In recent years, the Sundance Film Festival has awarded its Grand Jury Prize to the likes of Minari (2020), CODA (2021), and last year's winner, Nanny. On Friday, a new indie film was anointed out of Park City, Utah, as the first in-person Sundance since 2020 drew to a close. This year's top jury prize was awarded to A Thousand and One, writer-director A.V. Rockwell's New York drama about a young mother (played by Teyana Taylor) who kidnaps her 6-year-old son from the foster care system to give them a chance at a new life.

Of A Thousand and One, the jury cited, "Never have I seen a life so similar to my own rendered with such nuance and tenderness. I walked out of the theater and wept in front of people I barely know because this film reached into my gut and pulled from it every emotion I've learned to mask in these spaces. As a jury, we know how impossible it is to make work that is real, full of pain, and fearless in its rigorous commitment to emotional truth born of oppressive circumstances."

Other jury awards went the Scrapper (World Cinema Dramatic) and documentaries Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (U.S. Documentary) and The Eternal Memory (World Cinema Documentary), while the true-story dramedy, Radical, won Festival Favorite.

Read on for a complete list of the 2023 Sundance Film Festival Award winners.

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Teyana Taylor and Aaron Kingsley in 'A Thousand and One.'

Grand Jury Prizes

U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize: A Thousand and One, directed by A.V. Rockwell

U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize: Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, directed by Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson

World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize: Scrapper, directed by Charlotte Regan

World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize: The Eternal Memory, directed by Maite Alberdi


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Eugenio Derbez in 'Radical.'

Festival Favorite Award

Radical, directed by Christopher Zalla


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Layla Mohammadi and Niousha Noor in 'The Persian Version.'

Audience Awards

U.S. Dramatic Audience Award: The Persian Version, directed by Maryam Keshavarz

U.S. Documentary Audience Award: Beyond Utopia, directed by Madeleine Gavin

World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award: Shayda, directed by Noora Niasari

World Cinema Documentary Audience Award: 20 Days in Mariupol, directed by Mstyslav Chernov

NEXT Audience Award: KOKOMO CITY, directed by D. Smith


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Dustin Nguyen and Hiệp Trần Nghĩa in 'The Accidental Getaway Driver.'

Jury Awards for Directing, Editing, and Screenwriting

U.S. Dramatic Directing Award: Sing J. Lee for The Accidental Getaway Driver

U.S. Documentary Directing Award: Luke Lorentzen for A Still Small Voice

World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award: Marija Kavtaradze for Slow

World Cinema Documentary Directing Award: Anna Hints for Smoke Sauna Sisterhood

U.S. Dramatic Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Maryam Keshavarz for The Persian Version

U.S. Documentary Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: Daniela I. Quiroz for Going Varsity in Mariachi


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Molly Gordon and Ben Platt in 'Theater Camp.'

Special Jury Awards

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble: The cast of Theater Camp

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision: The creative team of Magazine Dreams

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting: Lio Mehiel for Mutt

U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Clarity of Vision: The Stroll, directed by Kristen Lovell & Zackary Drucker

U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Freedom of Expression: Bad Press, directed by Rebecca Landsberry-Baker & Joe Peeler

World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Creative Vision: Fantastic Machine, directed by Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck

World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Vérité Filmmaking: Against the Tide, directed by Sarvnik Kaur

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision: Animalia, directed by Sofia Alaoui

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Lílis Soares for Mami Wata

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Performance: Rosa Marchant for When It Melts


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Liyah Mitchell in 'KOKOMO CITY.'

NEXT Innovator Award

KOKOMO CITY, directed by D. Smith


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Kailyn Dulay in 'When You Left Me On That Boulevard.'

Short Film Awards

Short Film Grand Jury Prize: When You Left Me on That Boulevard, directed by Kayla Abuda Galang

U.S. Fiction Short Film Jury Award: Rest Stop, directed by Crystal Kayiza

International Fiction Short Film Jury Award: The Kidnapping of the Bride, directed by Sophia Mocorrea

Animation Short Film Jury Award: The Flying Sailor, directed by Wendy Tilby and Amanda Forbis)

Nonfiction Short Film Jury Award: Will You Look at Me, directed by Shuli Huang

U.S Short Film Special Jury Award for Directing: The Vacation, directed by Jarreau Carrillo

International Short Film Special Jury Award for Directing: AliEN0089, directed by Valeria Hofmann

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