Filmmaker, Funa Maduka, is one of the 16 jurors granting awards at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, kicking off on January 19, 2023.
She is distinguished as one of the three jury members of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition, alongside Shozo Ichiyama and Annemarie Jacir.
This year’s festival will take place between January 19–29 in Utah. Sixteen jurors will grant the awards for feature and short films, which will be announced on Friday, January 27.
The jurors of the 2023 edition are Jeremy O. Harris, Eliza Hittman, and Marlee Matlin for U.S. Dramatic Competition; W. Kamau Bell, Ramona Diaz, and Carla Gutierrez for U.S. Documentary Competition; Shozo Ichiyama, Annemarie Jacir, and Funa Maduka for World Cinema Dramatic Competition; Karim Amer, Petra Costa, and Alexander Nanau for World Cinema Documentary Competition; Madeleine Olnek for the NEXT competition section; and Destin Daniel Cretton, Marie-Louise Khondji, and Deborah Stratman for the Short Film Program Competition.
Funa Maduka is an award-winning filmmaker and the former head of International Original Films at Netflix where she worked with the world’s top global and emerging filmmakers for over six years, she was positioned at the frontline of the company’s global expansion, managing the launch of the film offering across 100+ countries.
She pioneered Netflix’ move into international film production, building a development slate across Europe, Middle East, Asia and Africa. Meanwhile her film acquisitions brought Netflix its first film nominations at both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.
Previously she worked at Participant Media developing and managing campaigns for film and television projects. Funa is an awarded filmmaker, credited with writing, producing and directing the first Nigerian film to world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. She is a member of the Academy of Arts and Sciences. She holds a BA from Cornell University and a Masters from Harvard Business School.
The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 16 jurors granting awards for artistic and cinematic excellence at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, including the five jury members who awarded the Alfred P. Sloan Film Prize.
The 2023 Festival will take place January 19–29, 2023, in person in Park City, Salt Lake City, and the Sundance Resort, along with a selection of films available online across the country January 24–29, 2023. Single Film
Sixteen critical voices across film, art, and culture will grant this year’s awards for feature and short films, which will be announced on Friday, January 27. This year’s awards ceremony will be an intimate gathering of artists comprising the Festival lineup, with the Festival’s social channels sharing the award recipients as they are announced.
Speaking on the festival, Joana Vicente, CEO of Sundance Institute sais, “The jury plays a crucial role in the festival by amplifying breakthrough works and providing the audience with further opportunities for discovery. We thank them for their dedication to artistic excellence and their thoughtful lens on cinematic expression and all that independent film offers.”
Kim Yutani, the Festival’s Director of Programming said “We are thrilled to welcome these esteemed and accomplished visionaries to the Festival as our jury. Together they will embark on a journey through our program to highlight the artistic achievements and honor the compelling storytelling in this year’s Festival. We can’t wait to hear what they think.”
Festival audiences attending in person will have a role in voting for the 2023 Audience Awards, open to films in the U.S. Competition, World Competition, and NEXT categories. Attendees are also able to vote for the Festival Favorite, which is selected across the entire feature film program.
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