2012 Sundance Film Festival
The 2012 Sundance Film Festival offered a sobering reflection of the times in America and a return to resourceful and fiercely independent filmmaking. Influential documentaries such as The Queen of Versailles, Escape Fire, and Detropia depicted the effects of economic turmoil across the nation, and narrative features like Smashed, Nobody Walks, and Beasts of the Southern Wild showcased masterful storytelling and inventive filmmaking from first-time directors. Rapper Ice-T made his directorial debut with his hip-hop documentary Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap and commanded the stage for a performance and discussion during “A Celebration of Music in Film.” Other Off Screen highlights included panels and discussions with director Spike Lee, journalist David Carr, and actress Julie Delpy, among others.
Awards
Alfred P. Sloan Prize
Robot & Frank | Audience Award Documentary
The Invisible War |
Audience Award Dramatic
The Surrogate | Best of NEXT
Sleepwalk With Me |
Directing Award Documentary
The Queen of Versailles | Directing Award Dramatic
Middle of Nowhere |
Editing Award Documentary
DETROPIA | Excellence in Cinematography Award Documentary
Chasing Ice |
Excellence in Cinematography Award Dramatic
Beasts of the Southern Wild | Grand Jury Prize Documentary
The House I Live In |
Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
Beasts of the Southern Wild | Indian Paintbrush Producer's Award
Beasts of the Southern Wild |
Jury Prize International Short Filmmaking
The Return | Jury Prize Short Filmmaking
FISHING WITHOUT NETS |
Jury Prize Short Filmmaking
The Black Balloon | Jury Prize Short Filmmaking
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom |
Jury Prize Short Filmmaking
A Morning Stroll | Jury Prize Short Filmmaking
The Arm |
Short Filmmaking Audience Award
The Debutante Hunters | Special Jury Prize
Love Free or Die |
Special Jury Prize
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry | Special Jury Prize
Smashed |
Special Jury Prize
Nobody Walks | Special Jury Prize
The Arm |
Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Cast
The Surrogate | Special Jury Recognition for Directing
Robots of Brixton |
Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award
Safety Not Guaranteed | World Cinema Audience Award Documentary
SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN |
World Cinema Audience Award Dramatic
Valley of Saints | World Cinema Audience Award Dramatic
Valley of Saints |
World Cinema Cinematography Award Documentary
Putin's Kiss | World Cinema Cinematography Award Dramatic
My Brother the Devil |
World Cinema Directing Award Documentary
5 Broken Cameras | World Cinema Directing Award Dramatic
Teddy Bear |
World Cinema Documentary Editing Award
Indie Game: The Movie | World Cinema Jury Prize Documentary
The Law in These Parts |
World Cinema Jury Prize Dramatic
Violeta Went to Heaven | World Cinema Jury Prize Dramatic
Can |
World Cinema Screenwriting Award
Young & Wild | World Cinema Special Jury Prize Documentary
SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN |
World Cinema Special Jury Prize Dramatic
Can |
Credits
| Katie Aselton
Awards Ceremony MC | Fenton Bailey
Documentary Competition Juror |
| Heather Croall
Documentary Competition Juror | Charles Ferguson
Documentary Competition Juror |
| Tia Lessin
Documentary Competition Juror | Kim Roberts
Documentary Competition Juror |
| Justin Lin
Dramatic Competition Juror | Anthony Mackie
Dramatic Competition Juror |
| Cliff Martinez
Dramatic Competition Juror | Lynn Shelton
Dramatic Competition Juror |
| Amy Vincent
Dramatic Competition Juror | Nick Fraser
World Documentary Competition Juror |
| Clara Kim
World Documentary Competition Juror | Jean-Marie Teno
World Documentary Competition Juror |
| Julia Ormond
World Dramatic Competition Juror | Richard Pena
World Dramatic Competition Juror |
| Alexei Popogrebsky
World Dramatic Competition Juror | Tracy Day
Alfred P. Sloan Prize Juror |
| Helen Fisher
Alfred P. Sloan Prize Juror | Dr Robert J. Full
Alfred P. Sloan Prize Juror |
| Gwyn Lurie
Alfred P. Sloan Prize Juror | Alex Rivera
Alfred P. Sloan Prize Juror |
| Mike Judge
Short Film Competition Juror | Dee Rees
Short Film Competition Juror |
| Shane Smith
Short Film Competition Juror | Antonio Campos
Alumni Advisory Board Member |
| Sean Durkin
Alumni Advisory Board Member | Josh Mond
Alumni Advisory Board Member |
| Catherine Hardwicke
Alumni Advisory Board Member | Rashida Jones
Alumni Advisory Board Member |
| Rory Kennedy
Alumni Advisory Board Member | Ellen Kuras
Alumni Advisory Board Member |
| Justin Lin
Alumni Advisory Board Member | Diego Luna
Alumni Advisory Board Member |
| Billy Luther
Alumni Advisory Board Member | Mark Ruffalo
Alumni Advisory Board Member |
| Gingger Shankar
Alumni Advisory Board Member | Hank Willis
Alumni Advisory Board Member |
| Doug Wright
Alumni Advisory Board Member | Lake Bell
Alumni Advisory Board Member |
Panels
Projects
As you use our Online Archives, please understand that the information presented from Festivals, Labs, and other activities is taken directly from official publications from each year. While this information is limited and doesn't necessarily represent the full list of participants (e.g. actors and crew), it is the list given to us by the main film/play/project contact at the time, based on the space restrictions of our publications. Each entry in the Online Archives is meant as a historical record of a particular film, play, or project at the time of its involvement with Sundance Institute. For this reason, we can only amend an entry if a name is misspelled, or if the entry does not correctly reflect the original publication.
If you have questions or comments, please email archives@sundance.org