WINNERS

MONTH OF FEBRUARY

Timeless Grace

This is a Care of the elderly Thematic docudrama 20 min. filmed targeting young and middle age audiences to plan for longevity. The three main principle areas of concern towards a good quality of life are avoiding isolation / loneliness in old age, access to quality healthcare and financing aging and longevity. Other aspects interwoven in the flow are best gift of education that parents can give to children. This docudrama was produced and directed in Kenya and achieving the United Nations SDG1 ending poverty in all its forms everywhere hinges on the specifics of poverty in old age. The care for the elderly is a universal theme that applies to people of all walks of life and allows for critical thought, reflection and connection.

Special Jury Award - Amyn Anwar Khan

Three Couples Freed

Three separate couples each decide to
make some important decisions on the
future of their relationships. Stumbling
and searching, they try to find their own
alternative and drastic paths to happiness.

Best Emerging Filmmaker (Over 40min) - Geoffrey Pheasant

The Avengeress

In 1928, the Bulgarian Mara Buneva attacks the Serbian prosecutor Prelic and thus added her name to the line of women terrorists who killed for their cause. Her fate is an occasion to reflect on the psychology and motives of female terrorists.

Special jury award - Ralitza Dimitrova

Ondjelua

In the forgotten heart of the Huíla province in Angola, there exists an ancient people surviving the modern world. A people woven from rituals and stories, their wellspring of culture slowly drying up, struggling to endure in a technological, globalized world. Through the Sacred Ox procession, the Mumuíla initiate the Ondjélua. A tradition upholding culture - and hope - with ancient wisdom, yearning to be shared.

Best Film on African Americans, natives & visible minorities (Over 40 min) - Eurico Gigio Pereira

That's The Spirit

Edie, a curious and adventurous child, stumbles upon an abandoned home and decides to conduct a seance to connect with the afterlife. Unexpectedly, she encounters a spirited ghost who chooses to remain earthbound. As they form an unlikely friendship, Edie's quest for answers about the afterlife becomes a heartwarming journey of self-discovery and friendship.

Best Emerging Filmmaker (Under 40min) - Sarah Phi Martínez

Second Shot

A journalist interviews an up-and-coming playwright /actor who is performing a one-man show only to find out that the man she is interviewing is her terrible blind-date from six months ago and his one-man show is about their dreadful date.

Best Emerging Filmmaker (Under 40min) - Brent Collins

On My Road to Dharma

A documentary follows De Hong, a monk who has been teaching meditation in prisons in California for ten years, and explores what motivates him to practice in such a way.

Best Documentary (Under 40 min) - Directed by Yihuan Zhang

Just Grand

A bizarre encounter in 1969 with a beautiful and frightening stalker causes ricochet effects into present day.

Best Cinematography(Under 40min) - Osman Force

Kiseru

In a mysterious world, a synthetic being lives in isolation. While tending to a garden of bonsai trees, it evolves, learns, and strives to fathom its own purpose. With each power cycle, it dutifully continues its routine until a single bonsai tree withers, leaving the synthetic puzzled.

To acquire new bonsai seeds, it must reunite with an enigmatic being and deliver the contents of a small golden box. However, before any exchange can occur, they must engage in a philosophical discussion, reflecting deeply on the meaning of existence.

Best Screenplay (Under 40min) - Igor Neljak & Hannah Pearson

Flags

Two flags are about to be hoisted for the very first time. One flag is super excited. The other is scared of heights.

Best Animated Short Film (Under 40min) - Richard Anthony Dunford

Hole Punched Ear

In a dystopian Chicago, a poet, bound by a strange countdown clock, struggles to finish a poem as her sister tries to free her.

Dystopian Chicago. Sometime in the future.

Zorina Harcrow is locked in a decrepit prison. She is a poet and scrawls her verse in a beat up notebook. As she writes, her poetry is spoken to us through voiceover and will be the only dialogue in the film.

The poet is constrained by a digital clock embedded inside her arm that counts down from eleven minutes.

Zorina’s sister Faye Harcrow tries to break into the prison. But is
successful only on her second try.

Zorina’s arm clock gets down to zero and she frantically finishes her poem. She is taken away by guards but drops her poem in the hallway outside the cell.

Zorina is placed in a red execution chair, the arm clock had been counting down to her death.

Zorina is executed just as Faye, after fighting off armed guards, reaches Zorina’s empty cell and finds the dropped poem.

Faye is filled with revenge, grief, and rage as we hear the final lines of Zorina’s poem.

Best Director(Under 40min) - Alan Yammin, Ben Tull
Best Editor - Blake Huang

Eighth Year

Embark on an inspiring journey with Kyle Pugh, conquering an unprecedented 8-year journey in college football. Witness his unwavering dedication, a testament to a young man's extraordinary love for the game. In his final season as a senior, navigate alongside him through challenges on and off the field. Feel the anticipation as he awaits for professional opportunities and embraces the profound roles of fatherhood and coaching. This film is a captivating exploration of resilience, passion, and the transformative power inherent in the journey from the field to the extraordinary chapters beyond. Kyle's journey serves as a powerful testament to the relentless pursuit of dreams, showcasing the transformative evolution of a young athlete into a multifaceted force of inspiration, leaving a mark on hearts and minds.

Best Documentary(Over 40min) - Directed by Renard Cheren

An Extraordinary Place

For anyone who yearns for a human connection to music, this is the story of a quirky radio station in Maine and its eccentric DJs. The 32-minute documentary showcases the people behind the microphone, taking the audience into the heart of the station and its community-first ethos.

Honorable Mention - Tom Bell

Doll#195

Walter, a tech-illiterate retiree with a shady past in the adult film industry, has regrets about his past life choices and is acutely lonely. He is naively enticed into ordering a sex doll from the internet when a couchsurfing guest deliberately leaves his laptop unattended. The order is delivered in a crate to his home, but inside is a living human girl. As Walter and 'Doll#195' adapt to their new situation and learn more about each other's lives, they enter a kind of father-daughter relationship. As the story develops, two lives undergo a profound transformation and we gradually uncover the dark and dysfunctional events which have led both to this point. The story ends with a revelation and a question mark, inviting the audience to come to their own conclusions.

Best Film (Under40 min) - Directed by Martin Lloyd, Anja Ramaroson, Richard Tomes

Tradition

he route towards the potential demise of the feudal system, which the Maratha community in Maharashtra endured for many years, is illustrated in “Parampara”.

It also highlights the influence of rituals on social structure. It tells the tale of modern India, with its farmer realizing the importance of adhering to customs and traditions albeit a little too late.

Even though the movie is set in a secluded village of Maharashtra, anything like manner might be happening in other villages in the India.

The film “Parampara” tells the tale of a poor farmer “Shripati” who strives to perform rites of the 13th day, after his father passes away.

Best Film(Over 40min) -Directed by Pranay Nishakant Telang

Best Lead - Female - Veena Jamkar

Animal Zone

A place where the hills are alive with the sound of chirping, neighing, and the occasional oink. This donor-supported haven for creatures great and small has been serving the Monterey community since the days when animals had to commute by horse and buggy.

Join our graceful guide, Beth Brookhauser, as she takes us on a tour of this hidden gem nestled between Salinas and Carmel. This place is a full-fledged animal utopia, boasting vet services, wildlife rescue and rehab, as well as dog and puppy training classes (because even Fido needs to learn some manners).

The compound is so picturesque that even the resident raccoons have their own Instagram account. From hawks to opossums, baby owls to frisky squirrels, it's a regular Noah's Ark up in there, minus the floods!

Best Film on Nature & Wildlife(under 40 min) - Directed by William Garland Conlin