Sundance Institute this evening announced the Jury, Audience, NEXT and other special awards of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival at the Festival's Awards Ceremony, hosted by Parker Posey in Park City, Utah. An archived video of the ceremony in its entirety is available at Sundance.org/Live.

"Every year the Sundance Film Festival brings to light exciting new directions and fresh voices in independent film, and this year is no different," said John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival. "While these awards further distinguish those that have had the most impact on audiences and our jury, the level of talent showcased across the board at the Festival was really impressive, and all are to be congratulated and thanked for sharing their work with us."

Keri Putnam, Executive Director of Sundance Institute, said, "As we close what was a remarkable 10 days of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, we look to the year ahead with incredible optimism for the independent film community. As filmmakers continue to push each other to achieve new heights in storytelling we are excited to see what's next."

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival Awards presented this evening were:

  • The House I Live In / U.S.A. (Director: Eugene Jarecki) - For over 40 years, the War on Drugs has accounted for 45 million arrests, made America the world's largest jailer and damaged poor communities at home and abroad. Yet, drugs are cheaper, purer and more available today than ever. Where did we go wrong and what is the path toward healing?
  • The Law in These Parts / Israel (Director: Ra'anan Alexandrowicz) - Israel's 43-year military legal system in the Occupied Palestinian Territories unfolds through provocative interviews with the system's architects and historical footage showing the enactment of these laws upon the Palestinian population.
  • Violeta Went to Heaven (Violeta se Fue a Los Cielos) / Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Spain (Director: Andrés Wood, Screenwriters: Eliseo Altunaga, Rodrigo Bazaes, Guillermo Calderón, Andrés Wood) - A portrait of famed Chilean singer and folklorist Violeta Parra filled with her musical work, her memories, her loves and her hopes. Cast: Francisca Gavilán, Thomas Durand, Luis Machín, Gabriela Aguilera, Roberto Farías.
  • The Invisible War / U.S.A. (Director: Kirby Dick) - An investigative and powerfully emotional examination of the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the U.S. military, the institutions that cover up its existence and the profound personal and social consequences that arise from it.
  • The Surrogate / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ben Lewin) - Mark O'Brien, a 36-year-old poet and journalist in an iron lung, decides he no longer wishes to be a virgin. With the help of his therapist and the guidance of his priest, he contacts a professional sex surrogate to take him on a journey to manhood. Cast: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy.
  • Searching for Sugar Man / Sweden, United Kingdom (Director: Malik Bendjelloul) - Rodriguez was the greatest '70s US rock icon who never was. Hailed as the greatest recording artist of his generation he disappeared into oblivion - rising again from the ashes in a completely different context many miles away.
  • Valley of Saints / India, U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Musa Syeed) - Gulzar plans to run away from the war and poverty surrounding his village in Kashmir with his best friend, but a beautiful young woman researching the dying lake leads him to contemplate a different future Cast: Gulzar Ahmad Bhat, Mohammed Afzal, Neelofar Hamid.
  • The Queen of Versailles / U.S.A. (Director: Lauren Greenfield) - Jackie and David were triumphantly constructing the biggest house in America - a sprawling, 90,000-square-foot palace inspired by Versailles - when their timeshare empire falters due to the economic crisis. Their story reveals the innate virtues and flaws of the American Dream.
  • Middle of Nowhere / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ava DuVernay) - When her husband is incarcerated, an African-American woman struggles to maintain her marriage and her identity. Cast: Emayatzy Corinealdi, David Oyelowo, Omari Hardwick, Lorraine Toussaint, Edwina Findley.
  • 5 Broken Cameras / Palestine, Israel, France (Directors: Emad Burnat, Guy Davidi) - A Palestinian journalist chronicles his village's resistance to a separation barrier being erected on their land and in the process captures his young son's lens on the world.
  • Teddy Bear / Denmark (Director: Mads Matthiesen, Screenwriters: Mads Matthiesen, Martin Zandvliet) - Dennis, a painfully shy 38-year-old bodybuilder who lives with his mother, sets off to Thailand in search of love. Cast: Kim Kold, Elsebeth Steentoft, Lamaiporn Hougaard, David Winters, Allan Mogensen.
  • Young & Wild / Chile (Director: Marialy Rivas, Screenwriters: Marialy Rivas, Camila Gutiérrez, Pedro Peirano, Sebastián Sepúlveda) - 17-year-old Daniela, raised in the bosom of a strict Evangelical family and recently unmasked as a fornicator by her shocked parents, struggles to find her own path to spiritual harmony. Cast: Alicia Rodríguez, Aline Küppenheim, María Gracia Omegna, Felipe Pinto.
  • Detropia / U.S.A. (Directors: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady) - The woes of Detroit are emblematic of the collapse of the U.S. manufacturing base. This is the dramatic story of a city and its people who refuse to leave the building, even as the flames are rising.
  • Indie Game: The Movie / Canada (Directors: Lisanne Pajot, James Swirsky) - Follow the dramatic journeys of indie game developers as they create games and release those works, and themselves, to the world.
  • Chasing Ice / U.S.A. (Director: Jeff Orlowski) - Science, spectacle and human passion mix in this stunningly cinematic portrait as National Geographic photographer James Balog captures time-lapse photography of glaciers over several years providing tangible visual evidence of climate change.
  • Putin's Kiss / Denmark (Director: Lise Birk Pedersen) - 19-year-old Marsha is a model spokesperson in a strongly nationalistic Russian youth movement that aims to protect the country from its enemies. When she starts recognizing the organization's flaws, she must take a stand for or against it.
  • My Brother the Devil / United Kingdom (Director and screenwriter: Sally El Hosaini) - A pair of British Arab brothers trying to get by in gangland London learn the extraordinary courage it takes to be yourself. Cast: James Floyd, Saïd Taghmaoui, Fady Elsayed.
  • Love Free or Die: How the Bishop of New Hampshire Is Changing the World / U.S.A. (Director: Macky Alston) - One man whose two defining passions are in conflict: An openly gay bishop refuses to leave the Church or the man he loves.
  • Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry / U.S.A., China (Director: Alison Klayman) - Renowned Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has garnered international attention as much for his ambitious artwork as his political provocations and increasingly public clashes with the Chinese government.
  • The Surrogate / U.S.A. (Director and screenwriter: Ben Lewin) - Mark O'Brien, a 36-year-old poet and journalist in an iron lung, decides he no longer wishes to be a virgin. With the help of his therapist and the guidance of his priest, he contacts a professional sex surrogate to take him on a journey to manhood. Cast: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy.
  • Can / Turkey (Director and screenwriter: Rasit Çelikezer) - A young married couple live happily in Istanbul, but their decision to illegally procure a child threatens their future together. Cast: Selen Uçer, Serdar Orcin, Berkan Demirbag, Erkan Avci.
  • Searching for Sugar Man / Sweden, United Kingdom (Director: Malik Bendjelloul) - Rodriguez was the greatest '70s US rock icon who never was. Hailed as the greatest recording artist of his generation he disappeared into oblivion - rising again from the ashes in a completely different context many miles away.
  • The Debutante Hunters (Director: Maria White) - In the Lowcountry of South Carolina a group of true Southern belles reveal their more rugged side, providing a glimpse into what drives them to hunt in the wild.

The following awards were presented at separate ceremonies at the Festival:

The Jury Prize in Short Filmmaking was awarded to: Fishing Without Nets / U.S.A. (Director: Cutter Hodierne, Screenwriters: Cutter Hodierne, John Hibey). The Jury Prize in Short Film, U.S. Fiction was presented to: The Black Balloon / U.S.A. (Directors: Ben Safdie, Joshua Safdie). The Jury Prize in Short Film, International Fiction was presented to: The Return (Kthimi) / Kosovo (Director: Blerta Zeqiri, Screenwriter: Shefqet Gjocaj). The Jury Prize in Short Film, Non-Fiction was presented to: The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom / U.S.A. (Director: Lucy Walker). The Jury Prize in Animated Short Film was presented to: A Morning Stroll / United Kingdom (Director: Grant Orchard). A Special Jury Award for Comedic Storytelling was presented to: The Arm / U.S.A. (Directors and screenwriters: Brie Larson, Sarah Ramos, Jessie Ennis). A Special Jury Award for Animation Direction was presented to: Robots of Brixton / United Kingdom (Director: Kibwe Tavares).

The winning directors and projects of the Sundance Institute | Mahindra Global Filmmaking Award, in recognition and support of emerging independent filmmakers from around the world, are: Etienne Kallos / Vrystaat (Free State) (South Africa); Ariel Kleiman / Partisan (Australia); Dominga Sotomayor / Tarde Para Morir Joven (Late To Die Young) (Chile); and Shonali Bose / Margarita. With a Straw (India).

The Sundance/NHK International Filmmaker Award, honoring and supporting emerging filmmakers, was presented to Jens Assur, director of the upcoming film Close Far Away.

The inaugural Hilton Worldwide LightStay Sustainability Award for a completed feature film was presented to The Island President, directed by Jon Shenk. The in-process feature film award was presented to Solar Mamas, directed by Jehane Noujaim and Mona Eldaief. Each project received $25,000.

The inaugural Sundance Institute Indian Paintbrush Producer's Award and $10,000 grant was presented to Dan Janvey and Josh Penn for Beasts of the Southern Wild.

The Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prizes, presented to outstanding feature films focusing on science or technology as a theme, or depicting a scientist, engineer, or mathematician as a major character, were presented to Robot and Frank, directed by Jake Schreier and written by Christopher D. Ford, and Valley of Saints, directed and written by Musa Syeed. The two films will split the $20,000 cash award by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival Jurors were: U.S. Documentary Competition: Fenton Bailey, Heather Croall, Charles Ferguson, Tia Lessin, Kim Roberts; U.S. Dramatic Competition: Justin Lin, Anthony Mackie, Cliff Martinez, Lynn Shelton, Amy Vincent; World Cinema Documentary Competition: Nick Fraser, Clara Kim, Jean-Marie Teno; World Cinema Dramatic Competition: Julia Ormond, Richard Pena, Aleksei Popogrebsky; Alfred P. Sloan Award: Tracy Day, Helen Fisher, Dr. Robert J. Full, Gwyn Lurie, Alex Rivera; Short Film Competition: Mike Judge, Dee Rees, Shane Smith.

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival presented 117 feature-length films, representing 30 countries by 45 first-time filmmakers, including 24 in competition. These films were selected from 4,042 feature-length film submissions composed of 2,059 U.S. and 1,983 international feature-length films. 91 films at the Festival were world premieres. The Short Film Program was comprised of 64 short films selected from a record 7,675 submissions.

The 2012 Sundance Film Festival runs through January 29 in Park City, Salt Lake City, Ogden and Sundance, Utah. A complete list of films and events is available at Sundance.org/Festival.