Grand Jury Award Winners
Best Feature Film – Drama – Donut
Best Feature Film – Horror – Abruptio
Best Feature Film – Thriller – Mind Thief
Best Featurette – Comedy – What Else Is On?
Best Featurette – Horror – Strawberry
Best Short Film – Animation – When Mama & Me Lived Outside
Best Short Film – Comedy – Priding Oneself
Best Short Film – Documentary – Full of Wonder: the art of Angie DeBord
Best Short Film – Drama – Let’s Pretend I’m Talking About You
Best Short Film – Experimental/Arthouse – A Part of You
Best Short Film – Horror – D.O.D.
Best Short Film – Sci-Fi – Solus
Best Web Series – SLOANE and the COSMIC SCHLEP
Best Music Video – CROOKS – Heart Of Vengeance
Best Screenplay – Feature Film – Scoot
Best Screenplay – Short Film – Zits
Best Screenplay – Pilot/Web Series – Goofy Foot
Best Director – Feature Film – Evan Marlowe, Abruptio
Best Director – Featurette – Jordan Pfeifer, Strawberry
Best Director – Short Film – Daniel Pradilla De Bedout, Let’s Pretend I’m Talking About You
Best Screenplay – Feature Film – Evan Marlowe, Abruptio
Best Screenplay – Featurette – Jordan Pfeifer, Strawberry
Best Screenplay – Short Film – D.O.D.
Best Performance by a Full Cast (Including Puppeteers) – Abruptio
Best Performer in a Lead Role – Comedy – Andrew Saunders, Priding Oneself
Best Performer in a Lead Role – Drama – Anaïs Noveras, Good Filipino Kids
Best Performer in a Lead Role – Horror – Faye Tamasa, Terror Firma
Best Performer in a Lead Role – Thriller – Angelique Pretorius, Mind Thief
Best Performer in a Supporting Role – Comedy – Regina Melzer, Annie and the Scar
Best Performer in a Supporting Role – Drama – Pavli Serenetsky, Donut
Best Performer in a Supporting Role – Horror – Burt Thakur, Terror Firma
Best Cinematography – Sebastián Rodríguez, Let’s Pretend I’m Talking About You
Best Cinematography – Alex Wohlin, The Call of Water
Filmmakers Award Winners
Outstanding Music Video – A Beautiful Escape
Outstanding Director – Music Video – Snorre Fuglsang Ruhe, CROOKS – Heart Of Vengeance
Outstanding Screenplay – Music Video – Snorre Fuglsang Ruhe, CROOKS – Heart Of Vengeance
Outstanding Performance – Music Video – Hayley Wen, A Beautiful Escape
Outstanding Short Film – Animation – Robots Don’t Tell Jokes
Outstanding Director – Animation – Kelli Caldwell, Robots Don’t Tell Jokes
Outstanding Screenplay – Animation – Tiny Gray-Garcia, When Mama & Me Lived Outside
Outstanding Short Film – Comedy – Hey Alexa
Outstanding Short Film – Comedy – Margot’s Off the Market
Outstanding Director – Comedy – Peter Macaluso, Priding Oneself
Outstanding Screenplay – Comedy – Peter Macaluso, Priding Oneself
Outstanding Acting – Cast – Comedy – Margot’s Off the Market
Outstanding Acting – Individual – Comedy – Ammanda Brooke Perrin, Margot’s Off the Market
Outstanding Short Film – Drama – The Funeral Photographer
Outstanding Short Film – Drama – The Story of This Life
Outstanding Director – Drama – Ashley Thompson, The Funeral Photographer
Outstanding Director – Drama – Alex Jiang, The Story of This Life
Outstanding Screenplay – Drama – Mark Strauss, The Funeral Photographer
Outstanding Acting – Cast – Drama – The Funeral Photographer
Outstanding Acting – Individual – Drama – Andy Sun, The Story of This Life
Outstanding Short Film – Experimental/Arthouse – BREARTH
Outstanding Short Film – Experimental/Arthouse – The Examination of a Species
Outstanding Director – Experimental/Arthouse – A Part of You
Outstanding Screenplay – Experimental/Arthouse – Seejon Thomas, The Examination of a Species
Outstanding Acting – Cast – Experimental/Arthouse – The Examination of a Species
Outstanding Acting – Individual – Experimental/Arthouse – Kibrea Carmichael, A Part of You
Outstanding Short Film – Horror – Mamu
Outstanding Short Film – Horror – The Erl King
Outstanding Director – Horror – Kaya Tone, The Call of Water
Outstanding Screenplay – Horror – Jim Vendiola, Pretty Pickle
Outstanding Acting – Cast – Horror – The Call of Water
Outstanding Acting – Individual – Horror – Abi Van Andel, Bad Trails
Outstanding Director – SciFi – Jonathan Brooks, Solus
Outstanding Short Film – SciFi – Pleroma
Outstanding Screenplay – SciFi – Pleroma
Outstanding Acting, Cast – SciFi – Hey Alexa
Outstanding Acting, Individual – SciFi – Stevie Lynn Jones, Hey Alexa
Audience Award Winners
A Brush With Death
A Little Help?
Annie and the Scar
Fish
Gnaw
Matched
Spirits
Programmer’s Prize
Back Home
Backwoods
Bro Code
Estate Sale
Exercised
Flakkus
Good Filipino Kids
Magic Box
Noman
Tax Time
Test Drive
Watcher
Award Definitions/Explanations
Grand Jury Awards – decided by the festival’s official selection committee.
Filmmakers Awards – given only to short films, these are decided by the Filmmakers Board a panel of filmmakers whose films have been Official Selections previous years.
Audience Awards – decided by highly scientific instruments placed throughout the theater to determine audience satisfaction.
Programmer’s Prize – festival programmer Jeff Howard, who watches thousands of films submitted to multiple festivals every year, needs to acknowledge that this festival’s official selections represent the top 8% of the films submitted and that it is truly ridiculous to give not give awards to films that truly represent the cream of the crop.
2023 Official Selection: Screenplay – Feature Film
2023 Official Selection: Screenplay – Short Film
