This is it! Unofficial jury awards from 2024 at the Sundance Film Festival

Our team embarks on an annual trip to Park City, Utah, motivated by an unending fascination: Where is the trajectory of cinema pointing? What are the voices that are that are shaping the cinematic story today? What could The Staff Picks channel elevate and amplify their compelling perspective on the world?

2024 marks the Sundance Film Festival's 40th birthday. The festival received a record 12,000 short films were submitted to Sundance's award-winning short film program, and only 53 were accepted. Our team watched each and every single one of them, and as is tradition, made a list of shorts we enjoyed that did not receive an award at the festival.

And now, our faves:

U.S Fiction: "BUST" by Angalis Field

Fictional: "Ekbeh" by Mariah Eli Hernandez-Fitch

Special Jury Prize Acting: Lux Pascal and Nicky DeMarie in "BUST," written by Angalis Field

Was else did we have up to

Finally, we packed our apartment like a clown car with as many filmmakers as possible -- in order to greet them, ask for their autograph, and plop a few on the frontof the camera. Take a look at the pages on our Instagram for snippets from our conversations with the directors Sean Wang and Sterling Hampton, and keep your eyes on the calendar for additional insights of Sundance's top.

Was Park City unseasonably warm from the 18th of January to the 28th of January due to global warming or simply because the work being shown in various theaters throughout the city was pure hot fiery fire? The answer is cheeky...obviously it was the shorts. We're following the heat in the lead up to SXSW and other festivals in the coming year. We'll be looking for some more amazing videos for our Staff Picks channel. We'll see you again next year!