CODA, starring Irish actor Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, wins big at Sundance 2021

CODA was among the big winners as the 2021 Sundance Film Festival concluded last night – taking home four prizes in the US Dramatic Competition category: the grand jury prize, the directing prize, the audience award, and a special jury prize for best ensemble. Siân Heder's family drama is centred around a high school student, born to deaf parents, who is considering a career in music – and features Irish actor Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, known for his starring role in Sing Street.

“I hope that this opens the door to people getting that audiences want to see these kinds of stories,” said CODA's writer-director Siân Heder as she accepted the audience award. “I hope that this means that more stories that centre deaf characters and characters with disabilities get put front and centre, because clearly people want to respond to that.”

CODA broke records following its debut on Sundance's opening night, with Apple Studios picking up the film for $25 million. The film has already been met with positive reviews by critics at the festival.

Did my first #Sundance film make me cry? YUP. CODA is an inclusive feel-good movie about a teen girl, the only hearing member of her fishing family, torn between commitments at home and love of singing. Emilia Jones is superb & always nice to see Ferdia Walsh-Peelo (Sing Street!) pic.twitter.com/OdyKla1tG4

— Brian Truitt (@briantruitt) January 29, 2021

The Roots frontman Questlove, meanwhile, was awarded the US Documentary Competition's grand jury prize and audience award for his Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) – a film about the Harlem Cultural Festival in 1969.

See the full list of winners here.