Did you miss out on some or all of the 2020 AAHSFF? Are you eager to see these nominated and winning films? Maybe you missed the awards show and you want to experience your big moment... IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO JOIN THE ACTION!!!

The virtual festival is still open and will remain open 3 months after the purchase of your pass, and we've designed special discounted ticket packages so that you can check out the screenings and events that interest you most. With hundreds of screenings, celebrity interviews, and a ton of intimate and informative panel discussions, workshops and tech tutorials, our 2020 virtual festival is the best place to explore comprehensive resources to help you improve your skills as a filmmaker! We hope that you will check it out!

And TEACHERS... Don't forget that the entire virtual festival is an awesome resource for your classroom just waiting to be unleashed as a valuable addition to your curriculum. We even created easy to incorporate lesson plans for each event and activity! We hope that you will join us and bring our resources to your students! 

Once you purchase your pass you can access them by clicking the "Watch Now" button on hsfilmfest.eventive.org! Enjoy the show!

2020 Nominees & Winners

Best Overall:

A Coward by Colin Wang

Pretty Enough by Grace Gallagher

Cereal by Dusan Brown

La Promesa by Brendon Milan Howells

Sophie and Jacob by Max Shoham

Unforgettable by Luke Mullen

The Days Are Just Packed by Miles Dixon

Pawns by Pablo Pagan

Sown by Calvin Mumm

Winner: Smile by Colin Dowse

Best Direction:

Smile by Colin Dowse

Diamond Game by Nolan Trifunovic

Spit Head by Theo Taplitz

Pretty Enough by Grace Gallagher

A Coward by Colin Wang

Darling by Hazel Sepenuk

La Promesa by Brendon Milan Howells

The Days Are Just Packed by Miles Dixon

Disowned by Andrew Stevens

Winner: Cereal by Dusan Brown

Best Drama: 

La Promesa by Brendon Milan Howells

Based on a True Story by Miles McCrudden

Canvas by William Dobak

Visiting Hours by Anabelle Gauvreau, Luca Csathy, Roxy Morris, Danny Applebaum & Vivi Husted

Ryan by Ian McMillen

CAT by Madeleine White

Disowned by Andrew Stevens

Birdie by Campbell Topping

Darling by Hazel Sepenuk

Winner: Unforgettable by Luke Mullen

Best Film Invitational - Complete Experience:

Pembroke Pines 2

Nature Coast Technical High School

Carmel High School

The Episcopal School of Dallas B

West Lake High School (Utah)

Canyon Crest Academy B

Taipei American School

Saint Mary’s Hall

Canyon Crest Academy E

Winner: Lake Forest High School

Best Film Invitational - Claustrophobic Creativity Challenge: 

Westfield High School

Prosper High School

James Clemens High School 1

Choate Rosemary Hall

Northcoast Church

Cedar Crest High School

Sky Ridge High School

Hockaday Day School G

New Trier High School C

Winner: Hopkins School Golden

Best Film Invitational - Show Don’t Tell Challenge:

Woodstock Day School A

Woodstock Day School B

New Trier High School H

West Lake High School (Texas) Blue

West Lake High School (Utah) B

Lone Peak High School

Hopkins School Maroon

St. Margaret's Episcopal School

Boulder Creek High School B

Winner: New Trier High School E

Best Film Invitational - Music Video Challenge:

Boise High School

Pembroke Pines 1

Winter Park High School

Skyridge High School

Science Leadership Academy

Hubbard High School

West Lake High School (Texas) Z

Barrington High School

Lone Peak High School

Winner: Middle Tennessee Student Film Alliance

Best Experimental:

Swimming in Light by Eli Berliner

A Visual Soundscape of Water by 

Hue by Kennedy Naseem

Hello! World by Junsang Yoo

TIME. by Molly E. Smith

A Quartet Supreme by D.J. Holman

Lemon Twist by Edward Pollei

A Movie For My Family by Nate Simon

Holographic Dreams by Satvik Shankar

Winner: Fever Dream by Hugo Long

Best Cinematography:

Birdie by Campbell Topping

Natalie by Aiden Keltner

Sown by Calvin Mumm

Cragg’s Winery by Deniz Akyurek

All That Came Before by Asher Kaplan

Cereal by Dusan Brown

Dichrome by Weston Snider

Unforgettable by Luke Mullen

Swimming in Light by Eli Berliner

Winner: A Coward by Colin Wang

Best Editing:

A Light In The Dark by William Blackwell Kinney

Miracle by Su Spector & Austin Reppert

Culture by Emma Evans

Cities by John Li 

Bushido by Jayden Torres & Alex Torres

Silhouette by Emma Evans

Pawns by Pablo Pagan

Set Fight by Zayd Ezzeldine

Smile by Colin Dowse

Winner: The Days Are Just Packed by Miles Dixon

Best Screenplay:

Marked by Samantha Cohn & Madeline Simpson

Broke or Bust by Grayson Hardman

Everything Bagel by Brendan Hickey

Diamond Game by Nolan Trifunovic

Spit Head by Theo Taplitz

Calamity Jane by Claire Dooley

La Promesa by Brendon Milan Howells

The Days Are Just Packed by Miles Dixon

Obolus by Caitlyn L. Palermo

Winner: Pretty Enough by Grace Gallagher

Best Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy:

Obolus by Caitlyn L. Palermo

Medusa by Brendon Milan Howells

Haven by Morgan O’Connell

The Zoom Call by Shelby Eroen

Craggs Winery by Deniz Akyurek

A Link Between Time by Julie Perez

Psychosis by Paolo Cesti

Til Morning by Taea Friesen

Miracle by Su Spector & Austin Reppert

Winner: A Camp Story by Riley Scott, Shiva Kansagara, Sophia Lee & Colin Bae

Female Rising Star Award:

Michelle Gonzalez

Jaclyn Menendez

Marley Rankin

Bella Hall

Emma Evans

Samatha Cohn & Madeline Simpson

Odessa Reilly

Julie Perez

Claire Dooley

Winner: Youning Jiang

Maverick Award:

SQUARE by Samyukta Panth

The Four Stages of Yellowman by Alex Casanas

The Humanity Test by Samuel Mitchell & Lily Kaplan

Tophet by Robert Giles

Amy by Ryan Barnett

The Men Who Wear Stripes by Oliver Jones & Theo Taplitz

Haven by Morgan O’Connell

Nomophobia by Colin Wang

Rita by Will Nordstrom

Winner: A Coward by Colin Wang

Best International Film:

From The New World by Youning Jiang

Doll of Mine by Julie Kristine Hansen

Cuts by Cecilie Holmfjord Jonassen

The Biggest Kettle in Japan by Takenoshin Yaza

Whipped Cream Cake by Minju Hong & Ray Mo

Bluebird’s Daydream by Tian Yi Shi

Warrior by Sia Thit Tuborgh Solmer

Dichrome by Weston Snider

Instinct by Yinuo Wei

Winner: Pawns by Pablo Pagan

Best Visual FX:

Medusa by Brendon Milan Howells

A Light In The Dark by William Blackwell Kinney

Psychosis by Paolo Cesti

A Link Between Time by Julie Perez

Fever Dream by Hugo Long

Silhouette by Emma Evans

Stargazer by Daniel Van

The Dream Network by Arnold Shin

Lead Marbles of Sheathed Madmen by Declan M. Kramer

Winner: Smile by Colin Dowse

Best Original Score:

Medusa by Brendon Milan Howells

A Light In The Dark by William Blackwell Kinney

A Quartet Supreme by D.J. Holman

Fever Dream by Hugo Long

Opa by Paul Kilgus

Pretty Enough by Grace Gallagher

Silhouette by Emma Evans

Darling by Hazel Sepenuk

All That Came Before by Asher Kaplan

Winner: Instinct by Yinuo Wei

Audience Choice Award:

Winner: Zoom Dating by Brendan Egan & Haley Pine

Teacher of the Year Award:

Winner: Dustin Topham, Lone Peak High School, Highland, UT

Spark Award:

The Change You Make by Michelle Gonzalez

Medusa by Brendon Milan Howells

Anguish in the Aftermath by Josh Riemer

Because of You by Justin Castillo

What A Waste by Jules Brown

Compassion For Change by Aditya Desai

Pretty Enough by Grace Gallagher

Cuts by Cecilie Holmfjord Jonassen

Culture by Emma Evans

Winner: La Promesa by Brendon Milan Howells

Best Comedy:

Zoom Dating by Brendan Egan & Haley Pine

Narc by Jackson Coates

Set Fight by Zayd Ezzeldine

Everything Bagel by Brendan Hickey

Broke or Bust by Grayson Hardman

It Came From The Crossroads by Rowan Levi

Principals of Everest High by Matt Booden & Maggie Nowak

Virtual Easter by Bella Hall

David Isn’t Here Anymore by Josh Ceranic

Winner: No Fan of Andy by Kai Tomizawa

Best Documentary:

Poleski by Brendan Hickey, Owen Russell & Ransom Miller

I’ll Be There by Kallista Palapas

Hannah’s Home by Hannah Duran

Turning Point by Arjun Desai & Jackson Coates

Anguish in the Aftermath by Josh Riemer

Inseparable: The Story of Elly and Lya by Gabriela Barrett, Alexander McDaniel, Idalis McZeal, Noa Nelson, Grace Sandman & India Spencer

Welcome to CHAZ by Michael Marquess

The Story of a Nashi Old Lady by Tianyang Wang & Ao Sun

Addiction: In & Out by Nick Altman

Winner: Sown by Calvin Mumm

Best Animation:

Instinct by Yinuo Wei

It’s Not A Happy Ending by

A Plushie’s Dream by

Collecting Heads by 

No Takebacks by

The Elite by

The Shining Dream by

Pizza Delivery! By

Franklin’s Adventure by

Winner: Sophie and Jacob by Max Shoham

Best Music Video:

Roots by Zayd Ezzeldine

Something Better by Jillian Shea Spaeder & Lilia Buckingham

Alien Love by Hazel Sepenuk

City of My Dreams by Benji Tucker

Intewition by Brandon Mosquera

Blood by Willem John Doherty

Again by Marley Rankin

Da Capo by Henry Schaefer

You Dig? by Michael Joel Marquess

Winner: Cloud Boy by Jonah Arnold

Best Action Sports:

James Clemens Football Promo by Maddie Murphy

Senshi by Luchia Torro

Dear Seniors by Matthew Rostkowski

The Season That Wasn’t by Max Losson

MSFB: The Vision by Mackenzie Kron

Dance by Artemsia Thee Sanchez

Oakland Roots Debut by Paul Hosemann

Camp LT Promo by Tony Zeleke & Arjun Desai

Concrete Jungle - Freerunning by Jacob Willford

Winner: Blue Valley Southwest Girls Basketball Recap by Nityanta Saripalli

Best Adventure/Travel:

Junior Year Adventure by Nityanta Saripalli

Student Spotlight: New York City by Sneha Subramani

My Adventure by Audrey Leem

SQUARE by Samyukta Panth

Today in Toronto by Mateen Missaghi

Winner: If You Could Relive An Entire Year… Would You? by Mitchell Andrew

Best Broadcast Journalism - Feature Story:

Signs of a Role Model by Rachel Clarke & Ashley Pellicone

Footloose Review by David Grant

Vito’s Bakery by Jaclyn Menendez, Maria Gonzalez, Leire Garro, Sophia Rosales & Alyssa Zabala

RHS Battle of the Fans by Ian McMillen

A Strike of Tragedy by Grant Johnson & Haylee Brown

Doodles on a Dress by Grant Johnson & Anica Hankey

Electronic Door Locks by Ethan Levy & Logan Rosengard

More Than This by Swan Swindle

Dyslexia by Ella White

Winner: Aggressive Coyotes by Grant Johnson & Haylee Brown

Best Broadcast Journalism - Sports Feature:

Cockrell Triplets by Adam Burch

“Powderpuff” Stunt Sparks State Championship Run by Derryl Barnes Jr.

The Change You Make by Michelle Gonzalez

Catching A Blessing by Maggie Hale

Mind Over Muscle by Grace Roberts & Katie Pittman

Lifting Toward Success by Gianmarco Maestri, Richard Joseph, Adrian Botton & Christopher Gomez

Keep Fighting by Michelle Gonzalez

Winner: Luther Johnson by Alexander Someillan, Lukas Guerra, Kevin Reyes & Neo Gaitan

Best Broadcast Journalism - Broadcast TV Highlights:

Sideline Reporting by Maggie Hale

2019 - 2020 Anchoring Highlights by Kacey Boston

GAMETIME by Maggie Hale, Mya Peterson, Brayden Brandvold & Tyler Windon

Winner: Wolfbyte TV Highlights by Nityanta Saripalli

Best Middle School:

Running From Death by Hunter Tabor & Aden Pierce

Truth Be Told by Kendra Ray

Wonder Windex by Megan Pham

Reality’s Buff by Bryce Martin

Screen Time: The Modern Day Epidemic by Hannah Plaisance, Ava Hartman & Sara Francis

Unitato Sage - EP. 10 “Finale” by Ethan Erdman

Winner: Never Too Small by Mason Mirabile

Best PSA:

Do Something by Glory Ho & Dovely King

You Have to Axe by Cole Fletchall-Silva & Jackson Beebe

The Unknown Crisis by James Brammer

You Matter… And So Does the 2020 Census by Paige Kercheville

Tell The Truth - Mental Health Edition by Anna Carroll & Jessica Salois

Protect Yourself by Emilio Rios

Who Are You Talking To? by Elinor Weber

See Me by Sam Gharavi

Innocent Victims by Yuna Ahn & Mina Ahn

Winner: A Day At The Beach by Marley Rankin

Best Micro-Movie

The Quarantine Rag by Charlotte Quintanar

Outgoing by Arjun Govind

Baseball Dreamin’ by Ryan Zabors

Kain Na by Isabel Adamos

“Bad” Minton by Lily Patterson

Palm Parasites by Alex Casanas

Winner: Birthday Pizza by Michael Merlino

Best Podcast:

The Blank Podcast - Motivation by Jonathan Kahn

The Batboy’s Corner Podcast: Minor Leaguers Face Big League Challenges w/ Peter Mooney by Billy Pinckney

Me & Mass Shootings by Ellie Cagle

Project Palladium EP 1 SZN 2 by Shucaho Luo, Ronald Jabouin, Jack Muscatello, Luke DeBono, Maximilian Leston & Thomas Breslin

You Aren’t Aware of the Tar in this One: Human Waste & it’s Economies of Scale by Ed Hans & Aaron Grinberg

The Navigator Episode #3 by Alexis Vivanco, Juan Carlos Chaoui & Omar Siman

On Indie Cinema (Cultural Landmarks): Killer of Sheep/Chan is Missing by Christian Lee

Winner: Streetwear Unpacked by Sinan Kassim & Veronica Bloomberg

Best Quarantine Diaries:

Kenopsia by Tunde Paule

Kaleidoscope, USA by Frank Liu

Just Stay Home | An American Protest by Michael Merlino

Quarantine Diaries by Anamaria Tafur

The Brightest Sunrise by Pearl Sweeney

I Wish I Was Cool by Hannah Jones

Our Generation by Emma Ventresca

Ferris vs. Covid-19 by Maria Hoffman

Stand By by William Dobak

Winner: Pandemic City by Arjun Govind

Best Tutorial:

Chinese Chess by Gabriella Hsu

Lou Malnati’s Deep Dish Pizza Demonstration by Ethan Levy & Ryan Baer

Cookin’ with Cam by Cambryn Carvin

Three Point Lighting by Sofia Anderson

Easy & Quick Halloween Crafts by Ahtziri Hernandez

How to Bowl More Strikes by Matthew Booden, Soren Thompson & Ryan Firman

How to Make an Origami Bouquet by Sophia Lee

To Knit or To Knot by Ali Grutchfield

Winner: How To Shoot 35mm Film Photography by Roxy Morris

Best Vlog Life:

New Year’s Resolutions Are Dumb by Ben Rehrman

A Week in Covid’s Quarantine by Hanna Begay

Winner: My Day In Quarantine by Zoe Castaneda