The judges wish to recognize the Award of Merit winners for notable
artistic or technical aspects of their project in the categories entered.
Allan Wasserman (USA), Disability in Focus, Disability Issues
Andrea Elisabeth Rüthlein and Matthias Lukoschek (Germany), Silver Hair Still Rocks, Cinematography
Antonio Rodríguez Cabal (Spain), End of Trip – Sahara, Direction
Brian K. Bennett (USA), Intruder in the Hills, Film Short
Cameron Utiger (Australia), Cooked, Film Feature (Student)
Deepthi Iyer, Trupti Kulkarni, Meghana Jagannath, Chitra Parameswaran and Poojitha Prasad (USA), 4 by 4, Women Filmmakers, Women Theme
J. Matt Wallace (USA), Alisher’s Gift, Film Short
Jon Cohen (Australia), Backlash, Film Feature
Keyan Jin (China), The Right Track, Asian Theme (Student), Direction (Student)
Maria McLeod and Hannah Lane (Ireland), I Wish You Were Here, Actress: Supporting (Tracy Keating as Jess)
Mike Gualdoni and Zach White (USA), Concrete Jungle Gym, Documentary Feature, Editing, Cinematography
Mike Hill (Australia), New School 2, On-Camera Talent (non-acting) (Dr. Scott Alterator, Presenter)
Nick Dessipris, New Ark Productions LLC (USA), NICKY NEWARK, Script / Writer, Television – Pilot Program, Contemporary Issues / Awareness Raising
Ping hai Wu (Taiwan), Wounds – Veterans’ Stories, Asian Theme
Sean Patrick-Sasaki (USA), It Was Real, Young Filmmaker – 17 and younger
Tracey Washington-Bagley (USA), NIKO NEWARK, Film Short
Vibha Kulkarni (USA), 7th House, Women Theme, Concept, Creativity / Originality, Entertainment / Drama / Dance / Variety, Original Score (Ramesh Kumar Kannan)
Andrea Elisabeth Rüthlein and Matthias Lukoschek (Germany), Silver Hair Still Rocks, Documentary Feature, Direction
Anna Mayo and John R Seeley (USA), Devils, Film Short, Editing, Direction, Script / Writer, Dramatic Impact
Antonio Rodríguez Cabal (Spain), End of Trip – Sahara, Original Score
Braneka Bassett (USA), My Brother Lenny, Web Series, Actress: Leading (Braneka Bassett as Empress Danicka), Casting
Carmen Rosa Vargas (Peru), Sonata For A Calendar, Actor: Leading (Oswaldo Salas as Alfonso), Film Short
Chen Liang (USA), To Say Goodbye is To Die a Little, Film Short
Chris Romrell (USA), Hybrid, Film Short
Dan Masso (USA), Jera and Brandon Sketch Show, Animation
David Glass (USA), Breaking Out, Original Score
Derek Frey (USA), VIATICUM, Cinematography, Direction, Editing, Film Short
Dima Puchkarev (USA), Grillo (2024) – Break the Cycle, Documentary Short
Eddie Velez (USA), THE CROSS-UP, Film Short, Direction, Religion / Ethics
Eliana Kate Hill (USA), Dear Arkansas Daughter, Animation (Student), LGBTQ+ Theme (Student)
Emily (China), Moonlight, Asian Filmmaker (Student)
George Orallo, Melva McLean and Karen Tusa (Canada), The Interview, Film Short, Ensemble Cast, Script / Writer
Giovanni Zelko (USA), L.A. 4ORCE, Original Score (Francesco Zarone)
Gregory Hernandez (USA), 1.5 Million, Documentary Feature
Haoran Liu (China), Lost in the Strait, Cinematography
Jeremy Waltman (USA), The Veteran, Film Feature
Jim Warne (USA), My Native America, Native Peoples Filmmaker
Karin Ochsner, Surfing to Survive (Australia), Surviving to Thriving, Viewer Impact: Content / Message Delivery
Katherine Liao (USA), When the Devil Smoked in Paradise, Young Filmmaker – 17 and younger, Documentary Short (Student)
KPC – Keeping People Connected (USA), OUTCRY, Liberation / Social Justice / Protest, Contemporary Issues / Awareness Raising, Choreography
Kyle Chase (USA), Something New, Young Filmmaker – 17 and younger
Larry Sarezky (USA), The Conversation, Film Short, Contemporary Issues / Awareness Raising, Liberation / Social Justice / Protest, Public Service Programming / PSA, Script / Writer
Leila Minara Boisvert and Maya Ruby Smith (USA), Ruth, Women Filmmakers (Student)
Majid Asadi (Iran), Brother’s Horn, Film Short
Maria McLeod and Hannah Lane (Ireland), I Wish You Were Here, Actress: Leading (Maria McLeod as Angela), Film Feature, Actor: Leading (Matthew Real as David)
Nathaniel Bernard Shrage (USA), The Miss-Adventures of Molly & Sage, Animation (Student), Jewish Filmmaker (Student), Special Effects: Animation (Student)
Neil Oliver Chisholm (USA), Ancient Chinese Secret, Film Feature
Rhys Watkin (United Kingdom), Not All Those Who Wander, Documentary Short (Student), LGBTQ+ Theme (Student), Nature / Environment / Wildlife (Student)
Rod Lopez (USA), Bill Helman – The WoofDriver, Documentary Feature, Direction
Sadie Duarte (Spain), Between Here and Gone, Women Filmmakers, Actor: Leading (Iván Gisbert as Dax Swayze), Original Score (Composed by Joe Taylor)
Sean Patrick-Sasaki (USA), It Was Real, Asian Filmmaker (Student), Documentary Short (Student)
Sean Qin (USA), Medicine, Film Short (Student)
Seth Keegan Morris and Jose Diaz Oldenburg (USA), Cold Cuts, Music Video
Stephanie Jo Alton (USA), Born of the Ice, Native Peoples Theme
Steve Schuster (USA), Mercy Me, Music Video
Will Jones (USA), Disconnected, Script / Writer
Xingdong Huang, Qiuyu Liang, Xuran Cai and Conghui Yao (China), Dear Desert, Young Filmmaker – 17 and younger
Yijia Ma, Kejing Li and Yanhao Wu (China), The Archaeology Diary, Young Filmmaker – 17 and younger
Yixuan Li (China), Reincarnation, Film Short (Student)
Award of Recognition winners click below:
Award of Excellence and Best of Show winners click below:
