Sundance Film Fest 2009: Six Juries

January 12, 2009 by

The 2009 Sundance Film Festival announced the members of the six juries awarding prizes at the Festival, which runs January 15-25, 2009 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. The juries collectively are comprised of twenty-four individuals from the global film community, each of whom brings unique perspective and range of experience. Awards will be announced the evening of January 25 at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival Awards Ceremony at the Park City Racquet Club.

 

The six juries for the 2009 Sundance Film Festival are:

 

Dramatic Jury

  • Virginia Madsen – (Actress: Sideway, Number 23, The Rainmaker, David Lynch's Dune)
  • Scott McGehee – (Producer/Director/Writer: Uncertainty, The Deep End, Suture)
  • Maud Nadler – (Producer/HBO Films: Relative Values)
  • Mike White – (Writer/Director/Producer: Year of the Dog)
  • Boaz Yakin – (Director/Writer/Producer: Fresh, Remember the Titans, Hostel)

 

Documentary Jury

  • Patrick Creadon – (Cinematographer/Director/Writer: Wordplay, I.O.U.S.A., Flow: For the Love of Water)
  • Carl Deal – (Director/Producer: Trouble the Water)
  • Andrea Meditch – (Executive Producer/Producer: Man on Wire, In the Shadow of the Moon)
  • Sam Pollard – (Editor: When the Levees Broke, Jungle Fever, Mo' Better Blues)
  • Marina Zenovich – (Director/Producer/Writer: Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired)

 World Dramatic Jury

  • Colin Brown (New York) – (Editor: Screen International)
  • Christine Jeffs (New Zealand) – (Director/Writer: Rain, Stroke; Director: Sunshine Cleaning)
  • Vibeke Windelov (Denmark) – (Producer: Dogville, Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark)

 

World Documentary Jury

  • Gillian Armstrong (Australia) – (Director: Death Defying Acts, Oscar & Lucinda, Little Women)
  • Thom Powers (New York) – (Documentary Programmer, Toronto International Film Festival)
  • Hubert Sauper (France) – (Director/Producer: Darwin's Nightmare)

 

Shorts Jury

The Short Film Jury will present the Jury Prizes in Short Filmmaking to one U.S. and one international short film playing at the Festival, as well as Honorable Mentions based on outstanding achievement and merit. Shorts Awards will be announced at the Sundance Film Festival Shorts Awards Ceremony on Tuesday, January 20th.

  • Gerardo Naranjo – (Director/Writer/Producer: Voy a explotar, Malachance, Perro Negro)
  • Lou Taylor Pucci – (Actor: Thumbsucker)
  • Sharon Swart – (Reporter: Variety)

                                                                                                              

Alfred P. Sloan Jury

Provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Prize is presented to the writer and director of an outstanding feature film focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character.

  • Fran Bagenal – (Professor of Astrophysical & Planetary Sciences, University of Colorado)
  • Rodney Brooks – (Panasonic Professor of Robotics, MIT Computer Science & AI Lab)
  • Ray Gesteland – (Department of Human Genetics, University of Utah)
  • Jeffrey Nachmanoff – (Writer: The Day After Tomorrow; Writer/Director: Traitor)
  • Alex Rivera – (Director/Writer/Editor: Sleep Dealer)

 

Jury Awards

The competitive categories of the Sundance Film Festival have introduced audiences to some of the most intriguing independent films and filmmakers of the past 25 years. At the 2009 Festival, Grand Jury Prizes will be awarded to one U.S. dramatic film and one U.S. documentary film screening in competition; World Cinema Jury Prizes will be awarded to one world dramatic film and one world documentary film screening in competition. 
 

In addition to the top jury prizes, all films in Competition are eligible to receive a range of awards, including: Directing Awards, Excellence in Cinematography Awards, and Documentary Editing Awards. The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award will be presented to a U.S. film by the Dramatic Competition Jury, with the World Cinema Dramatic Competition Jury presenting the World Cinema Screenwriting Award.  All films in Competition are eligible for Sundance Film Festival Audience Awards as selected by Film Festival audiences. 

 

Special Jury Prizes

The documentary and dramatic juries may, at their discretion, select films from each of the Festival’s four competitions to receive special recognition for their unique vision or excellence.

Filed Under: FESTIVAL