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SUNDANCE 2025 Awards

European short films fly high at Sundance

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- European shorts and co-productions have taken home the majority of awards, including the Grand Jury Prize for the UK documentary The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing

European short films fly high at Sundance
The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing by Theo Panagopoulos

The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing by Theo Panagopoulos has taken home the Short Film Grand Jury Prize from this year’s edition of Sundance. The UK documentary short, emanating from the Scottish Documentary Institute, is a prescient and moving meditation on occupation and the past. The film features a filmmaker of Palestinian descent, based in Scotland, who unearths a rarely seen film archive of Palestinian wildflowers. He decides to reclaim the footage in a film that speaks of the dangers of erasure and the power of dictating one’s own narrative. The jury said the film was “a timely, urgent and beautiful examination of colonialism and a moving reclaiming of history through the use of archival footage”. Sundance marked the film’s North American premiere; it screened in the International Non-fiction section, with the short originally debuting at last year’s edition of Edinburgh and going on to play at IDFA.

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The Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction went to filmmaker Chheangkea for the Cambodian-French co-production Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites. The autobiographical tale sees the titular matriarch decide to interrupt her peaceful afterlife when she discovers that her queer grandson is about to marry a woman. Full of warmth and empathy, the film is gently funny as well as being quietly powerful. The jury described it as “the perfect execution of a truly hilarious and relatable exploration of self- and family acceptance within a fantastical framework”. The short had its world premiere at Sundance, which will be swiftly followed by a screening as part of IFFR.

The French short Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado by Natalia León picked up the Short Film Jury Award in Animation. The film sees Olivia, a young woman living abroad, returning to her hometown in Mexico in the hope of reconnecting with her past. The jury said the film was “an immersive and deeply intimate approach to a tragic epidemic, using the craft of animation in surprising and poignant ways”. The film had its world premiere as part of the festival and will soon screen as part of Clermont-Ferrand’s National Competition.

The Short Film Special Jury Award for Animation Directing was presented to the UK’s May Kindred-Boothby for The Eating of an Orange, in which convention and sexuality are explored through slugs, rituals and the titular eating of an orange. The jury lauded Kindred-Boothby for “the intricate crafting of a deeply emotional tale told without dialogue or traditional narrative structure, and for a fresh take on female empowerment”.

The jury consisted of Mohawk actress, writer-director and producer Kaniehtiio Horn; Maggie Mackay, executive director of the Vidiots Foundation; and Kibwe Tavares, an architect-turned-filmmaker. 

The full list of award-winning short films from Sundance is as follows:

Short Film Grand Jury Prize
The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing - Theo Panagopoulos (UK)

Short Film Jury Award: US Fiction
Trokas Duras - Jazmin Garcia (USA)

Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction
Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites – Chheangkea (Cambodia/France)

Short Film Jury Award: Non-fiction
We Were the Scenery - Christopher Radcliff (USA)

Short Film Jury Award: Animation
Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado - Natalia León (France)

Short Film Special Jury Award for Animation
May Kindred-Boothby - The Eating of an Orange (UK)

Short Film Special Jury Award for Directing
Loren Waters - Tiger (USA) 

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