Beth de Araújo’s Sundance Hit ‘Josephine’ Wins Both Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award — Full List

Sundance has just minted a brand-new filmmaking superstar. On Friday, Beth de Araújo’s sophomore feature “Josephine” went two-for-two on the festival’s top prizes, winning both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award for her sensitive, heart-wrenching story about innocence lost, starring standout newcomer Mason Reeves alongside Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan.

De Araújo’s wins came care of Sundance’s annual awards ceremony, which played out via a live event at the Ray Theatre (and its last in Utah). Today’s award winners included both jury and audience prizes, along with a number of special jury prizes for films, performances, and more.

The full list of Grand Jury Prizes includes: “Josephine” (U.S. Dramatic Competition), “Nuisance Bear” (U.S. Documentary Competition), “Shame and Money” (World Cinema Dramatic Competition), and “To Hold a Mountain”(World Cinema Documentary Competition). The NEXT Innovator Award presented by Adobe was given to “The Incomer,” and the NEXT Special Jury Award presented by Adobe was given to “TheyDream.”

Audience awards were presented by Acura to “Josephine” (U.S. Dramatic Competition) and “American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez” (U.S. Documentary Competition) and presented by United Airlines to “HOLD ONTO ME (Κράτα Με)” (World Cinema Dramatic Competition) and “One in a Million” (World Cinema Documentary Competition). “Aanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild]” won the audience award for NEXT presented by Adobe.

“As we conclude this memorable edition of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, we’re thrilled to celebrate our award-winning films and all the artists who participated in this year’s wonderful Festival,” said Eugene Hernandez, Director, Sundance Film Festival and Public Programming. “Thank you to all of the artists and audiences who made this Festival one we’ll remember for a long time, and we’re deeply grateful to our friends and partners in Park City, Salt Lake City, and all across Utah, home to so many cherished Festivals. We salute and thank Utah’s moviegoers who have embraced this Festival and our founder Robert Redford’s vision. As this 2026 edition draws to a close, we’re remembering all of these times spent together.”

“Our Awards ceremony is a perfect moment to consider the journeys each artist team took while creating these stories they’ve so generously shared with us during the Festival,” said Kim Yutani, Sundance Film Festival Director of Programming. “As a programming team we are thankful for being part of the journey for so many talented filmmakers this and every year. Championing work that is distinctive, timely, and impactful is our priority, and this event is a celebration of what these storytellers have achieved.”

The 17-member jury cohort included an unusually high number of filmmaker alumni, including names like A.V. Rockwell, Janicza Bravo, Bao Nguyen, Azazel Jacobs, Jennie Livingston, Nisha Ganatra, So Yong Kim, and many more. They picked winners in a number of sections, including the U.S. Dramatic Competition, U.S. Documentary Competition, World Cinema Dramatic Competition, World Cinema Documentary Competition, and the NEXT lineup. In-person audiences participated in selecting the 2026 Audience Awards, which are available to films in the U.S. Competition, World Competition, and NEXT.

The Festival Favorite Award–winning film will be announced on the Sundance Film Festival official social accounts on Saturday, January 31 in the afternoon.

Check out the full list of today’s winners below, including previously announced winners in other sections. Winners will be updated as they are announced, and you can follow along in the livestream video posted below.

U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION AWARDS

The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to “Josephine” / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Beth de Araújo, Producers: David Kaplan, Josh Peters, Marina Stabile, Mark H. Rapaport, Crystine Zhang).

The Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic was presented to Josef Kubota Wladyka for “Ha-chan, Shake Your Booty!” / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Josef Kubota Wladyka, Screenwriter: Nicholas Huynh, Producers: Kimberly Parker Zox, Mao Nagakura).

The Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: U.S. Dramatic was presented to Liz Sargent for “Take Me Home” / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Liz Sargent, Producers: Apoorva Guru Charan, Minos Papas).

‘Nuisance Bear’Courtesy of Sundance Institute

U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION AWARDS

The U.S. Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to “Nuisance Bear” / U.S.A., Canada (Directors: Gabriela Osio Vanden, Jack Weisman, Producers: Michael Code, Will N. Miller, Teddy Leifer).

The Directing Award: U.S. Documentary was presented to J.M. Harper for “Soul Patrol” / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: J.M. Harper, Producers: Sam Bisbee, Danielle Massie, Nasir Jones, Peter Bittenbender).

WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION AWARDS

The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to “Shame and Money” / Germany, Kosovo, Slovenia, Albania, North Macedonia, Belgium (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Visar Morina, Screenwriter: Doruntina Basha, Producers: Fabian Altenried, Sophie Ahrens, Kristof Gerega, Pia Hellenthal).

The Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic was presented to Andrius Blaževičius for “How to Divorce During the War” / Lithuania, Luxembourg, Ireland, Czech Republic (Director and Screenwriter: Andrius Blaževičius, Producer: Marija Razgutė).

WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY AWARDS

The World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was presented to “To Hold a Mountain” / Serbia, France, Montenegro, Slovenia, Croatia (Directors, Screenwriters, and Producers: Biljana Tutorov, Petar Glomazić, Producers: Quentin Laurent, Rok Biček).

The Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary was presented to Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes for “One in a Million” / U.K. (Directors: Itab Azzam, Jack MacInnes, Producers: Raney Aronson-Rath, Will Anderson, James Bluemel, Andrew Palmer).

‘The Incomer’Anthony Dickenson

NEXT AWARD

The NEXT Innovator Award Presented by Adobe was awarded to “The Incomer” / U.K. (Director and Screenwriter: Louis Paxton, Producers: Shirley O’Connor, Emily Gotto).

SPECIAL JURY AWARDS

A U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Cast was presented to “The Friend’s House is Here” / U.S.A., Iran (Directors, Screenwriters, and Producers: Hossein Keshavarz, Maryam Ataei). Cast: Mahshad Bahram, Hana Mana, Farzad Karen, Zohreh Pirnia.

A U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Debut Feature was presented to “Bedford Park” / U.S.A. (Director and Screenwriter: Stephanie Ahn, Producers: Gary Foster, Chris S. Lee, Nina Yang Bongiovi, Theresa Kang, Son Sukku).

The Jonathan Oppenheim Editing Award: U.S. Documentary was presented to Matt Hixon for “Barbara Forever” / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Brydie O’Connor, Producer: Elijah Stevens).

A U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Journalistic Excellence was presented to “Who Killed Alex Odeh?” / U.S.A. (Directors: Jason Osder, William Lafi Youmans, Producer: Dawne Langford, William Lafi Youmans, Jason Osder, Daniel J. Chalfen).

A U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Impact for Change was presented to “The Lake” / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Abby Ellis, Producer: Fletcher Keyes).

A World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting Ensemble was presented to “LADY” / U.K., Nigeria (Director and Screenwriter: Olive Nwosu, Producer: Alex Polunin). Cast: Jessica Gabriel’s Ujah, Amanda Oruh, Tinuade Jemiseye, Binta Ayo Mogaji, Seun Kuti, Bucci Franklin.

A World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Vision was presented to “Filipiñana” / Singapore, U.K., Philippines, France, Netherlands (Director and Screenwriter: Rafael Manuel, Producers: Jeremy Chua, Alex Polunin, Bianca Balbuena, Bradley Liew, Nadia Turincev, Omar El Kadi).

A World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Journalistic Impact was presented to “Birds of War” / U.K., Syrian Arab Republic, Lebanon (Directors, Screenwriters, and Producers: Janay Boulos, Abd Alkader Habak, Producer: Sonja Henrici).

A World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Civil Resistance was presented to “Everybody to Kenmure Street” / U.K. (Director and Producer: Felipe Bustos Sierra, Producer: Ciara Barry).

The NEXT Special Jury Award for Creative Expression was awarded to “TheyDream” / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: William David Caballero, Screenwriters and Producers: Erin Ploss-Campoamor, Elaine del Valle, Producer: Brad Jones).

AUDIENCE AWARDS

The Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic, Presented by Acura was awarded to “Josephine” / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Beth de Araújo, Producers: David Kaplan, Josh Peters, Marina Stabile, Mark H. Rapaport, Crystine Zhang).

The Audience Award: U.S. Documentary, Presented by Acura was awarded to “American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez” / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: David Alvarado, Producers: Lauren DeFilippo, Everett Katigbak, Amanda Pollak).

The Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic, Presented by United Airlines was awarded to “HOLD ONTO ME (Κράτα Με)” / Cyprus, Denmark, Greece (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Myrsini Aristidou, Producer: Monica Nicolaidou).

The Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary, Presented by United Airlines was awarded to “One in a Million” / U.K. (Directors: Itab Azzam, Jack MacInnes, Producers: Raney Aronson-Rath, Will Anderson, James Bluemel, Andrew Palmer).

The Audience Award: NEXT, Presented by Adobe was awarded to “Aanikoobijigan [ancestor/great-grandparent/great-grandchild]” / U.S.A., Denmark (Directors and Producers: Adam Khalil, Zack Khalil, Producers: Steve Holmgren, Grace Remington, Jacque Clark, Franny Alfano).

SHORT FILM AWARDS

The festival’s short film awards were previously announced on Monday, January 26. The Grand Jury Prize was awarded to “The Baddest Speechwriter of All” (Nonfiction). Short Film Jury Awards went to “Crisis Actor” (U.S. Fiction), “Jazz Infernal: (International Fiction), “The Boys and the Bees” (Nonfiction), and “Living with a Visionary” (Animation).

Two Special Jury Awards were also presented: Short Film Special Jury Award for Creative Vision to Don Hertzfeldt for “Paper Trail” (Animation) and Short Film Special Jury Award for Acting to Noah Roja and Filippo Carrozza for “The Liars” (Argentina). This year the Festival short film jury members were: A.V. Rockwell, Liv Constable-Maxwell, and Martin Starr.

OTHER AWARDS

Also previously announced: the jury for the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize, which deliberated ahead of the festival and included Sophie Barthes, Dr. Heather Berlin, Dr. Andrea Ghez, Ari Handel, and Nicole Perlman. The jury awarded the prize to “In the Blink of a Eye” director Andrew Stanton and screenwriter Colby Day. The jury, which includes both film and science professionals, presents the award to an outstanding feature film focusing on science or technology as a theme or depicting a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character.

Plus, the Sundance Institute Producers Award for Nonfiction, presented by Amazon MGM Studios, went to Dawne Langford for “Who Killed Alex Odeh?” and the Sundance Institute Producers Award for Fiction, presented by Amazon MGM Studios, went to Apoorva Guru Charan for “Take Me Home.”

All of the winners will be available to watch imminently on Sundance’s online at-home platform.

https://www.youtube.com/live/ecNPoEIJbLs