Frozen River, The Wackness Lead 2008 Sundance Winners

Read up on the festival's best and brightest.

by | January 28, 2008 | Comments

The dust has settled in Park City, and now that the votes have been counted and the hardware’s been handed out, we can give you 2008’s Sundance rundown!

Among the dramatic features, Courtney Hunt’s Frozen River, a drama about women helping illegal aliens enter the United States, and Jonathan Levine‘s The Wackness, a comedy about a teenage dope dealer in mid ’90s New York, were the big winners, taking the grand jury and audience prizes, respectively.

The documentary slate, meanwhile, was led by Trouble the Water, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal‘s grand jury-winning look at post-Katrina New Orleans, and Fields of Fuel, Josh Tickell‘s audience award-winning look at one man’s efforts to alter America’s energy policy.

Earning directing awards were Lance Hammer, for Ballast, his dramatic feature about a 12-year-old boy struggling to survive in the Mississippi Delta, and Nanette Burstein, for her documentary about Indiana high school students, American Teen.

For a complete list of winners, see the list below!

Grand Jury Prize: DocumentaryTrouble the Water

Grand Jury Prize: DramaticFrozen River
Grand Jury Prize: World Cinema DramaticMan on Wire
Grand Jury Prize: World Cinema DocumentaryKing of Ping Pong (Ping Pongkingen)
Audience Award: DocumentaryFields of Fuel
Audience Award: DramaticThe Wackness
World Cinema Audience Award: DocumentaryMan on Wire
World Cinema Audience Award: DramaticCaptain Abu Raed
Directing Award: DocumentaryAmerican Teen
Directing Award: DramaticBallast
World Cinema Directing Award: DocumentaryDurakovo: The Village of Fools (Durakovo: Le Village Des Fous)
World Cinema Directing Award: DramaticMermaid (Rusalka)
Waldo Salt Screenwriting AwardSleep Dealer
World Cinema Screenwriting AwardI Always Wanted to Be a Gangster (J’ai Toujours Rêvé d’�tre un Gangster)
Documentary Editing AwardRoman Polanski: Wanted and Desired
World Cinema Documentary Editing AwardThe Art Star and the Sudanese Twins
Excellence in Cinematography Award: DocumentaryPatti Smith: Dream of Life
Excellence in Cinematography Award: DramaticBallast
World Cinema Cinematography Award: DocumentaryRecycle
World Cinema Cinematography Award: DramaticKing of Ping Pong (Ping Pongkingen)
World Cinema Special Jury Prize: DramaticBlue Eyelids (Párpados Azules)
Special Jury Prize: DocumentaryThe Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo
Special Jury Prize: Dramatic, The Spirit of IndependenceAnywhere, USA
Special Jury Prize: Dramatic, Work by an Ensemble CastChoke
Jury Prize in Short FilmmakingMy Olympic Summer
Jury Prize in Short FilmmakingSikumi (On the Ice)
International Jury Prize in International Short FilmmakingSoft
Honorable Mention in Short FilmmakingAquarium
Honorable Mention in Short FilmmakingAugust 15th
Honorable Mention in Short FilmmakingLa Corona (The Crown)

Honorable Mention in Short FilmmakingOiran Lyrics
Honorable Mention in Short FilmmakingSpider
Honorable Mention in Short FilmmakingSuspension
Honorable Mention in Short FilmmakingW.
2008 Alfred P. Sloan PrizeSleep Dealer

Source: Variety