Helen Hunt and John Hawkes in 'The Surrogate'
The Surrogate, as expected, won the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Awards ceremony last night. The film, starring John Hawkes, also took home a special jury prize for ensemble acting for Hawkes, Helen Hunt and William H. Macy.
The other big winner was Beasts of the Southern Wild, which won both the U.S. Dramatic Cinematography Award and the Grand Jury Prize for the U.S. Dramatic Competition. The film, which tells the story of a young girl living in a mythical area of Louisiana, drew heavy praise from critics and festival-goers, with the New York Times going so far as to call it one of the best films to premiere at the festival in two decades.
Other winners included Ava DuVernay who picked up the directing prize for Middle of Nowhere and Derek Connolly who went home with the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for Safety Not Guaranteed.
The Grand Jury prize for documentary went to The House I Live In while The Invisible War won the Audience Award.
