BEST OF THE FEST
our 2024 awards
This year 450 films were submitted from 52 countries around the world – for a total running time of 213 hours, 52 min, 17 seconds, give or take a few.
and were narrowed down to this year’s unique and exciting slate of films. From these films, the festival directors suggested 28 films for award consideration to our Festival Judges.
THE DECISION
Our Festival Judges decided the winners of Best of the Fest, Judges Award, Best Doc Feature, Best Short Narrative, Best Short Doc, Best Short Animation, Best Director, Best Performance, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design, Best Editing, Best Musical Score and Audience Award. For a total of $10,000 in awards!
the 2024 Winners
WINNER: BEST OF THE FEST
OYU
DIR. ATSUSHI HIRAI
(Japan, 21min) Drama
WINNER: BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
A SHIT DAY
DIR. KEVIN T. LANDRY
(Canada, 1hr 31min) Dark Comedy, Suspense
Drowning under the abuses of her narcissist ex-husband and condescending Lotto-Gold superior, a young single mother on the brink of a mental breakdown is sent to the middle of nowhere to interview a strange hermit. The uncooperative man who just won the jackpot will be the one to push her over the edge in quite spectacular fashion when she accidentally rams her car into a tree in front of his isolated cabin, setting up the events of an absurdly crappy day for both of them.
WINNER: BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
WE CAN BE HEROES
DIR. CARINA MIA WONG, ALEX SIMMONS
(USA, 1hr 26min) Documentary
Sometimes, finding your tribe requires a bit of magic. For attendees of a live action role-playing (LARP) camp in upstate New York, the deeply accepting environment has given neurodivergent, queer, and self-proclaimed “nerdy” teenagers the space and community for self-discovery that they have never found anywhere else. As the campers immerse themselves in this imaginative world, they discover inner strength, heal from past traumas, and emerge as the heroes they are meant to be, both in the fantasy realm and in real life. We Can Be Heroes celebrates the small, fleeting, but profoundly formative moments that make up the most intense years of adolescence, with a little help from foam swords.
WINNER: BEST NARRATIVE SHORT
OYU
DIR. ATSUSHI HIRAI
(Japan, 21min) Drama
It is the last day of the year and night falls in the small town of Toyama, Japan. A man goes to the public bath to retrieve a forgotten object. But once inside, the promise of a hot bath compels him to stay.
WINNER: BEST Documentary SHORT
A SYMPHONY OF TINY LIGHTS
DIR. DOMINIC GILL, NADIA GILL
(USA, 31min) Adventure, Environment
In 1971, John Francis, known the world over as “Planetwalker,” witnessed an oil tanker collision in the San Francisco Bay. The sight of oiled birds on the shoreline caused him to give up motorized transport and rely solely on his own two feet. Months after that, he took a vow of silence convinced that listening rather than adding fuel to any fire was the way ahead. He didn’t talk, but he kept on walking clear across the country and back again. At 77 years old, John now recounts much of his interior journey, his thoughts, and desires as he intuitively crafted a unique life focused on environmental activism.
WINNER: BEST ANIMATED SHORT
TENNIS, ORANGES
DIR. SEAN PECKNOLD
(USA, 10min) Sci-Fi, Adventure
A robotic vacuum suffering from burnout quits its job at a hospital and sets out to find community and a greater purpose on a quiet street where two lonely rabbits are stuck in perpetual loops.
WINNER: BEST DIRECTOR
MARTA MONTEIRO
"COLD SOUP"
(Portugal, 10min) Drama
A survivor of domestic violence looks back at the years when she was married, recalling how difficult it was to stay afloat.
WINNER: BEST PERFORMANCE
Deedee Piamwiriyaku as "Juice"
"YOUNG PEOPLE, OLD PEOPLE & NOTHING IN BETWEEN"
DIR. PARIDA TANTIWASADAKRAN (Thailand, 20min) Student
7-year-old Juice has one mission this year: to help Grandma Lovely retain as many memories as possible in order to halt the onset of her early dementia.
Three-way tie! WINNER: BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Farhad Ghaderi
"MOTHERLAND"
DIR. JASMIN MOZAFFARI (Canada, 24min) Drama
During 1979 at the height of the Iran Hostage crisis, Babak goes on a trip to meet his fiancée’s parents and ends up confronting the realities of what it means to be an Iranian immigrant in a patriotic post-Vietnam America.
Three-way tie! WINNER: BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Sahil Kotwani
"SHOOTING WATERMELONS"
DIR. ANTONIO DONATO (Italy, 20min) Drama
Federico is on holiday with his father and brother in a summer residence in Sardinia. Their father, Aurelio, is a severe and overtly masculine man who makes Federico feel anxious and inadequate. When a wealthy German family invites them to dinner, Federico discovers he is not so different from his father.
Three-way tie! WINNER: BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
SEAN PECKNOLD
"TENNIS, ORANGES"
DIR. SEAN PECKNOLD (USA, 10min) Sci-Fi, Adventure
A robotic vacuum suffering from burnout quits its job at a hospital and sets out to find community and a greater purpose on a quiet street where two lonely rabbits are stuck in perpetual loops.
WINNER: BEST EDITING
Jehan Folque
"oyu"
DIR. ATSUSHI HIRAI (Japan, 21min) Drama
It is the last day of the year and night falls in the small town of Toyama, Japan. A man goes to the public bath to retrieve a forgotten object. But once inside, the promise of a hot bath compels him to stay.
WINNER: BEST MUSICAL SCORE
ROGER SUEN
"BRING THEM HOME / AISKÓTÁHKAPIYAAYA"
DIR. IVAN MACDONALD, IVY MACDONALD, DANIEL GLICK (USA, 1hr 25min) Documentary
“Bring Them Home” chronicles a decades-long initiative by members of the Blackfoot Confederacy to bring wild buffalo (Blackfeet: iinnii) back to the Blackfeet Reservation. A thriving wild buffalo population would not only reconnect Blackfeet with a central part of their heritage, spirituality and identity, but would provide economic opportunities and healing for the community. Along the way, however, the initiative faces obstacles from ranchers who see the buffalo as a threat to the cattle ranches that dominate the land and are a legacy of colonization. Narrated by Lily Gladstone.
WINNER: BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Helen Kotsonis
"MOTHERLAND"
DIR. JASMIN MOZAFFARI (Canada, 24min) Drama
WINNER: BEST SCREENPLAY
Frankslist
Christine Celozzi
This absurd comedy finds Meg Chambers desperate for a job. After taking an after-hours interview off the untrustworthy Frankslist, she finds herself in a predicament she never expected: help save the building from a bomb or don’t. The choice is hers.
WINNER: AUDIENCE AWARD
BONE BLACK: MIDWIVES VS. THE SOUTH
DIR. IMANI NIKYAH DENNISON
(USA, 21min) Documentary
This experimental documentary explores the history and erasure of Black midwives in the American South and how the attack on birth workers has contributed toward the Black infant and maternal mortality crisis.
Heart of Gold Award
DEEP IN MY HEART IS A SONG
DIR. JONATHAN PICKETT
(USA, 16min) Drama, Music, Western
An aging country musician who’s struggling to make ends meet receives an offer for an unusual private gig. Based on the life of cowboy singer Johnny Bencomo, who plays himself in the film.