Sundance: 'Birth of a Nation' Sweeps Top Prizes

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Taika Waititi, director of fest film ‘Hunt for the Wilder People,’ hosted the awards ceremony in Park City Saturday night.

By Rebecca Ford

After 10 days of premieres and deals, the awards for the 2016 Sundance Film Festival were handed out Saturday night in Park City.

Taika Waititi, director of fest film Hunt for the Wilderpeople, hosted the closing awards ceremony in Park City Saturday night.

“That’s what you get – you want to make low-budget films, you get the low-budget host,” the New Zealand native joked in his opening remarks.

The Birth of a Nation won both the fest’s top honor, the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award.

Read More Sundance: Why Nate Parker Chose Fox Searchlight Over Netflix for 'The Birth of a Nation’

The film, which was bought by Fox Searchlight in the biggest deal in Sundance history for $17.5 million, was directed, written, and produced by Nate Parker, who also stars. The film, which follows slave rebellion leader Nat Turner, got a rapturous standing ovation when it premiered Monday night and led to a bidding war.

Read More Sundance Wrap: Race, Politics and a Pet Wolf

The complete list of winners below:

U.S. Dramatic Grand Just Prize: The Birth of a Nation

U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize: Wiener

U.S. Dramatic Directing Award: Daniel Scheinert, Daniel Kwan for Swiss Army Man

U.S. Documentary Directing Award: Roger Ross Williams for Life, Animated

U.S. Dramatic Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Chad Hardigan for Morris from America

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Individual Performance: Melanie Lynskey for The Intervention

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Individual Performance: Craig Robinson for Morris in America

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Performance: Joe Seo for Spa Night

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award: As You Are, director: Miles Joris-Peyrafitte

U.S. Dramatic Audience Award: The Birth of a Nation, director: Nate Parker

U.S. Documentary Audience Award: Jim, director: Brian Oakes

US Documentary Special Jury Award for Verity Filmmaking: The Bad Kids, directors Keith Fulton, Lou Pepe

U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Writing: Kate Plays Christine, director Robert Greene

U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Social Impact Filmmaking: Trapped, director: Dawn Porter

U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing: Nuts, editors: Penny Lane, Thom Stylinski

WORLD CINEMA

World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award: Between Sea and Land

World Cinema Documentary Audience Award: Sonita, director: Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami

NEXT Audience Award: First Girl I Loved

World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize: Sand Storm, director: Elite Zexer

World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award: Felix van Groeningen for Belgica

World Cinema Dramatic Special Award for Unique Vision and Design: The Lure, director Agnieszka Smoczyńska

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting: Vicky Hernandéz, Manolo Cruz for Between Sea and Land

World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize: Sonita, director: Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami

World Cinema Documentary Directing Award: All These Sleepless Nights, director: Michal Marczak

World Cinema Documentary Special Award: Best Debut Feature: When Two Worlds Collide, directors: Heidi Brandenburg, Mathew Orzel

World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for best cinematography: The Land of the Enlightened

As previously announced, Thunder Road won the short film grand jury prize.