Last night, the Sundance Film Festival wrapped up its 2013 event with the annual awards ceremony. Many films were able to take home accolades, other didn’t, but it still was a successful event nevertheless. Ryan Coogler‘s Fruitvale, actual made history at the function, winning two prestigious awards in its category.
According to reports, Fruitvale captured the audience emotions to the point where some were seen weeping uncontrollably. That ultimately fueled the viewers to select the film for the 2013 Audience Award in the US Dramatic. Bigger than that, the movie also went on to win the grand-daddy of them all, the Grand Jury Prize, also in the US Dramatic category. This is the first film to win in both categories since 2009′s Precious.
The film is based on the real life story of Oscar Grant, a young 22-year-old African American who was murdered by an Oakland Bart police officer on New Years Day of 2009. The killing was captured on several spectator’s cell phones but even with the video evidence, the jury concluded a ‘not guilty’ verdict, causing citizens to riot and protest.
At the film festival, The Weinstein Company won an intense bidding war to buy Fruitvale, reportedly spending $2 million on the project.
Fruitvale stars Michael B. Jordan, Octavia Spencer, Tristan Wilds and Melonie Diaz, and it’s produced by Forest Whitaker. The film will have a wide theatrical release but the projected date hasn’t been determined yet. More details coming soon…
