“Thunder Road” wins top prize for short films at Sundance

PanARMENIAN.Net - Writer-director Jim Cummings’ Thunder Road took the top honor as the Sundance Institute unveiled the jury prizes in short filmmaking at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City. Winners were selected from 72 films chosen from 8,712 submissions, Deadline reports.

The short film program at the festival is the centerpiece of Sundance Institute’s year-round efforts to support short filmmaking, including a series of daylong workshops and a traveling program of short films.

Here are the winners, with info provided by the Sundance Institute:

2016 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Jury Awards:

The Short Film Grand Jury Prize was awarded to: Thunder Road / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jim Cummings) — Officer Arnaud loved his mom.

The Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction was presented to: The Procedure / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Calvin Lee Reeder) — A man is captured and forced to endure a strange experiment.

The Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction was presented to: Maman(s) / France (Director and screenwriter: Maïmouna Doucouré ) — Life is disrupted for eight-year-old Aida when her father returns with a young Senegalese woman, Rama, whom he introduces as his second wife. Sensitive to her mother’s distress, Aida decides to get rid of the new visitor.

The Short Film Jury Award: Non-fiction was presented to: Bacon & God’s Wrath / Canada (Director: Sol Friedman) — A 90-year-old Jewish woman reflects on her life experiences as she prepares to try bacon for the first time.

The Short Film Jury Award: Animation was presented to: Edmond / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Nina Gantz) — Edmond’s impulse to love and be close to others is strong—maybe too strong. As he stands by a lake contemplating his options, he reflects on his defining moments in search of the origin of his desires.

A Short Film Special Jury Award for Outstanding Performance was presented to:Grace Glowicki for her performance in Her Friend Adam.

A Short Film Special Jury Award for Best Direction was presented to: Peacock / Czech Republic (Director: Ondřej Hudeček, Screenwriters: Jan Smutny, Ondřej Hudeček) — A twisted queer romance set in picturesque 19th-century Bohemia tells the true story of the birth of one of the nation’s most influential writers, with suspense, laughter, violence, hope, nudity, sex, and a happy ending—mostly a happy ending.