“Thunder Road” was awarded the Short Film Grand Jury Prize at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on Tuesday.
The film was directed and written by Jim Cummings, who also stars alongside Melissa Papel and William “Will” Daubert.
The Short Film Grand Jury Prize is awarded to one film in the program of 72 short films selected from 8,712 submissions, and this year’s Short Film jurors were: Comedy Central star Keegan-Michael Key, development executive at Amazon Studios, Gina Kwon, and MTV’s chief film critic Amy Nicholson.
Short Film awards winners in previous years include “World of Tomorrow” by Don Hertzfeldt, “The Whistle” by Grzegorz Zariczny and “Whiplash” by Damien Chazelle.
See all the 2016 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Jury Awards below.
The Short Film Grand Jury Prize was awarded to: “Thunder Road” / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Jim Cummings) — Officer Arnaud loved his mom.
The Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction was presented to: “The Procedure” / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Calvin Lee Reeder) — A man is captured and forced to endure a strange experiment.
The Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction was presented to: “Maman(s)” / France (Director and screenwriter: Maïmouna Doucouré ) — Life is disrupted for eight-year-old Aida when her father returns with a young Senegalese woman, Rama, whom he introduces as his second wife. Sensitive to her mother’s distress, Aida decides to get rid of the new visitor.
The Short Film Jury Award: Non-fiction was presented to: “Bacon & God’s Wrath” / Canada (Director: Sol Friedman) — A 90-year-old Jewish woman reflects on her life experiences as she prepares to try bacon for the first time.
The Short Film Jury Award: Animation was presented to: “Edmond” / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Nina Gantz) — Edmond’s impulse to love and be close to others is strong–maybe too strong. As he stands by a lake contemplating his options, he reflects on his defining moments in search of the origin of his desires.
A Short Film Special Jury Award for Outstanding Performance was presented to: Grace Glowicki for her performance in “Her Friend Adam.”
A Short Film Special Jury Award for Best Direction was presented to: “Peacock” / Czech Republic (Director: Ondřej Hudeček, Screenwriters: Jan Smutny, Ondřej Hudeček) — A twisted queer romance set in picturesque 19th-century Bohemia tells the true story of the birth of one of the nation’s most influential writers, with suspense, laughter, violence, hope, nudity, sex, and a happy ending–mostly a happy ending.