no public release date has been set for the film.
See the full list of Sundance winners below:
U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize: “The Miseducation of Cameron Post”
Audience Award: “Burden”
Directing: Sara Colangelo, “The Kindergarten Teacher”
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Christina Choe, “Nancy”
Special Jury Award for Outstanding First Feature: Reinaldo Marcus Green, “Monsters and Men”
Special Jury Award for Excellence in Filmmaking: “I Think We’re Alone Now”
Special Jury Award for Achievement in Acting: Benjamin Dickey, “Blaze”
U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize: “Kailash”
Directing: Alexandria Bombach, “On Her Shoulders”
Audience Award: “The Sentence”
Special Jury Award for Social Impact: “Crime + Punishment”
Special Jury Award for Creative Vision: “Hale County This Morning, This Evening”
Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking: “Minding the Gap”
Special Jury Award for Storytelling: “Three Identical Strangers”
WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize: “Butterflies”
Audience Award: “The Guilty”
Directing Award: Ísold Uggadóttir, “And Breathe Normally”
Special Jury Award for Acting: Valeria Bertucecelli, “The Queen of Fear,”
Special Jury Award for Screenwriting: Julio Chavezmontes & Sebastián Hofmann, “Time Share”
Special Jury Award for Ensemble Acting: “Dead Pigs”
WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION
Grand Jury Prize: “Of Fathers and Sons”
Audience Award: “This Is Home”
Directing Award: Sandi Tan, “Shirkers”
Special Jury Award: Steven Loveridge, “Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.”
Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Maxim Arbugaev, Peter Indergand “Genesis 2.0”
Special Jury Award for Editing: Maxim Pozdorovkin & Matvey Kulakov, “Our New President”
OTHER AWARDS
NEXT Audience Award: “Search”
NEXT Innovator Award: “Night Comes On” AND “We the Animals”
Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize: “Search”
Sundance Institute NHK Award: Remi Weekes, “His House”
Sundance Institute/Amazon Studios Producers Awards: Katy Chevingy & Marilyn Ness (“Dark Money”) AND Sev Ohanian (“Search”)
Sundance Open Borders Fellowship Presented by Netflix: Talal Derki (“Of Fathers and Sons”) AND Chaitanya Tamhane AND Tatiana Huezo (“Night on Fire”)
