Sundance 2020: The Solzy Awards

Sunita Mani and John Reynolds appear in Save Yourselves! by Alex Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. Photo by Matt Clegg.

The 2020 Sundance Film Festival has come and gone but a number of films left their impression on me by the time that the film festival ended.

The altitude hit me a bit more than expected this year.  As such, I didn’t get to see as many films as I would have preferred to see.  There were times this year that required sleeping in if it meant staying as healthy as I possibly could during the fest.  That’s just the way it it sometimes.  I’ll try and catch some of the films I missed during SXSW or upon theatrical release–whichever comes first!  Taking this year’s Critics’ Choice Awards into account, I didn’t have as much time to prep like I did during the past two years.  But without any further adieu, I present the Solzy Awards for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.

TOP NARRATIVE FEATURES

  1. Save Yourselves!
  2. Palm Springs
  3. Worth
  4. Promising Young Woman
  5. Dinner in America
  6. Downhill
  7. Horse Girl

TOP DOCUMENTARIES

  1. Disclosure: Trans Lives On Screen
  2. Miss Americana
  3. Crip Camp
  4. Siempre, Luis
  5. Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind
  6. The Go-Go’s
  7. Whirlybird

TOP SHORT FILMS*

  1. Meats
  2. He’s The One
  3. Blocks

* denotes that I didn’t have a chance to watch any of the documentary shorts heading into Sundance nor did I get time to view screeners upon coming back from Sundance.

BEST ACTING PERFORMANCES

Best Actor

  • Michael Keaton, Worth
  • John Reynolds, Save Yourselves!
  • Lance Henriksen, Falling
  • Andy Samberg, Palm Springs
  • Richard Jenkins, The Last Shift
  • Shane Paul McGhie, The Last Shift
  • Kyle Gallner, Dinner in America

Best Actress

  • Elisabeth Moss, Shirley
  • Carey Mulligan, Promising Young Woman
  • Sidney Flanigan, Never Rarely Sometimes Always
  • Evan Rachel Wood, Kajillionaire
  • Alison Brie, Horse Girl
  • Cristin Miloti, Palm Springs
  • Aubrey Plaza, Black Bear
  • Emily Skeggs, Dinner in America
  • Sunita Mani, Save Yourselves!

Best Supporting Actor

  • Stanley Tucci, Worth

Best Supporting Actress

  • Amy Ryan, Worth

The 2020 Sundance Film Festival was held January 23-February 2, 2020.

Danielle Solzman

Danielle Solzman is native of Louisville, KY, and holds a BA in Public Relations from Northern Kentucky University and a MA in Media Communications from Webster University. She roots for her beloved Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, and Boston Celtics. Living less than a mile away from Wrigley Field in Chicago, she is an active reader (sports/entertainment/history/biographies/select fiction) and involved with the Chicago improv scene. She also sees many movies and reviews them. She has previously written for Redbird Rants, Wildcat Blue Nation, and Hidden Remote/Flicksided. From April 2016 through May 2017, her film reviews can be found on Creators.