Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Best of the Fest 2023

BEST OF THE FEST

OUR 2023 AWARDS

This year 535 films were submitted from 45 countries around the world – for a total running time of 285 hours, 33 min, 22 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 32 films for award consideration to our Festival Judges.

Don’t forget to vote for the Audience Award!

Following each screening be sure to vote for your favorite film by using Fanmood. It’s easy, scan the QR code on the screen with your smartphone and you’ll go directly to this year’s Audience Award voting page. Click on the film you enjoyed most and you’re done. One vote per person per program. Want to vote the analog way? No problem, we have ballot boxes at each venue.

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 Ceremony

Don’t miss this year’s winners and awards ceremony, Sunday, June 25th, 7pm at the historic Nevada Theatre. Rumor is there will be cupcakes and champagne to celebrate!

2023 Winners

Best of the Fest 2023

WINNER: BEST OF THE FEST

I HAVE NO TEARS, AND I MUST CRY

Dir. LUIS FERNANDO PUENTE

(USA, 13min)

Maria Luisa is ready to escape immigration limbo, but when her green card interview takes an unexpected turn, she faces the anxiety of losing the life she had planned.

WINNER: BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE

SCRAPPER

dir. CHARLOTTE REGAN

(UK, 84min)

In this vibrant and inventive father-daughter comedy, Georgie (Lola Campbell) is a dreamy 12-year-old girl who lives alone in her London flat, filling it with magic after the death of her mother. Out of nowhere, her estranged father Jason (Harris Dickinson) arrives and forces her to confront reality. Uninterested in this sudden new parental figure, Georgie is stubbornly resistant to his efforts. As they adjust to their new circumstances, Georgie and Jason find that both father and daughter still have a lot of growing up to do.

Nevada City Film Festival Best narrative Feature
Nevada City Film Festival Best Documentary FEature

WINNER: BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

BEING MICHELLE

dir. ATIN MEHRA

(USA, 1hr 20min)

Being Michelle follows the astonishing journey of a deaf and disabled woman who survived incarceration and abuse under unimaginable circumstances by a system that refused to accommodate her needs as a deaf person with autism. Michelle’s trajectory changed when she met Kim Law, a blind volunteer life coach who teaches classes to people in prison. Today, outside of prison, Kim and Michelle are doing the difficult work of unraveling Michelle’s history, of telling the story of Michelle’s traumatic childhood and her adverse experiences in the criminal justice system. With the support of Kim, Michelle realizes her own voice and strength. Throughout the film, Michelle’s artwork provides her own depiction of the trauma she survived as well as a means to her recovery. Ultimately, Being Michelle is a story of redemption. It is about the bonds between women committed to thriving in a broken system, who are forging a path to healing that can only come through facing the truth and communicating it, together.

WINNER: BEST NARRATIVE SHORT

I HAVE NO TEARS, AND I MUST CRY

Dir. LUIS FERNANDO PUENTE

(USA, 13min)

Maria Luisa is ready to escape immigration limbo, but when her green card interview takes an unexpected turn, she faces the anxiety of losing the life she had planned.

Nevada City Film Festival Best Narrative Short
Nevada City Film Festival Best Documentary Short

WINNER: BEST Documentary SHORT

THE FEELING OF BEING CLOSE TO YOU

dir. ASH GOH HUA

(Singapore/USA, 12min)

The Feeling of Being Close to You (靠近你的感觉) documents an attempt at healing the trauma of touch between mother and child. Driven by a pure desire for intimacy, the filmmaker and their mother talk openly for the first time about the intergenerational trauma and abuse within their lives. Present day phone conversations are juxtaposed with archival VHS footage, creating a connection between the past and a re-write for the future.

WINNER: BEST ANIMATED SHORT

ICE MERCHANTS

dir. JOÃO GONZALEZ

(Portugal, 14min)

Every day, a father and his son jump with a parachute from their vertiginous cold house, attached to a cliff, to go to the village on the ground, far away where they sell the ice they produce daily.

Nevada City Film Festival Best Animated Short
Nevada City Film Festival Best Director

WINNER: BEST DIRECTOR

Rebecca Landsberry-Baker & Joe Peeler

Bad Press

(USA, 1hr 38min)

When the Muscogee Nation suddenly begins censoring their free press, a rogue reporter fights to expose her government’s corruption in a historic battle that will have ramifications for all of Indian Country.

WINNER: BEST PERFORMANCE

Hugo De Sousa (Barry)

GOOD CONDITION

(USA, 9min)

Barry’s starting over.

Nevada City Film Festival Best Performance
Nevada City Film Festival best Cinematography

WINNER: BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

Miguel Drake-McLaughlin

HUMMINGBIRDS

(USA, 1hr 18min)

In this late-night summer self-portrait, best friends Silvia and Beba make magic of everyday moments coming of age on the Texas-Mexico border.

WINNER: BEST EDITING

Kayla Abuda Galang, Matt Stryker

WHEN YOU LEFT ME ON THAT BOULEVARD

(USA, 13min)

Teenager Ly and her cousins get high before a boisterous family Thanksgiving at their auntie’s house in southeast San Diego in 2006

Nevada City Film Festival Best Editing
Nevada City Film Festival Best Musical Score

WINNER: BEST MUSICAL SCORE

JOÃO GONZALEZ

ICE MERCHANTS

DIRECTOR / COMPOSER

(Portugal, 14min)

Every day, a father and his son jump with a parachute from their vertiginous cold house, attached to a cliff, to go to the village on the ground, far away where they sell the ice they produce daily.

WINNER: BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

Meryl Aquino and Serina Chantrachuck

WHEN YOU LEFT ME ON THAT BOULEVARD

(USA, 13min)

Teenager Ly and her cousins get high before a boisterous family Thanksgiving at their auntie’s house in southeast San Diego in 2006

Nevada City Film Festival Best Screenplay

WINNER: BEST SCREENPLAY

MIKE HANSON, KELLY MOOTHART

THE REVVER

Iris can’t eat, sleep, or finish drawing her masterpiece when her macho neighbor constantly revs his mammoth truck — but now it’s time she takes matters into her own hands.

WINNER: AUDIENCE AWARD

CHASIN' BUTTERFLIES

Dir: JOSHUA HARDING, ADAM HOBBS, MATT KLUG

(USA, 19min)

As a self-taught artist from a one-horse town in rural Alabama, Butch Anthony can’t be easily categorized; nor can his art. In this layered portrait, we meet the eccentric, playful, authentic, charming, and provocative man behind the drive-thru museum, trophy-covered Cadillac, and pontoon pirate ship known as Llatikcuf (read it backwards).

Nevada City Film Festival Audience Award
Privacy Settings
We use cookies to enhance your experience while using our website. If you are using our Services via a browser you can restrict, block or remove cookies through your web browser settings. We also use content and scripts from third parties that may use tracking technologies. You can selectively provide your consent below to allow such third party embeds. For complete information about the cookies we use, data we collect and how we process them, please check our Privacy Policy