The best American dramatic and documentary films of the Sundance Film Festival 2013

More than 40,000 people gather in Utah every January to take part of one of the largest independent film festival, the Sundance Film Festival (SFF). The following American film category SFF Award winners were announced last Saturday:

U.S. Grand Jury Prizes

U. S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic - Fruitvale 

The true-story film follows Oscar Grant on his last day of life, before he was killed in the Oakland police shooting.

Director: Ryan Coogler

Also Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic.

U. S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary - Blood Brother 

Rocky Braat moves to India to help children infected with HIV. He wanted to cure them all, but, in fact, could not save even one of them.

Director: Steve Hoover

Also Audience Award: U.S. Documentary.

Directing Awards

Directing Award: U. S. Dramatic - Afternoon Delight

A thirtysomething houswife tries to rescue a stripper by making her the nanny..

Director: Jill Solloway

Directing Award: U. S. Documentary - Cutie and the Boxer

The story of two Japanese artists, Ushio and Noriko Shinohara, who meet and marry in New York in the early 1970s.

Director: Zachary Heinzerling

Cinematography Awards

Cinematography Award: U. S. Dramatic - Ain’t Them Bodies Saints

A Texas outlaw, who breaks out of prison, crosses the Texas countryside to find his wife and daughter.

Director: David Lowery

Cinematography Award: U. S. Dramatic - Mother of George

A film about Nigerian immigrant family life in the USA, the couple's struggles to keep their marriage together and the (bad) decisions they make.

Director: Andrew Dosunmu

Cinematography Award: U. S. Documentary - Dirty Wars

Investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill traces the secret and elite fighting force, exposing covert operations carried out by men who do not exist on paper and will never appear before Congress.

Director: Richard Rowley

U.S. Documentary Special Jury Awards

U. S. Documentary Special Jury award for Achievement in Filmmaking - American Promise 

Cameras followed the school life of two African-American middle class boys for 12 years. They started off from the prestigeous Dalton school, one of them continued in a private school, while the other took the route of public education.

Directors: Joe Brewster, Michèle Stephenson

U. S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting Miles Teller & Shailene Woodley - The Spectacular Now

A sincere and emotional love story of two teenagers.

Director: James Ponsoldt

U. S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Sound Design Shane Carruth & Johnny Marshall - Upstream Color

Kris' life takes an unexpected turn, when she is drugged by a small-time thief. 

Upstream Color is an entirely original, mythic, romantic thriller that goes in search of truths that lie just beyond our reach.

SFF

Director: Shane Carruth 

See the full list of the Sundance Film Festival Award winners, including the short film and international awards at the Sundance Film Festival webpage.