Sundance Institute awarded the prizes for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Program at the Short Film Awards Ceremony & Party Presented by Vimeo. Filmmakers from across all 57 shorts selected for the 2025 Sundance Film Festival gathered at The Park in Park City, Utah, for a private event celebrating short-form storytelling. Most award-winning short films are available online nationwide January 30 through February 2 for audiences to view from home.
The 2025 Festival, taking place now through February 2, has featured world premieres, screenings, talks, events, and more in Park City and Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Grand Jury Prize went to The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing (International Nonfiction). Short Film Jury Awards were presented to Trokas Duras (U.S. Fiction), Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites (International Fiction), We Were The Scenery (Nonfiction), and Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado (Animation).
Two Special Jury Awards were also presented: Short Film Special Jury Award for Animation Directing to The Eating of an Orange (Animation) and Short Film Special Jury Award for Directing to Tiger (Nonfiction).
This year the Festival short film jury included: Kaniehtiio Horn, Maggie Mackay, and Kibwe Tavares.
“Each year we are fortunate to present so many impressive shorts. Filmmakers bring us their distinctive visions from around the world, whether for entertainment or enlightenment and often both,” said Mike Plante, Sundance Film Festival Senior Programmer, Short Film. “We aim to bring new audiences to their work, especially as most of the filmmakers are attending Sundance for the first time. Congratulations to the award winners, whose films demonstrate the powerful artistic talent at the Festival.”
The Short Film Program awards honored the winning projects five days before the conclusion of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where 88 feature-length and episodic works and 57 short films — curated from 11,153 short film submissions — have screened to audiences in Park City, Salt Lake City, and online.
Short film award winners in previous years include The Masterpiece by Alex Lora Cercos, When You Left Me On That Boulevard by Kayla Abuda Galang, The Headhunter’s Daughter by Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan, Lizard by Akinola Davies Jr., So What If the Goats Die by Sofia Alaoui, Aziza by Soudade Kaadan, Matria by Álvaro Gago, And so we put goldfish in the pool. by Makoto Nagahisa, Thunder Road by Jim Cummings, World of Tomorrow by Don Hertzfeldt, and Of Gods and Dogs by Abounaddara Collective.
The 2025 Sundance Film Festival Short Film awards are:
The Short Film Grand Jury Prize was awarded to: Theo Panagopoulos for The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing / U.K. (Director: Theo Panagopoulos, Producer: Marissa Keating) — When a filmmaker of Palestinian descent based in Scotland unearths a rarely seen film archive of Palestinian wildflowers, he decides to reclaim the footage. North American Premiere. Available online for Public.
Jury citation: For a timely, urgent, and beautiful examination of colonialism and a moving reclaiming of history through the use of archival footage, the Short Film Grand Jury Prize goes to The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing, directed by Theo Panagopoulos.
The Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction was awarded to: Jazmin Garcia for Trokas Duras / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Jazmin Garcia, Screenwriter: Benjamin Benji Moreno, Producers: Sally Su Jin Oh, Mayte Avina, Scott O’Donnell) — Journeying through the interior landscapes of a Jornalero’s dreams, his waking reality in Los Angeles, and what it looks like when a group of people relegated to serving others labors for their own elevation of body and spirit. Cast: Benjamin Benji Moreno, La Chapis, El Barrio, Luis Valentan, Elmer Mayorga, Tricia Sarmento. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Jury citation: For a visionary perspective and a stunning visual narrative approach that creates an unequivocally empowering and intimate portrait, the Short Film Jury Award for U.S. Fiction goes to Trokas Duras, directed by Jazmin Garcia.
The Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction was awarded to: Chheangkea for Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites / Cambodia, France (Director and Screenwriter: Chheangkea, Producers: Daniel Mattes, Karen Madar) — During her chaotic family’s Qingming visit, dead Grandma Nai sneaks away from her peaceful afterlife after overhearing that her Queer grandson is about to get engaged to a woman. Cast: Bonrotanak Rith, Saroeun Nay, Sokun Theary Ty, Phalla Im, Chansophorn Buth, Ponleu Chab. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Jury citation: For the perfect execution of a truly hilarious and relatable exploration of self- and family acceptance within a fantastical framework, we give the Short Film Jury Award for International Fiction to Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites, directed by Chheangkea.
The Short Film Jury Award: Nonfiction was awarded to: Christopher Radcliff for We Were The Scenery / U.S.A. (Director: Christopher Radcliff, Producers: Cathy Linh Che, Jess X. Snow) — In 1975, Hoa Thi Le and Hue Nguyen Che fled from Vietnam by boat and docked in the Philippines, where they were utilized as background extras during the filming of Apocalypse Now. World Premiere.
Jury citation: For a wholly unique, witty, joyful perspective on art-making, the impact of film, and how they intersect with real lives, the Short Film Jury Award for Nonfiction goes to We Were The Scenery, directed by Christopher Radcliff.
The Short Film Jury Award: Animation was awarded to: Natalia León for Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado / France (Director and Screenwriter: Natalia León, Producer: Luc Camilli) — Olivia, a young woman living abroad, returns to her hometown in Mexico in the hope of reconnecting with her past. Cast: Carolina Zárate Wall, Natalia León, GAYA, Rebeca Magdely Gonzalez Alfaro. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Jury citation: For an immersive and deeply intimate approach to a tragic epidemic, using the craft of animation in surprising and poignant ways, the Short Film Jury Award for Animation goes to Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado, directed by Natalia León.
The Short Film Special Jury Award for Animation Directing was awarded to: May Kindred-Boothby for The Eating of an Orange / U.K. (Director and Screenwriter: May Kindred-Boothby) — Convention and sexuality are explored through slugs, rituals, and the eating of an orange. International Premiere. Available online for Public.
Jury citation: For the intricate crafting of a deeply emotional tale told without dialogue and traditional narrative structure, and for a fresh take on female empowerment, the Short Film Special Jury Award for Animation Directing goes to The Eating of an Orange, directed by May Kindred-Boothby.
The Short Film Special Jury Award for Directing was awarded to: Loren Waters for Tiger / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Loren Waters, Producer: Dana Tiger) — A portrait of award-winning, internationally acclaimed Indigenous artist and elder Dana Tiger, her family, and the resurgence of the iconic Tiger T-shirt company. World Premiere. Available online for Public.
Jury citation: For the inspired direction and innovative vision that tells the moving story of a family’s cultural and artistic legacy, the Short Film Special Jury Award for Directing goes to Tiger, directed by Loren Waters.
