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
  • Credits
  • Panels
  • Projects

Robot and Frank

Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize

Valley of Saints

Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize

Sleepwalk With Me

Audience Award: NEXT

The Invisible War

Audience Award: U.S. Documentary

The Surrogate

Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic

SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN

Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary

Valley of Saints

Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic

The Queen of Versailles

Directing Award: U.S. Documentary

Middle of Nowhere

Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic

DETROPIA

Editing Award Documentary

Chasing Ice

Excellence in Cinematography Award: U.S. Documentary

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Excellence in Cinematography Award: U.S. Dramatic

The House I Live In

Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Documentary

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Grand Jury Prize: U.S. Dramatic

The Law in These Parts

Grand Jury Prize: World Cinema Documentary

Violeta Went to Heaven

Grand Jury Prize: World Cinema Dramatic

The Return

Jury Prize International Short Filmmaking

FISHING WITHOUT NETS

Jury Prize Short Filmmaking

A Morning Stroll

Short Film Jury Award: Animation

The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Short Film Jury Award: Non-Fiction

The Black Balloon

Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction

The Debutante Hunters

Short Filmmaking Audience Award

The Arm

Special Jury Award for Comedic Storytelling

Love Free or Die

Special Jury Prize

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

Special Jury Prize

The Surrogate

Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Cast

Robots of Brixton

Special Jury Prize Short Filmmaking for Animation Direction

Smashed

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Independent Film Producing

Nobody Walks

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Independent Film Producing

Safety Not Guaranteed

Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award

Putin's Kiss

World Cinema Cinematography Award Documentary

My Brother the Devil

World Cinema Cinematography Award Dramatic

5 Broken Cameras

World Cinema Directing Award Documentary

Teddy Bear

World Cinema Directing Award Dramatic

Indie Game: The Movie

World Cinema Documentary Editing Award

SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN

World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Prize

Young & Wild

World Cinema Screenwriting Award

Can

World Cinema Special Jury Prize Dramatic
 

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

Amy Vincent

Dramatic 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

Anthony Mackie

Dramatic Competition Juror

10th Anniversary Documentary Film Program Panel (Private)

A CELEBRATION OF MUSIC IN FILM

Adobe Presents: How Technology is Influencing Storytelling and Film

Adobe Presents: Modern Storytelling, A Case Study by Vincent Laforet

Blood, Sweat and Bug Testing: The road to indie game glory

Canon Presents: EOS HD SLR Storytelling: One Tool, Endless Potential

Celebrating Stories of Change

Cinema Cafe Presented by Chase Sapphire Day 2

Cinema Cafe Presented by Chase Sapphire Day 3, Times Talk

Cinema Cafe Presented by Chase Sapphire Day 4

Cinema Cafe Presented by Chase Sapphire Day 5

Cinema Cafe Presented by Chase Sapphire Day 6, Comedy Times Talk

Cinema Cafe Presented by Chase Sapphire Day 7, Women's Roles

Cinema Cafe Presented by Chase Sapphire Day 8

Cinema Cafe Presented by Chase Sapphire Day 9

Control Factor

Daughters of the Dust Q & A

Distribution X

Documentarians: Put the Twitter Down and Back Away with Your Hands Up

Eastman Kodak Presents: Shooting S16 for Low Budget Features

Film Church

Flying Cars, Robot Maids, and Revolutions

Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Panel: Funding Through Social Media

Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Panel: Keep the Lights On

Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Panel: Love Free or Die

Is This Thing On?

It's All in the Story

Late Night at New Frontier

Late Night Lounge

Moving the Masses

Music Showcase: BMI Snowball

Navigating International Waters Panel (Private)

Power of Story: "In The Beginning . . ."

Power of Story: How Docs Changed Change

Profits and Losses

Reality Bites Q &A

Roundtable Discussion: Music and Film, the Creative Process

Sound Thinking

Special Event: Social Hour

Sponsors Content - Canon Presentation

Sponsors Content - Focus Forward Short Program

Sponsors Content - The Island Presiden

Sundance Music Café: Night Sessions

Sundance Music Café: Night Sessions - FILM MUSIC REMIX

The Blackhouse Foundation Panel: Conversation with Ice-T

The Coca-Cola Company and McCann Erickson Present: Exploring the Future of Dynamic Storytelling: The Never-Ending Story

The New Social Pollinators

The Wide World of Wit

Yahoo! Presents: Discover the New Frontier

  

'92 Skybox Alonzo Mourning Rookie Card

2 Days in New York

28 HOTEL ROOMS

38–39°C

5 Broken Cameras

663114

A Fierce Green Fire

A Morning Stroll

ABACUS

About Face: The Supermodels, Then and Now.

About the Pink Sky

Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

An Oversimplification of Her Beauty

AQUADETTES

Arbitrage

Avocados

Bachelorette

Barbie Blues

BEAR

Bear 71

Beasts of the Southern Wild

Belly

Bestiaire

BIG BOYS GONE BANANAS!*

Black Rock

BOBBY YEAH

BONES BRIGADE: An Autobiography

California Solo

Can

Celeste and Jesse Forever

Chasing Ice

China Heavyweight

Compliance

Corpo Celeste

Daughters of the Dust

Declaration of War

DETROPIA

Dol (First Birthday)

Don't Hug Me I'm Scared

Dr Breakfast

Elena

ESCAPE FIRE: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare

ETHEL

Evolution (Megaplex)

Excision

Family Nightmare

Famous Person Talent Agency: Pearls of Asia

Father's Chair

Filly Brown

Finding North

FISHING WITHOUT NETS

For a Good Time, Call . . .

For Ellen

Four Suns

FOURPLAY: TAMPA

Fragments of Dissolution

Frozen Stories (Opowie?ci z ch?odni)

Fungus (Svamp)

Girl

GOATS

Grabbers

GYPSY DAVY

Heart Stop Beating

Hellion

Hello I Must Be Going

Henley

Hilary's Straws

Himalaya Song

Hit RECord at the Movies with Joseph Gordon-Levitt

How to Survive a Plague

Hunger in Los Angeles

I Am Not a Hipster

Indie Game: The Movie

Into the Middle of Nowhere

It's Such a Beautiful Day

John Dies at the End

Juku

Keep the Lights On

KID-THING

Killing the Chickens to Scare the Monkeys

L

L TRAIN

Las Palmas

LAY THE FAVORITE

LAZAROV

Liberal Arts

Liberal Arts

Life and Freaky Times of Uncle Luke

Long Distance Information

Love Free or Die

LUV

Madrid, 1987

Marina Abramovic The Artist Is Present

ME @THE ZOO_

Meaning of Robots

Meet Mr. Toilet

Middle of Nowhere

Monsieur Lazhar

Mosquita y Mari

Moving Stories

Moxie

My Best Day

My Brother the Devil

My Generation

Newtown Creek Digester Eggs: The Art of Human Waste

Night Hunter

Nobody Walks

Odysseus' Gambit

OK BREATHE AURALEE

Once It Started It Could Not End Otherwise

Oslo, August 31st

Payback

Playtime (Spielzeit)

Pluto Declaration

Predisposed

Price Check

Pursuit of Loneliness

Putin's Kiss

Question Bridge: Black Males

Radical Games Against the Tyranny of Entertainment

Random Strangers

Reality Bites

Red Hook Summer

Red Lights

Robot and Frank

Robots of Brixton

Rolling on the Floor Laughing

Room 237

Safety Not Guaranteed

Save the Date

SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN

SEEKING THE MONKEY KING

Shadow Dancer

SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS

Simon Killer

Slavery by Another Name

Sleepwalk With Me

Slow Derek

Smashed

SOMETHING FROM NOTHING: THE ART OF RAP

Song of the Spindle

spoonful

Stick Climbing

Surveillant

Teddy Bear

That's What She Said

THE AMBASSADOR

The Arm

The Atomic States of America

The Black Balloon

The Cloud of Unknowing

The Comedy

The Conquerors (Les Conquérants)

The D Word: Understanding Dyslexia

The Debutante Hunters

The Diatom

The End of Love

The First Time

The Fort

The Hidden Smile (El somriure amagat)

The House I Live In

The Imposter

The Invisible War

The Landfill

The Last Elvis

The Law in These Parts

The Movement: One Man Joins an Uprising

The Orator

The Other Dream Team

The Pact

THE PERCEPTION OF MOVING TARGETS

The Queen of Versailles

The Raid

The Return

The Surrogate

The Thing

The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

The Words

This Must Be the Place

Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie

To Many Men Strange Fates Are Given

Tooty's Wedding

Tumult

UNA HORA POR FAVORA

Under African Skies

V/H/S

Valley of Saints

Violeta Went to Heaven

We're Not Broke

West of Memphis

Where Do We Go Now?

whiteonwhite:algorithmicnoir

Wish You Were Here

WRONG

Wuthering Heights

Young & Wild

Your Sister's Sister

½ REVOLUTION

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 [email protected]