As Sundance Film Festival comes to a close after yet another successful in-person year convening in Park City, Utah, this year’s standout achievements in cinema were rewarded at their annual Awards Ceremony on Friday, recognizing selections that wowed both the official jury and audiences.

Black stories and creators won the audience’s hearts this year with gripping real-life stories focusing on authentic experiences. Directorial duo Angela Patton and Natalie Rae’s documentary film Daughters took home both the Festival Favorite honor and the Audience award in the US Documentary Competition.

The fan-favorite documentary follows four young girls as they prepare to attend a Daddy-Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers – a unique fatherhood program implemented in a Washington, D.C. jail – taking a hard look at the ripple effects on the familial relationships of those taken into the US penal system. For most of the girls featured, this event will serve as the only time they will be able to embrace their fathers for the duration of their years or decades-long sentences.

“This year was especially meaningful to all of us for being the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival,” said Sundance Institute CEO Joana Vicente in a statement after the awards ceremony. “We congratulate all of our artists in the program this year for their contributions to an incredible slate and Festival experience.”

“It was a joy to hear from audiences that were encountering stories that entertained, moved, and challenged them.”

Daughters is being heralded by critics as a moving depiction of fractured father-daughter connections, presenting the importance of fathers in young girls’ lives and the impact of their absence. As Patton says in the film’s introductory narration:

“Our daddies are our mirrors that we reflect back on when we decide about what type of man we deserve and how they see us for the rest of our lives.”

Awards were handed out at The Ray Theatre in Park City, Utah just two days before the formal conclusion of the Festival’s 40th year. A selection of Festival titles will be available online nationwide from January 25–28, 2024.