Best In Fest
Feature Film – Making Megaforce
Featurette – When The Clocks Stop
Short Film – Sometimes I Imagine Your Funeral
Grand Jury Awards
Best Feature Film – Comedy – Suburban Nights
Best Feature Film – Documentary – Last Exit Gran Canaria
Best Feature Film – Drama – Love Song from Hiroshima
Best Feature Film – Horror – The Mannequin
Best Featurette – Drama – Lost, Not Forgotten
Best Featurette – Thriller – You Can Only Blink Once
Best Featurette – Documentary – Where We Goin?: The Power of Place
Best Featurette – Horror – Babushka
Best Featurette – SciFi – The Erebus
Best Music Video – The Big Picture
Best Series / Pilot – Paramedics: Emergency Response
Best Short Film – Animation – It’s Not For Me To Say
Best Short Film – Comedy – Once More, Like Rain Man
Best Short Film – Documentary – Grillo
Best Short Film – Drama – Pace
Best Short Film – Experimental/Arthouse – Lonesome Town
Best Short Film – Horror – Obsession
Best Short Film – SciFi – Shepherd Moon
Best Short Film – Thriller – Sentient
Best Director – Feature Film – Love Song from Hiroshima – Hideyuki Tokigawa
Best Director – Featurette – Broadway & Swan – Chris Fiore
Best Director – Short Film – Pace – Beck Williams
Best Lead Performer – Feature Film – Love Song from Hiroshima – Ryosuke Sota
Best Lead Performer – Featurette – Pierre West – Tomas Hartwig
Best Lead Performer – Short Film – Lollie – Monique Hortolani
Best Lead Performer – Animation – I Am Duck – Marianna Hersko
Best Performance by a Duo – Suburban Nights – Ariel Barber & Zach Kanner
Best Supporting Performer – Feature Film – Making Megaforce – Barry Bostwick
Best Supporting Performer – Featurette – You Can Only Blink Once – Gabriel Quintella
Best Supporting Performer – Short Film – Papa’s Corner – Val Victa
Best Performance by a Cast – Feature Film – Love Song from Hiroshima
Best Performance by a Cast – Featurette – When The Clocks Stop
Best Performance by a Cast – Short Film – Once More, Like Rain Man
Best Screenplay – Feature Film – The Mannequin – John Berardo
Best Screenplay – Featurette – Pierre West – Henrik Larsson & Jakob Arevärn
Best Screenplay – Short Film – With Arms Raised – Jon Cvack
Best Screenplay – Feature (Unproduced) – Fearless – Rich Van Tine
Best Screenplay – Short (Unproduced) – Double Trouble – Lauren Holiday
Best Screenplay – Pilot / Series (Unproduced) – Nancy – Mark Strauss
Best Screenplay – Feature LGBTQ+ (Unproduced) – Best Little Boy – Daniel Hirsch
Best Screenplay – Short LGBTQ+ (Unproduced) – Sitting at the Edge of the World Staring at the Mice – Guadalupe Birkbeck
Best Screenplay – Pilot / Series LGBTQ+ (Unproduced) – Pride Night Out – Chanessa Richa’rd
Best Editing – Feature Film – Making Megaforce – Felix Chamberlain
Best Editing – Featurette – Where We Goin?: The Power of Place – Devin Boss
Best Editing – Short Film – Archaic – Mark Perceval-Maxwell
Best Cinematography – Feature Film – The Mannequin – Jonathan Pope
Best Cinematography – Featurette – Babushka – Robin Webster
Best Cinematography – Short Film – Cut All Trees – Red Jitar
Best Production Design – Feature Film – The Mannequin – Emily Peters
Best Production Design – Featurette – Babushka – O.J. Hansen
Best Production Design – Short Film – Scissor Sleepover – Margo Graff
Best Sound Design – Feature Film – Love Song from Hiroshima – Kousuke Kobayashi
Best Sound Design – Featurette – You Can Only Blink Once – Yunus Balkanli & Efe Tuncay
Best Sound Design – Short Film – In Old Ranchos – Sam Welchel
Best Original Soundtrack – Pickle Vision
Best Song – Love Song from Hiroshima – “Peace Song” by Chase Ziegler
Best Immersive Short – AR/VR/MR/360 – Max Q
Audience Awards
Best Feature Film – Making Megaforce
Best Featurette – When The Clocks Stop
Best Short Film – Roughing It
Best Immersive Short – paSSive poWer
Filmmakers Awards
Outstanding Short Film – Animation – I am Duck –
Outstanding Direction – Animation – Lifted – Daniel Robichaud
Outstanding Writing – Animation – The Anatomy of Jane Doesn’t Exist – Kai Brown
Outstanding Originality – Animation – I am Duck
Outstanding Short Film – Comedy – Mondays at the Office
Outstanding Short Film – Comedy – 1 in the Chamber –
Outstanding Direction – Comedy – Once More, Like Rain Man – Sue Ann Pien
Outstanding Writing – Comedy – Roughing It – Michael D. Cohen
Outstanding Cast Performance – Comedy – Once More, Like Rain Man –
Outstanding Cinematography – Comedy – Roughing It – Samuel Ott
Outstanding Originality – Comedy – Pool House –
Outstanding Originality – Comedy – Baby Husband –
Outstanding Short Film – Documentary – Old Girl in a Tutu: Susan Rennie Disrupts Art History –
Outstanding Short Film – Documentary – Paisano Overhang –
Outstanding Direction – Documentary – Grillo – Dima Puchkarev
Outstanding Cinematography – Documentary – Paisano Overhang – Catalina Guerra Hoffman
Outstanding Originality – Documentary – Old Girl in a Tutu: Susan Rennie Disrupts Art History –
Outstanding Short Film – Drama – Lollie –
Outstanding Short Film – Drama – With Arms Raised –
Outstanding Direction – Drama – Lollie – Agnès Shinozaki
Outstanding Writing – Drama – Death in The Desert – Anna Kathryn Long
Outstanding Writing – Drama – Winter Psalm – Hao Yan
Outstanding Cast Performance – Drama – The Last Light – Fiona Rene & Herman Gambhir
Outstanding Cinematography – Drama – Dark Matter – Ptolemy Culvenor
Outstanding Cinematography – Drama – The Last Light – Wesley Quinn
Outstanding Originality – Drama – Dark Matter –
Outstanding Short Film – Experimental/Arthouse – Pickle Vision –
Outstanding Direction – Experimental/Arthouse – Lonesome Town – Caleb Garrett
Outstanding Writing – Experimental/Arthouse – Lonesome Town – Caleb Garrett
Outstanding Cast Performance – Experimental/Arthouse – Pickle Vision –
Outstanding Cinematography – Experimental/Arthouse – Lonesome Town – Caleb Garrett
Outstanding Originality – Experimental/Arthouse – Pickle Vision –
Outstanding Short Film – Horror – Archaic
Outstanding Short Film – Horror – As A Rake
Outstanding Short Film – Horror – Carter
Outstanding Short Film – Horror – The Itch
Outstanding Direction – Horror – Archaic – Mark Perceval-Maxwell
Outstanding Writing – Horror – Obsession – Devon Kane
Outstanding Cast Performance – Horror – Obsession – Rachel Deutsch, Joe Chambrello, Amanda Fritz
Outstanding Cinematography – Horror – Archaic – Benjamin Parry
Outstanding Originality – Horror – Scissor Sleepover –
Outstanding Short Film – SciFi – In Old Ranchos –
Outstanding Direction – SciFi – Shepherd Moon – Michaela Wadzinski
Outstanding Writing – SciFi – In Old Ranchos – Matthew Lucas & Patrick Flynn
Outstanding Cast Performance – SciFi – Chromatography – Renée Veronica Freeman & Folami Williams
Outstanding Cinematography – SciFi – In Old Ranchos – Andrew Jeric
Outstanding Originality – SciFi – Hey HeLP-O! Let’s Go! –
Outstanding Short Film – Thriller – Whispers –
Outstanding Direction – Thriller – Sentient – R. Scott McHenry
Outstanding Writing – Thriller – Sentient – R. Scott McHenry
Outstanding Cast Performance – Thriller – Whispers –
Outstanding Cinematography – Thriller – Whispers – Giselle Gonzalez
Outstanding Originality – Thriller – Sentient –
Programmer’s Prizes
Exceptional Filmmaking – …post
Exceptional Filmmaking – Ashes and Grace
Exceptional Filmmaking – Becoming an Oyster
Exceptional Filmmaking – Damned
Exceptional Filmmaking – Franks In Hell
Exceptional Filmmaking – If the Shoe Fits
Exceptional Filmmaking – Jesus Loves Me
Exceptional Filmmaking – Kuchikame
Exceptional Filmmaking – Lorica
Exceptional Filmmaking – More Dead Than Living
Exceptional Filmmaking – Real Mother
Exceptional Filmmaking – Tomorrow’s Bandits
Finalists – Screenplay Grand Jury Awards
American Import by Steven Shehori
Crossroads by Laura Katherine Winter
Curveball by Nick Kilgore
Diwata by Shea Formanes
Horizon by Karen Campion
How Not To Write a Romance Novel by Suzy Stein, Fernando Perez
I Hate Birthdays! by Haiba Khan
Keeping Tabs by Michael Montgomery
La Esposa by Matthew Benjamin Sheehan
Money Makers by Alex Rubin
My Broken Arm by Matt Stone
Parking by Andrew Klaus-Vineyard
Please Kill Robinson Scott Thomas by Frederick Jerome Taylor
Puppetland by Dominic Abeyta
Saint Lucifer by Joseph DUrso
The Boy Who Earned His Magic: “Only You Can Save Her” by Lynn H. Elliott
The Experience by Anna Kathryn Long & Olivia Haller
Wicked Highway by Christy Price, Daniel Vidal Perez
Wildflower of the Valley: Carnal Bloom by Hannah Rose Vernot
Prize Definitions/Explanations
Best In Fest – Determined by the festival’s official selection committee, this category was added because overall awards can help make us eligible to be an Oscar Qualifying festival. (A nice person at the Academy explained that our idealistic belief that awards should be divided by genre prevented us from becoming an Oscar Qualifying festival. We adapted and… wish us luck!)
Grand Jury Awards – Determined by the festival’s official selection committee.
Filmmakers Awards – Determined by a panel of filmmakers whose films have been Official Selections previous years and given only to short films.
Audience Awards – Determined by highly scientific instruments to measure audience satisfaction.
Programmer’s Prize – Determined by festival programmer Jeff Howard as a reward for his hard work. Importantly, having his own awards means he never has to put his finger on the scale for the other awards.