BEST OF THE FEST
our 2025 awards
This year we received a record-breaking 602 film submissions from 64 countries, totaling an incredible 298 hours, 29 minutes, and 44 seconds of storytelling from around the world.
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 2025 Winners
WINNER: BEST OF THE FEST
OVER
dir. Duncan Ragg, Anna Phillips
(Australia, 18min)
A father must confront his apathy towards the world’s big issues when his disabled son, who is terrified of open water, steals his boat and refuses to come back to shore until his Dad has saved the world.
WINNER: BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
The Baltimorons
dir. Jay Duplass, screenplay Jay Duplass, Michael Strassner
(US, 1hr, 39min)
After cracking a tooth on Christmas Eve, newly sober Cliff embarks on an unexpected May/December adventure through Baltimore with Didi, his emergency dentist.
WINNER: BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Remaining Native
dir. Paige Bethmann
(US, 1hr 27min)
A coming-of-age documentary told from the perspective of Ku Stevens, a 17-year-old Native American runner, struggling to navigate his dream of becoming a collegiate athlete as the memory of his great grandfather’s escape from an Indian boarding school begins to connect past, present, and future.
WINNER: BEST NARRATIVE SHORT
OVER
dir. Duncan Ragg, Anna Phillips
(Australia, 18min)
A father must confront his apathy towards the world’s big issues when his disabled son, who is terrified of open water, steals his boat and refuses to come back to shore until his Dad has saved the world.
WINNER: BEST COMEDY SHORT
Dropped
dir. Lucy HIrshfield
(US, 16min)
DROPPED is a comedy that follows Andrew Wallace, a struggling actor who gets dropped by his agent in the middle of teaching a master class to a group of children at his Old Catholic Middle School. Between his crumbling relationship with Laura, best friend turned drama teacher, and rivalry with Bridgit, a young up-and-coming actress in class who just booked a job on network television, Andrew must face his fears of failure and reconnect with his younger self who found joy in art outside of career success.
WINNER: BEST Documentary SHORT
Murewa
dir. Ché Scott-Heron Newton
(UK, 15min)
In the quiet seaside town of Worthing, Marlon and Murry (Murewa) form a deep friendship, bonding over skateboarding, photography and the carefree adventures of youth. But as they grow older, their lives take different turns. Marlon leaves for university in London, while Murry, facing mounting pressure at home, makes choices that lead to prison. Through years of home video, Murewa reflects on the complexities of growing up, and how opportunity and circumstance shape the futures of young people in ways they don’t fully grasp at the time. Intimate and deeply personal, the film explores boyhood, belonging and the lingering question of what might have been.
WINNER: BEST ANIMATED SHORT
POW!
dir. Joey Clift
(US, 8min)
A Native American kid scrambles to charge his dying video game console at a bustling intertribal powwow.
WINNER: BEST DIRECTOR
Paige Bethmann
"Remaining Native"
(US, 1hr 27min)
Paige Bethmann is a Haudenosaunee woman and first-time feature filmmaker based in Reno, Nevada. Over the last 10 years, Paige has worked in non-fiction television for various digital and broadcast networks such as ESPN, PBS, Vox Media, Youtube Originals, USA, and NBC. She is a graduate of Ithaca College, with a bachelor’s degree in Film, Television, and Radio from the Park School of Communications.
WINNER: BEST PERFORMANCE
Michael Strassner & Liz Larsen
"The Baltimorons"
dir. Jay Duplass, screenplay Jay Duplass, Michael Strassner
Michael Strassner is an alumni from the Groundlings Sunday Company, and his credits include Parks and Recreation, Modern Family, Life in Pieces, Black-ish and many more.
Liz Larsen is an American actress known for her work in theater, film, and television. She’s recognized for her roles in Broadway productions like “Hairspray,” “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” and “The Rocky Horror Show”. In television, she’s appeared in “Law & Order,” “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” and “The Americans”. She is also known for her roles in “One Percent More Humid” and “Madoff”.
WINNER: BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Nicolas Canniccioni
"Perfectly A Strangeness"
DIR: Alison McAlpine (Chile, 15min)
Three donkeys discover an abandoned astronomical observatory and the universe. A sensorial, cinematic exploration of what a story can be.
Nicolas Canniccioni studied still photography and later filmmaking (Matane, Concordia University – Quebec). Since then, his collaboration with directors such as Philippe Lesage, Juan Andrès Arrango, Jean-François Caissy, Simon Lavoie and Michael Rowe have been celebrated in major film festivals (Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, Toronto, Venice, Rotterdam, Camerimage, MOMA). His work, both in fiction and documentary, has captured portraits and landscapes of great diversity, from fishermen in the South American jungle, to Canadian Army recruits in Quebec, to members of the First Nations of the Northern tundra.
WINNER: BEST EDITING
Steph KHoury
"Remaining Native"
Dir. Paige Bethmann (US, 1hr 27min)
Steph Khoury began her career as a storyteller by documenting life through her drawings. She continues to be inspired by the world around her as she collects and collages moments into films.With over ten years of experience, Stephanie is an award winning editor on both short and long documentaries. Her work has screened at festivals such as SXSW, Hot Docs, and featured on NYT, National Geographic, and Time.
WINNER: BEST MUSICAL SCORE
Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe
"SEEDS"
Dir. Brittany Shyne (US, 2hr 3min)
Robert Aiki Aubrey Lowe (b. 1975) is an artist, curator and composer that works primarily with, but not limited to voice and modular synthesizer for sound in the realm of spontaneous music. Along with analog video synthesis works, he has brought forth an A/V proposal that has been a focus of live performance and installation/exhibition.
WINNER: BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Pete Hickok
"Chasers"
DIR. Erin Brown Thomas (US 31min)
Pete Hickok is a Production Designer, Art Director, Scenic Designer, and Artist based in Los Angeles California. Drawing on his strong background in conceptual art, material fabrication, and sculpture he has been able to blend the worlds of Film, Theatre, and Contemporary Art to create a comprehensive understanding of the whole design process from concept to execution. Well versed in the myriad of skills needed to bring an idea to fruition he is able to creatively problem solve to generate the highest level of art on the screen, stage, or in the gallery.
WINNER: Best Short Film Screenplay
Diwata
Shea Formanes
With her twilight years on the horizon, a Filipina grandmother ditches her eightieth birthday party to summon the spirit of her long-dead granddaughter, navigating hallucinations and repressed memories as she attempts to make amends with her past–and rediscover herself.
IT'S A TIE!
WINNER: AUDIENCE AWARD
The Baltimorons
dir. Jay Duplass, screenplay Jay Duplass, Michael Strassner
(US, 1hr, 39min)
After cracking a tooth on Christmas Eve, newly sober Cliff embarks on an unexpected May/December adventure through Baltimore with Didi, his emergency dentist.
IT'S A TIE!
WINNER: AUDIENCE AWARD
The Wishing Wand
dir. Jane Fraser
(US, 3min)
If you had a magic wand, what would you wish for? When Jane’s pug Maisy destroys her favorite wand, disaster turns into wonder when a new wand serendipitously arrives at the door. Jane discovers that with one wave, sweet things can happen. “The Wishing Wand” is a short-film by Jane Fraser, a first-time filmmaker with Down Syndrome. The film is dedicated to her late grandmother Claire, Jane’s best friend and personal wand-maker.
Heart of Gold Award
The Clearing
dir. Jacob Stefiuk
(Canada, 22min)
Festival directors award given to acknowledge superior storytelling.
Following his wife’s sudden hospitalization, and the subsequent return of his step-son, John is forced to confront his wife’s worsening physical and mental condition, his own mortality, and his past falterings in fatherhood.