presented by The Discover Indie Film Foundation
With a hurricane raging outside their hospital, two nurses have to stow the dead body of a young woman in the downstairs morgue before the building floods. But the corpse quickly reveals itself to be more than it seems.
Director(s): Sean Carter
Writer(s): Sean Carter
Producer(s): Lauren Fash
Key Cast: K Steele, Milly Sanders, Lavelle Roby, Catherine McCafferty
Country: USA
A young Cambodian woman, carrying a tragic secret, comes to America to work in an illicit massage parlour.
Director(s): Élodie Yung
Writer(s): Élodie Yung, Jonathan Howard
Producer(s): Jonathan Howard, Matthew Keene Smith, Jason McLagan, Marie Jamora, Élodie Yung
Key Cast: Jasmine Sims, Martha Milan, Tossapon “Didi” Banks, Krista Morin, Jonathan Howard, Jolie Thana Pho
Country: USA
During her lunch break, Lily flees the Louvre and her demanding boss, opting to read an art history book in the park until she’s approached by Clément, a dapper financier, who interrupts her and invites her to lunch, to which Lily, on a whim, agrees, ultimately altering the course of her life.
Director(s): Keeley Turner
Writer(s): Sheila Traister
Key Cast: Jen Robyn Jacobs, Tom Fugedi, Billy Vera, Diane Sellers, Kennedy Barrie, TriJoëlle Zilberman, Milan Ogier
Country: USA
An introverted video gamer is forced to repay his bookie by becoming his wife’s feeling expert.
Director(s): Jamie Anderson
Writer(s): Jamie Anderson
Producer(s): Jamie Anderson, Caroline Calvin
Key Cast: Max Korman, Spencer Garrett, Lori Alan, Chelsea London Lloyd
Country: USA
A babysitter and an absent father spiral out of control as they refuse to confront grief.
Director(s): Adam Linkenhelt
Writer(s): Jen Robyn Jacobs
Producer(s): Katie Barrie, Jen Robyn Jacobs, Adam Linkenhelt
Key Cast: Jen Robyn Jacobs, Tom Fugedi, Billy Vera, Diane Sellers, Kennedy Barrie, Tripp Barrie
Country: USA
The 1% decide to give all African American’s reparations…but there’s a catch.
Director(s): Rob M. Neilson
Writer(s): Sam Demaris, Billy D. Washington & Rob M. Neilson (Original story by Colin Ochs)
Producer(s): Adam Taylor, Rob M. Neilson
Key Cast: Rutherford Cravens, Sam Demaris, Joe Grisaffi, Billy D. Washington, Andy Huggins & Ed Warner
Country: USA
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
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
A Brush With Death
A Little Help?
Annie and the Scar
Fish
Gnaw
Matched
Spirits
Back Home
Backwoods
Bro Code
Estate Sale
Exercised
Flakkus
Good Filipino Kids
Magic Box
Noman
Tax Time
Test Drive
Watcher
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.
Scoot is a comedy feature about a 16 year old girl who enters an Irish step dancing competition to get her face on television and force the feds to pull her family out of witness protection in God Forsaken Iowa.
Writer(s): Joan Philo
A woman is dying and another version of herself comes from the darks sky to pick up her soul and eventually driver her to hell.
Director(s): Matthäus Bussmann
Writer(s): Julian Cuba Ticona
Producer(s): Janos Deri
Key Cast: Kibrea Carmichael
A social media influencer is lured into a seeming escape room but finds herself trapped at incredible heights in a sick game.
Writer(s): Bryan Ricke