2025 Nominees & Winners
Best Overall Film:
Winner: "Ways of Remembering" by Hudson Loverro, Maria Cury
"Pulpitum" by Caleb Reese Paul
"Every Living Breathing Moment" by Angelo Carmelo Visser
"Why Can't We Just Be Ghosts?" by Patrick Jang
"Goose Ridge" by Mitong Wang
"Stream Of Consciousness" by Sadie Schoenberger
"Dungeon Master" by Sean Goedecke, William Reimers
"Not All Heroes" by Connor Strange
"My Dad; My Rockstar" by Louis Raymond Martin, Donagh Joseph Walsh
"Everybody's Doing It" by Summer Kastner
Best Direction:
Winner: "My Dad; My Rockstar" by Louis Raymond Martin, Donagh Joseph Walsh
"The Buttercup Mafia" by Noam Rignault Clement
"Everybody's Doing It" by Summer Kastner
"Ways of Remembering" by Hudson Loverro, Maria Cury
"Goose Ridge" by Mitong Wang
"Every Living Breathing Moment" by Angelo Carmelo Visser
"Stream Of Consciousness" by Sadie Schoenberger
"Pulpitum" by Caleb Reese Paul
"PEOPLE OF THE SUN" by Andrea Ramirez Romo
"Whence The Wind Blows" by Wanze Li, Xuanyi He
Best Drama:
Winner: "Every Living Breathing Moment" by Angelo Carmelo Visser
"Goose Ridge" by Mitong Wang
"Be Mine" by Philipp Tsemnov
"Ways of Remembering" by Hudson Loverro, Maria Cury
"Flower Girl" by Ryo Helena Schreifels
"How It Should Be" by Natalie Yerelekian
"El Deseo (The Wish)" by Francesca Varese
"Somebody." by Sawyer O'Brien
"Sea, Swallow Me" by Riley W Walsh, Ava Thomas
"Falling Off the Face of the Earth" by Jack Alvarado
Best Film Invitational - Complete Experience:
Winner: "What's Inside Her Eternal Gaze" by Nature Coast Technical High School
"What's Left Inside" by NSU University School Team A
"What's Really Inside" by NSU University School Team C
"A Worm's Guide to What's Inside" by Cypress Bay High School
"REMEMBERING WHAT'S INSIDE" by Rock Hill High School Team B
"What's Not Inside" by Saint Mary's Hall
"What's Inside Our Memories" by Walnut Grove High School
"Fashioned By What's Inside" by West Broward High School TV Team A
"What’s Changed Hurts Inside" by Westlake High School Team A
"WHAT'S INSIDE, WILL?" by Westminster Schools
Best Film Invitational - Claustrophobic Creativity Challenge:
Winner: "Trust Me" by Cypress Bay High School
"Stalling" by Belen Jesuit Preparatory School
"Reality Check" by Nature Coast Technical
"Curtain Call" by The Hewitt School
"Are you Here?" by Walt Whitman High School
"Decidophobia" by Weeki Wachee High School
"The Interview" by Westlake High School (UT)
"When The Lights Go Out" by James Clemens High School Team C
"Sincerely, Sinclair" by James Clemens High School Team A
"Oh Brother" by Bob Jones High School Team B
Best Experimental:
Winner: "Stream Of Consciousness" by Sadie Schoenberger
"Noema12333" by Sára Ambrožová
"PEOPLE OF THE SUN" by Andrea Ramirez Romo
"GOD, CREATOR, WORDS DON'T SUFFICE." by Andrea Ramirez Romo
"The Han River" by Hannah Hwang
"Who Wants to Live Forever?" by Alejandro Broche
"You Can't Move On From Divorce" by Nicole Scimeca
"Serenity" by Nathan Patrick Winn
"Method" by Cameron Hersly
"Umbral Cloak" by Cade Savage Schwartz
Best Cinematography:
Winner: "Be Mine" by Philipp Tsemnov
"The Buttercup Mafia" by Noam Rignault Clement
"Picture Me Better" by Xavier Alexander
"Ways of Remembering" by Hudson Loverro, Maria Cury
"Power Play" by Micah Lai, Jack Rosenberg
"DIAL NOW" by Eion Nunez
"Umbral Cloak" by Cade Savage Schwartz
"Where We Left Off" by Hunter Nickless
"My Father's Jeans" by Ryan Crean
Best Editing:
Winner: "Cameraman" by Eze Baum
"You Can't Move On From Divorce" by Nicole Scimeca
"Every Living Breathing Moment" by Angelo Carmelo Visser
"Picture Me Better" by Xavier Alexander
"One Man Army" by Brandon Wong, Ye-eun Hong
"Dex 007" by Jacob Avila
"the decision, the reaction" by Daniel Heechan Lim
"The Perfect Life of Drew" by Jamie Schechner
"Fractured" by Stella Moira Atmadja
"THE ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM." by Hunter Douangsavanh
Best Screenplay:
Winner: "Everybody's Doing It" by Summer Kastner
"Passenger Prince" by Lucia Berkovic
"North Star" by Fiachra Cotter O'Culachain
"A Moment of Bliss" by Clarissa Aloisio, Giorgio Bensaia, Gabriel Lo Presti
"Happy Thanksgiving" by Brooklynn Prince
"The Perfect Life of Drew" by Jamie Schechner
"Mayor!" by Mazen Abukhalaf
"Stream Of Consciousness" by Sadie Schoenberger
“Retirement" by Seo Jin Lee
"CLARITY" by Carston Hadlock
Best Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy:
Winner: "Dungeon Master" by Sean Goedecke, William Reimers
"Remember" by Amanda Alexis Sgobbo, Ben Jeffery Wickert
"salty" by Suyan Guo
"The Watcher" by Jack Werner Alvarado
"PLAY AGAIN" by Fiona Paige Nunez
"Black(out)" by Auset Adams
"Good Company" by Navy Esther Osborne
"DIAL NOW" by Eion Nunez
"Afterglow" by Riley Walsh
"Beyond Your Grasp" by Aidan Rutman
Female Rising Star Award:
Winner: "PEOPLE OF THE SUN" by Andrea Ramirez Romo
"Paper Boat" by Yeobin Park
"The Pink Skirt" by Hannah Hope O’ Briant
“Happy Thanksgiving" by Brooklynn Prince
"How It Should Be" by Natalie Yerelekian
"Small Hair 할머니" by Audrey Song
"Everybody's Doing It" by Summer Kastner
"Namesake" by Amelia Chavez
"Flower Girl" by Ryo Helena Schreifels
"In Exchange" by Sophie Cujko
Maverick Award:
Winner: "The God Complex (Chapter 1)" by Sujay Saseedhar
"The Party's In Here" by Raz Wells
"Concordia" by Simon Wu
"Typical" by Yusuf Abdullah Syed
"Macabre" by Daisy Chen
"Within the Seams" by Olivia Mora Carrasco
"T-Shirt" by Lance Nolen
"étapes du deuil-stages of grief" by Vinnie Hamilton Cohen
"Who Wants to Live Forever?" by Alejandro Broche
"Anthropophagy" by Dylan Ferrara, Max Greenblatt
Best International Film:
Winner: "Goose Ridge" by Mitong Wang
"Whence The Wind Blows" by Wanze Li, Xuanyi He
"My Dad; My Rockstar" by Louis Raymond Martin, Donagh Joseph Walsh
"Where" by Ziquan Wang
"Silent Confession" by András Ágoston
"Miss Schwaner" by Sofia Sundorph
"A Moment of Bliss" by Clarissa Aloisio, Giorgio Bensaia, Gabriel Lo Presti
"Whither The Boat" by Yigu Qiu
"Light After Loss" by Cian Conachy & Fiachra Cotter O'Culachain
"Retirement" by Seo Jin Lee
Best Visual FX:
Winner: "Remember" by Amanda Sgobbo & Ben Wickert
"Dungeon Master" by Sean Michael Goedecke, William Reimers
"North Star" by Fiachra Cotter O'Culachain
"Titan" by Colin Nathaniel Klinger
"The Thing In The Woods" by Brady Shea, Gustavo A. Zorrilla Jimenez
"Flutter" by Jade Lea McMillan
"Beyond the Forest" by Fiona Paige Nunez
"Mind Scape" by Dorien Jeffers
"The Breakthrough" by Griffin Case Adams, Logan Graber, Avery Wilson
"The God Complex (Chapter 1)" by Sujay Saseedhar
Best Original Score:
Winner: "North Star" by Fiachra Cotter O'Culachain – Score by Will Schriber
"Knock On Good" by Payton Daly – Score by Irene Pletcher
White Crow" by Ruslan Khromin – Score by Elizabeth Mullaly
"Ghost Town" by Olivia Noh – Score by Ashley Nguyen
"Appliances" by Liam Chatham – Score by Samuel Alcaraz
"Ecdysis" by Adam Angel – Score by Adam Angel
"Kinesthesia" by Aidan Rutman – Score by Aidan Rutman
"El Deseo (The Wish)" by Francesca Varese – Score by Aiden Ahuja
"COACH" by Orson Ford – Score by BoJameson King Ebeling
"Mind Scape" by Dorien Jeffers – Score by Eli David & William Drumright
Audience Choice Award:
Winner: "Happy Thanksgiving" by Brooklynn Prince
Teacher of the Year Award:
Winner: Philip Chidel, Marin School of the Arts
Spark Award:
Winner: "Made in China" by Albert Yuk
"Homeward" by Cristian Perez
"Wang & Da Rats" by James Bylinsky
"We See Us in US: The WWII Camp Wall Story" by Yuta Sean Takahashi, Sophia Muratsuchi, Quetzal Colunga-Huxtins
"Reflection" by Emma Lamoureux, Brooklin Lee Kwai, Maya Grover
"Ancient Land, Living Waters" by Justin Hsu
"Stay Safe Out There, Mr. President" by Jason Zhou
"404" by Jacob Stoelting, Mason Dali, Teddy Vernali, James Barbash
"Speed Bumps Ahead" by Celina Ren, Sophia Faraone, Christina Labban
"Dust Astronauts" by Xing Jing
Best Comedy:
Winner: "Why Can't We Just Be Ghosts?" by Patrick Jang
"Happy Thanksgiving" by Brooklynn Prince
"Hall Monitors" by Jack Downing
"Mayor!" by Mazen Abukhalaf
"Road Tested" by Olivia Blyn, Simon Ostrower
"In Exchange" by Sophie Cujko
"Everybody's Doing It" by Summer Kastner
"How Very, Very Nice to Meet You!" by Hudson Loverro
"Failure To Prepare" by Juda Goldstein
"Beaver Fever" by Nya Chambless
Best Documentary:
Winner: "Not All Heroes" by Connor Strange
"Broken Oaths: Oath Keepers and Proud Boys in the Chicago Police Force" by Amy O'Brien, Jocelyn Urgilez Calle
"I <3 DRVGS" by Chad Moore
"ISAAC" by Trip Breslin
"Whence The Wind Blows" by Wanze Li, Xuanyi He
"Cameraman" by Eze Baum
"What Holds" by Yu Guo
"Namesake" by Amelia Chavez
"Made in China" by Albert Yuk
"No Sanctuary" by G Singh, Rehan Afzal & J Singh
Emerging Talent Award:
Winners:
"Where We Left Off" by Hunter Nickless
"PLAY AGAIN" by Fiona Paige Nunez
"Hall Monitors" by Jack Downing
"The Plague Doctor: Masked Saviour" by Hudson Lau
"West of Okay" by Alejandro Broche
"Acting Out" by Mellony Ledo
"GATEKEEPING." by Bryan Bomfim
"Patriot" by Audrey Maxon
"Where The Snow Runs Cold" by Sawyer George O'Brien
"Instant" by Hudson Hillin
Best Animation:
Winner: "See Yoo In 15" by Noa Simatovic
"Dandelion Child" by Isabella Tao Montesi
"VENTO" by Josh Horton
"Girls Trip" by Audrey Kawasaki
"Eggs Benedict" by Johnny White
"Dreamscaper" by Raissa Lynn Dourado Viana
"Astaroth" by Rocco Spampinato
"Not Enough Time" by Harry Xu
"Ghost Town" by Olivia Noh
"Lost To Time" by Ashley Nguyen
Best Music Video:
Winner: "FROZEN" by Ryan Zreik
"Flutter" by Jade Lea McMillan
"One Man Army" by Brandon Wong, Ye-eun Hong
"Feathers on Fire" by Yeobin Park
"Dex 007" by Jacob Avila
"FIX ME" by Hannah Hope O'Briant
"The Masons - Pancakes" by Dylan Burrows
"Nobody Does" by Emi Optekar
"As One" by Darby McDonald
"That's The Way Everything Goes" by Finian Craig Turner, Pearson William Loeser, Samuel Mateo Barnhoorn
Best Storyblocks “Representation Through Storytelling” Film:
Winner: "Whence The Wind Blows" by Wanze Li, Xuanyi He
"Small Hair 할머니" by Audrey Song
"Yasmin" by Shabnam Alimardani Shafigh
"Black(out)" by Auset Adams
"Within the Seams" by Olivia Mora Carrasco
"Humanity over Hate" by Zara Bharadwaj
“Patriot" by Audrey Maxon
""Grace" by Joy Harjo - Poetry Film" by Amanda Gui
"A Nobody With Two Faces" by Xavier Alexander
"Where" by Ziquan Wang
Best Sound Design:
Winner: "Titan" by Colin Nathaniel Klinger
"The Watcher" by Jack Werner Alvarado
"Appliances" by Liam Chatham
"Stage Fright" by Dean Gofnung
"Rebirth" by Griffin Case Adams, Logan Graber
"The God Complex (Chapter 1)" by Sujay Saseedhar
"Astaroth" by Rocco Spampinato
"The Backseat" by Ben Shore
"Remember" by Amanda Alexis Sgobbo, Ben Jeffery Wickert
"Serenity" by Nathan Patrick Winn
Best Production Design:
Winner: "How It Should Be" by Natalie Yerelekian
"Pulpitum" by Caleb Reese Paul
"Every Living Breathing Moment" by Angelo Carmelo Visser
"Disc Jockeys" by Harlan Coulter Clifford
"PEOPLE OF THE SUN" by Andrea Ramirez Romo
"FISHEYE" by Eion Nunez
"Knock On Good" by Payton Daly
"The God Complex (Chapter 1)" by Sujay Saseedhar
"THUMBING" by Wil Dalton Myers
"By His Hand" by Oliver Copeland
Best Influencer:
Winner: ""This is America" Game Show" by Jayden Adkins
"Time" by Ruslan Khromin
"Gut-Brain Axis: Exploring the Link Between Gut Health and Neurological Disorders" by Amy Pan
"An Investigation." by Donghyeok Kim
"Warning Dream" by Daniel Jinsol Lee
"Whispers of The Endless Land" by Caillou Wang
"Tethered" by Gavin Rockey
"If I Could Do It All Again" by Coco Suarez, Petyon Greene
"The Bet" by Bardia Seiri
"Homebound" by Mina Zaidi
Best Broadcast Journalism - Feature Story:
Winner: "Modesto City Schools HBCU Tour" by Breyden Horstman
"One Smile at a Time" by Addison McGowan
"Key West Sheriff's Office Animal Farm" by Rylan Anthony Owens, Sabastain Dubyk
"KAWAN" by Lilia Spiegel
"1200 Building" by Matthew Kaufman
"The Cuban Sinatra" by Alessandro De Palma
"My Family's Deportation Story" by Santiago Campos
"Art-O-Mat" by Nicole Scimeca
"A Triumph Over Trials_ Dr. Lee’s Journey" by Andrew Ahrendt
"The Journey to Citizenship" by Nicholas Dovales
Best Sports Feature:
Winner: "Progression" by Cade Savage Schwartz
"A Fight Without An Audience" by Reef X Applebaum
"Fore One Last Time" by Dylan Poliakoff
"A Stark Lesson in Loss" by Dylan Poliakoff
"Beyond the Bullseye" by Jaiden Mehta
"Lantern Beyond the Cheer" by Seoyoung Wee
"RHS Athletics" by Kalen Childs
"Matteo Pellazzari: Pucks and Paralympics" by Oliver Moreno, Mina Barnes Tehrani
"All or Nothing: Senior Night Spot in the Playoffs" by Palmer Routh
"Crossing Paths" by Sean Dong
Best Middle School:
Winner: "My Friend Edith" by Lily Combs
"To The Sky" by Camden Lipstein
"Genie of the Gift Shop" by Zachary Newman
"To Be Feared" by Caden Jones
"Headphones Hearing Public Service Announcement" by Rupali Redd
"Climate Solutions!" by Will Moffett
"Off the Page" by Wyatt Klausner, Graydon Cook
"Album of Films" by Olivia Lu, Sofia Rahimi
"The Great One" by Luke Whelan
"America's Got Tailent" by Amelie, Harper, Maxine, Rowan, Aaron
Best Micro-Movie
Winner: "Fine Dining" by Riley Walsh
"Mystery Meat" by Rio Zeko
"Love, Little You" by Payton Beczak
"Resonance" by Junsen Liu
"DO NOT REMOVE" by Reagan Lynn Burton
"LIFE" by Adam Flannelly
"What Do You Want?" by Indy Fow
"Ghost Shutter" by Frhan Ammar
"Dead Signal" by Dev Babbar, Danny Elkhoury, Claire Bagwell, Ben Feibus, Ian Jackson & Andrew Rooney
"PRIZM" by Santiago Salguero, Samuel Perez Laurenza, Gustavo Zorrilla, Maria Ojeda, Nicole Pineros, Renn Walas
Best Video Podcast:
Winner: "V-Cast - Lacey Peterson" by Dahlia Lucero
"Life, Piano, and Tortillas" by Lucas Jackson
"Laps & Yaps Podcast" by Brooke White, Courtney White
"Diary of a Wimpy Kid Collection" by Jonah Shirley
"Jetstream - A Talk With Crishawn" by Rebekah VanHouden
"Gadding Around" by Dylan Poliakoff
"Cooper Bybee Podcast" by Cache J Dowdle
"Dragons' Den Podcast - Dragon Recap" by Miller Kendall Whitt, Kale Austin Shumate
"The I Don't Know Podcast with Aivry Lemons" by Aivry G Lemons
"No Longer Endangered - Reviving Biodiversity Through Hope!" by Tanvi Reddy Padala