2021 Sundance Film Festival
The 2021 Sundance Film Festival took place from January 28 to February 3, 2021. The first lineup of competition films was announced on December 15, 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Utah, the festival combined in-person screenings at the Ray Theatre in Park City, with screenings held online as well as on screens and drive-ins in 24 states and territories across the United States.
Films
U.S. Dramatic Competition
CODA, written and directed by Siân HederI Was a Simple Man, written and directed by Christopher Makoto YogiJockey, directed and co-written by Clint BentleyJohn and the Hole, directed by Pascual SistoMayday, written, directed and co-produced by Karen CinorreOn the Count of Three, directed by Jerrod CarmichaelPassing, written, directed and produced by Rebecca HallSuperior, directed by Erin VassilopoulosTogether Together, written and directed by Nikole BeckwithWild Indian, written and directed by Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr.U.S. Documentary Competition
Ailey, directed and co-produced by Jamila WignotAll Light, Everywhere, written and directed by Theo AnthonyAt the Ready, directed by Maisie CrowCusp, directed by Parker Hill and Isabel BethencourtHomeroom, directed and co-produced by Peter NicksRebel Hearts, directed, co-written and co-edited by Pedro KosRita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It, directed, co-produced and co-edited by Mariem Pérez RieraSummer of Soul, directed by QuestloveTry Harder!, directed and co-produced by Debbie LumUsers, directed by Natalia AlmadaPremieres
Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir, directed by James RedfordBring Your Own Brigade, written, produced and directed by Lucy WalkerThe Cursed, written and directed by Sean Ellis How It Ends, written, directed and produced by Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-JonesIn the Earth, written and directed by Ben WheatleyIn the Same Breath, directed and co-produced by Nanfu WangJudas and the Black Messiah, directed and co-written by Shaka KingLand, directed by Robin WrightMarvelous and the Black Hole, directed by Kate TsangMass, written and directed by Fran KranzThe Most Beautiful Boy in the World, written and directed by Kristina Lindström and Kristian PetriMy Name Is Pauli Murray, directed by Betsy West and Julie CohenPhilly D.A., directed by Ted Passon, Yoni Brook and Nicole SalazardPrisoners of the Ghostland, directed by Sion SonoThe Sparks Brothers, directed by Edgar WrightStreet Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, directed by Marilyn AgreloWorld Cinema Dramatic Competition
The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet, directed by Ana KatzEl Planeta, written and directed by Amalia UlmanFire in the Mountains, written and directed by Ajitpal SinghHive, written and directed by Blerta BasholliHuman Factors, written and directed by Ronny TrockerLuzzu, written and directed by Alex CamilleriOne for the Road, directed by Nattawut PoonpiriyaThe Pink Cloud, written and directed by Iuli GerbasePleasure, written and directed by Ninja ThybergPrime Time, directed and co-written by Jakub PiątekWorld Cinema Documentary Competition
Faya Dayi, written, directed and produced by Jessica BeshirFlee, directed and co-written by Jonas Poher RasmussenMisha and the Wolves, directed by Sam HobkinsonThe Most Beautiful Boy in the World, written and directed by Kristina Lindström and Kristian PetriPlaying with Sharks, directed by Sally AitkenPresident, directed by Camilla NielssonSabaya, directed and edited by Hogir HiroriTaming the Garden, directed by Salomé JashiWriting with Fire, directed by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit GhoshMidnight
Censor, directed and co-written by Prano Bailey-BondKnocking, directed by Frida KempffA Glitch in the Matrix, directed by Rodney AscherComing Home in the Dark, directed and co-written by James AshcroftMother Schmuckers, written and directed by Lenny Guit and Harpo GuitViolation, written and directed by Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty MancinelliNext
The Blazing World, directed and co-written by Carlson YoungCryptozoo, written and directed by Dash ShawFirst Date, written and directed by Manuel Crosby and Darren KnappMa Belle, My Beauty, directed by Marion HillR#J, directed and co-written by Carey WilliamsSearchers, directed by Pacho VelezSon of Monarchs, written and directed by Alexis GambisStrawberry Mansion, written and directed by Albert Birney and Kentucker AudleyWe're All Going to the World's Fair, written, directed and edited by Jane SchoenbrunSpotlight
Night of the Kings, directed by Philippe LacôteThe World to Come, directed by Mona FastvoldShorts
U.S. Fiction
Ava from My Class, directed by Youmin KangBambirak, directed by Zamarin WahdatBJ's Mobile Gift Shop, directed by Jason ParkBruiser, directed by Miles WarrenDon't Go Tellin' Your Momma, directed by Topaz Jones, rubberband.Doublespeak, directed by Hazel McKibbini ran from it and was still in it, directed by Darol Olu KaeIn the Air Tonight, directed by Andrew Norman WilsonLATA, directed by Alisha MehtaRaspberry, directed by Julian DoanThe Touch of the Master's Hand, directed by Gregory BarnesWhite Wedding, directed by Melody C RoscherWiggle Room, directed by Sam Guest and Julia BaylisYoruga, directed by Federico Torrado TobónYou Wouldn't Understand, directed by Trish HarnetiauxInternational Fiction
The Affected, directed by Rikke GregersenBlack Bodies, directed by Kelly Fyffe-MarshallThe Criminals, directed by Serhat KaraaslanExcuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss, directed by Sonny CalventoFive Tiger, directed by Nomawonga KhumaloFlex, directed by Josefin Malmén, David StrindbergLike the Ones I Used to Know, directed by Annie St-PierreLizard, directed by Akinola Davies Jr.The Longest Dream I Remember, directed by Carlos LeninMountain Cat, directed by Lkhagvadulam Purev-OchirUnliveable, directed by Matheus Farias and Enock CarvalhoThe Unseen River, directed by Phạm Ngọc LânWe're Not Animals, directed by Noé DebréNon-Fiction
A Concerto Is a Conversation, directed by Ben Proudfoot and Kris BowersDear Philadelphia, directed by Renee OsubuThe Field Trip, directed by Meghan O'Hara, Mike Attie and Rodrigo Ojeda-BeckMy Own Landscapes, directed by Antoine ChaponThe Rifleman, directed by Sierra PettengillSnowy, directed by Kaitlyn Schwalje and Alex Wolf LewisSpirits and Rocks: An Azorean Myth, directed by Aylin GökmenTears Teacher, directed by Noemie NakaiThis Is the Way We Rise, directed by Ciara LacyTo Know Her, directed by Natalie ChaoWhen We Were Bullies, written, directed and produced by Jay RosenblattUp at Night, directed by Nelson MakengoAnimation
The Fire Next Time, directed by Renaldho PelleForever, directed by Mitch McGlocklinThe Fourfold, directed by Alisi TelengutGhost Dogs, directed by Joe CappaGNT, directed by Sara Hirner and Rosemary Vasquez-BrownKKUM, directed by Kang-min KimLittle Miss Fate, directed by Joder von RotzMisery Loves Company, directed by Sasha LeeSouvenir Souvenir, directed by Bastien DuboisTrepanation, directed by Nick FlahertyAwards
The following awards were given out:Grand Jury Prizes
- U.S. Dramatic Competition – CODA
- U.S. Documentary Competition – Summer of Soul
- World Cinema Dramatic Competition – Hive
- World Cinema Documentary Competition – ''Flee''
Audience Awards
- U.S. Dramatic Competition – CODA
- U.S. Documentary Competition – Summer of Soul
- World Cinema Dramatic Competition – Hive
- World Cinema Documentary Competition – Writing with Fire
- NEXT – ''Ma Belle, My Beauty''
Directing, Screenwriting and Editing
- U.S. Dramatic Competition – Siân Heder for CODA
- U.S. Documentary Competition – Natalia Almada for Users
- World Cinema Dramatic Competition – Blerta Basholli for Hive
- World Cinema Documentary Competition – Hogir Hirori for Sabaya
- Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award – Ari Katcher and Ryan Welch for On the Count of Three
- Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: U.S. Documentary – Kristina Motwani and Rebecca Adorno for Homeroom
- NEXT Innovator Price - Dash Shaw for ''Cryptozoo''
Special Jury Prizes
- U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast – The cast of CODA
- U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: Best Actor - Clifton Collins Jr. for Jockey
- U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: Emerging Filmmaker - Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt for Cusp
- U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award: Nonfiction Experimentation - Theo Anthony for All Light, Everywhere
- World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Vérité Filmmaking - Camilla Nielsson for President
- World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award: Impact for Change - Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh for Writing with Fire
- World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Acting - Jesmark Scicluna for Luzzu
- World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Creative Vision - Baz Poonpiriya for ''One for the Road''
Short Film Awards
- Short Film Grand Jury Prize - Lizard
- Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction - The Touch of the Master's Hand
- Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction - Bambirak
- Short Film Jury Award: Nonfiction - Don't Go Tellin' Your Momma
- Short Film Jury Award: Animation - Souvenir Souvenir
- Short Film Special Jury Award for Acting - Wiggle Room
- Short Film Special Jury Award for Screenwriting - ''The Criminals''
Special Prizes
- Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize - Son of Monarchs
- Sundance Institute/Amazon Studios Producers Award for Nonfiction - Nicole Salazar for Philly D.A.
- Sundance Institute/Amazon Studios Producers Award for Fiction - Natalie Qasabian for Run
- Sundance Institute/Adobe Mentorship Award for Editing Nonfiction - Juli Vizza
- Sundance Institute/Adobe Mentorship Award for Editing Fiction - Terilyn Shropshire
- Sundance Institute/NHK Award - Meryam Joobeur for ''Motherhood''