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 Heder
- I Was a Simple Man, written and directed by Christopher Makoto Yogi
- Jockey, directed and co-written by Clint Bentley
- John and the Hole, directed by Pascual Sisto
- Mayday, written, directed and co-produced by Karen Cinorre
- On the Count of Three, directed by Jerrod Carmichael
- Passing, written, directed and produced by Rebecca Hall
- Superior, directed by Erin Vassilopoulos
- Together Together, written and directed by Nikole Beckwith
- Wild Indian, written and directed by Lyle Mitchell Corbine Jr.
U.S. Documentary Competition
- Ailey, directed and co-produced by Jamila Wignot
- All Light, Everywhere, written and directed by Theo Anthony
- At the Ready, directed by Maisie Crow
- Cusp, directed by Parker Hill and Isabel Bethencourt
- Homeroom, directed and co-produced by Peter Nicks
- Rebel Hearts, directed, co-written and co-edited by Pedro Kos
- ', directed, co-produced and co-edited by Mariem Pérez Riera
- Summer of Soul, directed by Questlove
- Try Harder!, directed and co-produced by Debbie Lum
- Users, directed by Natalia Almada
Premieres
- Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir, directed by James Redford
- Bring Your Own Brigade, written, produced and directed by Lucy Walker
- The Cursed (original festival title: Eight for Silver), written and directed by Sean Ellis
- How It Ends, written, directed and produced by Daryl Wein and Zoe Lister-Jones
- In the Earth, written and directed by Ben Wheatley
- In the Same Breath, directed and co-produced by Nanfu Wang
- Judas and the Black Messiah, directed and co-written by Shaka King
- Land, directed by Robin Wright
- Marvelous and the Black Hole, directed by Kate Tsang
- Mass, written and directed by Fran Kranz
- The Most Beautiful Boy in the World, written and directed by Kristina Lindström and Kristian Petri
- My Name Is Pauli Murray, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen
- Philly D.A., directed by Ted Passon, Yoni Brook and Nicole Salazard
- Prisoners of the Ghostland, directed by Sion Sono
- The Sparks Brothers, directed by Edgar Wright
- ', directed by Marilyn Agrelo
World Cinema Dramatic Competition
- The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet, directed by Ana Katz
- El Planeta, written and directed by Amalia Ulman
- Fire in the Mountains, written and directed by Ajitpal Singh
- Hive, written and directed by Blerta Basholli
- Human Factors, written and directed by Ronny Trocker
- Luzzu, written and directed by Alex Camilleri
- One for the Road, directed by Nattawut Poonpiriya
- The Pink Cloud, written and directed by Iuli Gerbase
- Pleasure, written and directed by Ninja Thyberg
- Prime Time, directed and co-written by Jakub PiÃÂ
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World Cinema Documentary Competition
- Faya Dayi, written, directed and produced by Jessica Beshir
- Flee, directed and co-written by Jonas Poher Rasmussen
- Misha and the Wolves, directed by Sam Hobkinson
- The Most Beautiful Boy in the World, written and directed by Kristina Lindström and Kristian Petri
- Playing with Sharks, directed by Sally Aitken
- President, directed by Camilla Nielsson
- Sabaya, directed and edited by Hogir Hirori
- Taming the Garden, directed by Salomé Jashi
- Writing with Fire, directed by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh
Midnight
Next
- The Blazing World, directed and co-written by CarlsonÃÂ Young
- Cryptozoo, written and directed by DashÃÂ Shaw
- First Date, written and directed by ManuelÃÂ Crosby and DarrenÃÂ Knapp
- Ma Belle, My Beauty, directed by MarionÃÂ Hill
- R#J, directed and co-written by CareyÃÂ Williams
- Searchers, directed by PachoÃÂ Velez
- Son of Monarchs, written and directed by AlexisÃÂ Gambis
- Strawberry Mansion, written and directed by AlbertÃÂ Birney and KentuckerÃÂ Audley
- We're All Going to the World's Fair, written, directed and edited by JaneÃÂ Schoenbrun
Spotlight
Shorts
U.S. Fiction
- Ava from My Class, directed by Youmin Kang
- Bambirak, directed by Zamarin Wahdat
- BJ's Mobile Gift Shop, directed by Jason Park
- Bruiser, directed by Miles Warren
- Don't Go Tellin' Your Momma, directed by Topaz Jones, rubberband.
- Doublespeak, directed by Hazel McKibbin
- i ran from it and was still in it, directed by Darol Olu Kae
- In the Air Tonight, directed by Andrew Norman Wilson
- LATA, directed by Alisha Mehta
- Raspberry, directed by Julian Doan
- The Touch of the Master's Hand, directed by Gregory Barnes
- White Wedding, directed by Melody C Roscher
- Wiggle Room, directed by Sam Guest and Julia Baylis
- Yoruga, directed by Federico Torrado Tobón
- You Wouldn't Understand, directed by Trish Harnetiaux
International Fiction
- The Affected, directed by Rikke Gregersen
- Black Bodies, directed by Kelly Fyffe-Marshall
- The Criminals, directed by Serhat Karaaslan
- Excuse Me, Miss, Miss, Miss, directed by Sonny Calvento
- Five Tiger, directed by Nomawonga Khumalo
- Flex, directed by Josefin Malmén, David Strindberg
- Like the Ones I Used to Know (Les Grandes claques), directed by Annie St-Pierre
- Lizard, directed by Akinola Davies Jr.
- The Longest Dream I Remember, directed by Carlos Lenin
- Mountain Cat, directed by Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir
- Unliveable, directed by Matheus Farias and Enock Carvalho
- The Unseen River, directed by Phạm Ngá»Âc Lân
- We're Not Animals, directed by Noé Debré
Non-Fiction
- A Concerto Is a Conversation, directed by Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers
- Dear Philadelphia, directed by Renee Osubu
- The Field Trip, directed by Meghan O'Hara, Mike Attie and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck
- My Own Landscapes, directed by Antoine Chapon
- The Rifleman, directed by Sierra Pettengill
- Snowy, directed by Kaitlyn Schwalje and Alex Wolf Lewis
- Spirits and Rocks: An Azorean Myth, directed by Aylin Gökmen
- Tears Teacher, directed by Noemie Nakai
- This Is the Way We Rise, directed by Ciara Lacy
- To Know Her, directed by Natalie Chao
- When We Were Bullies, written, directed and produced by Jay Rosenblatt
- Up at Night, directed by Nelson Makengo
Animation
- The Fire Next Time, directed by Renaldho Pelle
- Forever, directed by Mitch McGlocklin
- The Fourfold, directed by Alisi Telengut
- Ghost Dogs, directed by Joe Cappa
- GNT, directed by Sara Hirner and Rosemary Vasquez-Brown
- KKUM, directed by Kang-min Kim
- Little Miss Fate, directed by Joder von Rotz
- Misery Loves Company, directed by Sasha Lee
- Souvenir Souvenir, directed by Bastien Dubois
- Trepanation, directed by Nick Flaherty
Awards
The following awards were given out:
Grand Jury Prizes
Audience Awards
Directing, Screenwriting and Editing
Special Jury Prizes
- U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast â 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
Acquisitions
Sources:
References
External links