Four-time NBA title winner Steph Curry can now call himself a champion in another arena – filmmaking.
The Baddest Speechwriter of All, the short documentary Curry directed with two-time Oscar winner , won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. The award was announced at a ceremony in Park City, Utah Tuesday night where winners were revealed in multiple categories – fiction, nonfiction, international fiction, and animation (scroll for the full list of winners).
Curry couldn’t attend the awards ceremony as he’s in the middle of the NBA season, but in a bit of additional good fortune, the hoops schedule takes his Golden State Warriors to Salt Lake City tonight for a game against the Utah Jazz. Proudfoot tells Deadline he and Curry will be able to celebrate their Sundance win together following the game.
The Baddest Speechwriter of All centers on Clarence B. Jones, an attorney, adviser, and key speechwriter for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “Now 93,” reads a description of the film, Jones “reflects on the personal cost and surprising truths of making history, offering an intimate insider’s view of the Civil Rights Movement.”
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Clarence B. Jones, protagonist of 'The Baddest Speechwriter of All'
“Stephen and I are jumping for joy (him a lot higher than I) with this extraordinary recognition, especially as the final sun slowly sets on Sundance in Park City,” Proudfoot tells Deadline exclusively. “Clarence B. Jones’ extraordinary story feels tailor-made to this very moment. He calls on all of us to follow in his footsteps in times of injustice: exit our comfort zones, live with purpose, and non-violently kick ass.”
Proudfoot adds, “On a personal note, to share creative duties with Stephen, one of the greatest living athletes and just a truly good man, has given me an opportunity to grow as a filmmaker and be part of a telling a story I probably never would have learned until Stephen called me. To him and to Clarence, I am forever grateful.”
'The Queen of Basketball' poster detail
Proudfoot and Curry previously joined forces on the Oscar-winning short film The Queen of Basketball, the story of the late Lucy Harris, considered by many to be the greatest woman basketball player of all time. Curry served as an executive producer on that film, along with fellow NBA champ Shaquille O’Neal. The 2021 documentary earned Proudfoot the first Academy Award of his career; he won a second for 2023’s The Last Repair Shop, co-directed with filmmaker-composer Kris Bowers.
Curry has been a presence at Sundance before. In 2023, he attended the world premiere of Underrated, Peter Nicks’s film that documented Curry’s unlikely rise to NBA greatness as a relatively small guard (a mere 6’2”). Scouts said he would never make it in the pro game.
This year’s jury for the Sundance shorts lineup included A.V. Rockwell, Liv Constable-Maxwell, and Martin Starr. In their citation for the Grand Jury Prize winner, jurors wrote, “This film implores us to take action with a message that is timeless and timely. Through the eyes of its subject, we find one of the most important moments in modern history has a new perspective. For its portrait of a strong willed, hilarious, compassionate man, and the instrumental role he played in kicking ass, nonviolently, against division and hate, the Short Film Grand Jury Prize goes to *The Baddest Speechwriter of All.*”
Additional Short Film Jury Awards went to Crisis Actor (U.S. Fiction); Jazz Infernal (International Fiction); The Boys and the Bees (Nonfiction) and Living with a Visionary (Animation).
Heidi Zwicker, Sundance Film Festival Senior Programmer, Feature Films and Short Films, commented, “We are proud to celebrate the art of short filmmaking, our award winners, and every team that shared their work with us in the Short Film Program this Festival. We are continually inspired by the incredible range of storytelling and style we encounter in the shorts that form our lineup every year — we congratulate these artists and thank them for sharing their distinct visions with us and with our audiences.”
The announcement of the shorts winners came at the midpoint of the festival, the last one to be held in Park City before Sundance moves to Boulder, CO next year. Almost 100 feature-length and episodic works and 54 short films — curated from 11,480 short film submissions — have screened to audiences in Park City, Salt Lake City, and online, the festival notes.
Here’s more information on the winning shorts:
The Short Film Grand Jury Prize was awarded to: Ben Proudfoot and Stephen Curry for The Baddest Speechwriter of All / U.S.A. (Directors and Producers: Ben Proudfoot, Stephen Curry, Producer: Erick Peyton) — Now 93, Martin Luther King Jr.’s lawyer and speechwriter reflects on the personal cost and surprising truths of making history, offering an intimate insider’s view of the Civil Rights Movement. World Premiere. Available online for public.
Jury citation: This film implores us to take action with a message that is timeless and timely. Through the eyes of its subject, we find one of the most important moments in modern history has a new perspective. For its portrait of a strong willed, hilarious, compassionate man, and the instrumental role he played in kicking ass, nonviolently, against division and hate, the Short Film Grand Jury Prize goes to The Baddest Speechwriter of All.
The Short Film Jury Award: U.S. Fiction was awarded to: Lily Platt for Crisis Actor/ U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Lily Platt, Producers: Sophie Seyd, Alex Bendo, Lexi Preiser) — Fired from her day job, an impulsive actress crashes a support group and spirals into a chaotic night that forces her to face her addiction to drama. Cast: Sarah Steele, Philip Ettinger. World Premiere. Available online for public.
Jury citation: This short is uniquely brilliant in its ability to balance laugh-out-loud levity with the emotional pain of honest self-reflection. This film is a succinct display of craft in writing, directing, acting, and a deeply insightful depiction of the distorted state of American values today. The Short Film Jury Award for U.S. Fiction goes to Crisis Actor.
The Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction was awarded to: Will Niava for Jazz Infernal / Canada (Director and Screenwriter: Will Niava, Screenwriter: Kristelle Laroche, Producers: Zion Lipstein-Saffer, Samuel Caron) — Koffi, a young Ivorian trumpeter, arrives in Montréal with nothing but the legacy of his father to guide him. Lost between the city’s noise and the silence of his past, he must confront his roots to finally find his voice. Cast: Ange-Eric N’guessan, Alexis Belhumeur, Kalombo Kasongo. U.S. Premiere. Available online for public.
Jury citation: This film deeply resonates in a way that lingers long after viewing, powerfully blending evocative atmosphere, gorgeous cinematography, music, and global storytelling influences into a profoundly singular vision. The Short Film Jury Award for International Fiction goes to Jazz Infernal.
The Short Film Jury Award: Nonfiction was awarded to: Arielle C. Knight for The Boys and the Bees / U.S.A. (Director and Producer: Arielle C. Knight, Producer: Sean Weiner) — On an idyllic farm in rural Georgia, Black beekeeping parents tenderly share their knowledge of life, love, and nature with their young sons while restoring their homestead. Available online for public.
Jury citation: This film is a beautiful and bold story, in which we see two young boys as they are taught what it means to be strong without disregarding feelings; to learn about oneself and our place in nature; and ultimately to understand our capacity to reimagine the lineages we pass down to our children. The Short Film Jury Award for Non-Fiction goes to The Boys and the Bees.
The Short Film Jury Award: Animation was awarded to: Stephen P. Neary for Living with a Visionary / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Stephen P. Neary, Producer: Mireia Vilanova) — After 50 years of marriage, John must care for his wife while learning to live alongside her vivid hallucinations. Cast: James Cromwell, Katherine LaVictoire. World Premiere. Available online for public.
Jury citation: With visuals that so beautifully bring this funny, imaginative, and ultimately heartbreaking story to life, we fell easily into the world of two storied lovers dealing with one of life’s greatest challenges. Loss. The detailed yet childlike animation helps bring to life a world only one woman can see and instills levity into this deeply moving story. The Short Film Jury Award for Animation goes to Living with a Visionary.
The Short Film Special Jury Award for Creative Vision was awarded to: Don Hertzfeldt forPaper Trail/ U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Don Hertzfeldt) — A life, seen through paper. World Premiere.
Jury citation: This film is a meticulous and brilliantly crafted example of how a single idea, which unfolds with vision and ingenuity, can expand our way of seeing the world around us. Beginning with a simple, crayon-drawn line, this bold film transports us on a roving journey of one man’s life, twisting and turning along the way with moments that are at once playful, banal, sincere, and, in the end, deeply moving. The Short Film Special Jury Award for Creative Vision goes to Paper Trail.
The Short Film Special Jury Award for Acting was awarded to: Noah Roja and Filippo Carrozza for The Liars / Argentina (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Eduardo Braun Costa, Producers: Manuel Aguer, Natasha Gurfinkel) — Thrown into adulthood, Matías and Jaime try to make sense of the world. One day, Jaime is arrested by a security guard at a mall and Matías must ask a stranger to pretend to be their father to free him. Cast: Noah Roja, Filippo Carrozza, Esteban Bigliardi, Mariana Chaud, Pablo Fusco. World Premiere. Available online for public. Jury citation: Rarely do you see performances so honest and natural that they blur the line between fiction and nonfiction in their portrayal. For two young actors we look forward to seeing again who have done just that with their performances, we award the Short Film Special Jury Award for Acting to Noah Roja and Filippo Carrozza in The Liars.