The Sundance Institute has announced the winners of the short films selected for the 2020 film festival in Park City, UT. With Sian Clifford, Marcus Hu, and Cindy Sherman as Short Film Jurors, the Short Film Grand Jury Prize was awarded to So What If The Goats Die, directed and written by Sofia Alaoui. The full program consisted of 74 shorts selected from a record high 10,397 submissions.

Of the seven short films selected for awards this year, three projects (43% percent) were directed by women, two (29%) were directed by people who identify as LGBTQ, and three (43%) were directed by people of color.

And the 2020 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Jury Awards go to:

Short Film Grand Jury Prize: So What If The Goats Die
France, Morocco
Director and screenwriter: Sofia Alaoui
Abdellah, a young shepherd living in the mountains, is forced to brave the snow blocking him in order to get food and save this cattle. Once he gets to the village, he faces a supernatural phenomenon.

 Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction : -Ship: A Visual Poem
U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Terrance Daye
A black boy learns contradicting lessons of manhood and masculinity on the day of his cousin’s funeral.

Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction : The Devil’s Harmony
United Kingdom
Director: Dylan Holmes Williams, Screenwriters: Dylan Holmes Williams, Jess O’Kane
A bullied teenage girl leads an a cappella club on a trail of destruction against her high school enemies.

Short Film Jury Award: Non-fiction : John Was Trying to Contact Aliens
U.S.A.
Director: Matthew Killip
John Shepherd spent 30 years trying to contact extraterrestrials by broadcasting music millions of miles into space. After giving up the search he makes a different connection here on earth.

Short Film Jury Award: Animation : Daughter 
Czech Republic
Director and screenwriter: Daria Kashcheeva
Should you hide your pain, close yourself inside your inner world, and long for your father’s love? Or should you understand and forgive before it’s too late?

Short Film Special Jury Award for Acting : Exam
Iran
Director: Sonia K. Hadad, Screenwriters: Sonia K. Hadad, Farnoosh Samadi
A teenage girl gets involved in the process of delivering a pack of cocaine to its client, and gets stuck in a weird cycle of occurrences.

Short Film Special Jury Award for Directing: Valerio’s Day Out
Colombia, U.S.A.
Director and screenwriter: Michael Arcos
A young jaguar goes on a killing spree when he escapes from his enclosure at a zoo. After he’s captured, sedated and relocated, he makes a video diary for his significant other, Lula.