2023 Annual Award Winners

Best Indie Short: Soldiers by Zhaoshuai Wu (China)

Best Drama Short: The Silent Canary by Vera Graziadei (UK)

Best Documentary Short: Jawai by Katya Ignatiev (UK)

Best Romantic Short: The Imperfect Picture by Coxy Chiara Rodoni (USA)

Best Comedy Short: Clown Needs a Rock Fix by Mike Shea (USA)

Best Dark Comedy Short: Banshee by Michael David Charles Hicks (USA)

Best Action Short: Angel Wings by Nick Simotas (USA)

Best Crime Short: El Paso 11:55 by Keith Jardine (USA)

Best Film Noir Short: Aquarium In The Fishbowl by Sabrina Jane (China)

Best Mystery Short: Pink Wings by Jaxon Whittington (USA)

Best Thriller Short: Lineage by Finnegan Haid (USA)

Best Horror Short: Caught by Leon Sandy Mitchell (USA)

Best Sci-Fi Short: Truth by Sylvie Zaidman and Nic Shake (Belgium)

Best Fantasy Short: Sinfonietta by Donald Scott Masterson (Canada)

Best Western Short: Dirty Rotten Tofu and the Gohan Girls by June K. Inuzuka (USA)

Best Animation Short: Blue by Robert Petrie (USA)

Best Children Short: Ripple Nipple by Yuying Tang (China)

Best Women Short: As Possible As Everything by Selen Örcan (Turkey)

Best LGBTQ Short: Jelly Bean by Nessa Norich (USA)

Best Experimental Short: Untitled by Lin Song (USA)

Best Student Short: August by Eli McGowan (USA)

Best Microfilm: The Astronaut by Damián Apunte (USA)

Best Music Video: Finger Bang Your Day by Jeff Hilliard and John Orphan (USA)

Best Screendance Short: Perhaps We Wrong Them by John Scheibe (USA)

Best Web Series/TV Pilot: Confessions of a Closeted People Pleaser by Sam Morgan (USA)

Best Female Director: Vera Graziadei for The Silent Canary (UK)

Best Male Director: Axel Zeiliger for Warning (France)

Best Student Female Director: Sabrina Jane for Aquarium In The Fishbowl (China)

Best Student Male Director: Zhaoshuai Wu for Soldiers (China)

Best First Time Female Director: Elly Zhou for Someone You Loved (China)

Best First Time Male Director: Ben Élie for Bad Vintage: A Randy Tale (USA)

Best Actress: Jennifer Bartels for Confessions of a Closeted People Pleaser (USA)

Best Actor: Tony Stavola for Leydenville (USA)

Best Supporting Actress: Charlene Tilton for Leydenville (USA)

Best Supporting Actor: Keith Jardine for El Paso 11:55 (USA)

Best Child/Young Actress: Nora Harriet for The Astronaut (USA)

Best Child/Young Actor: Jakob Wagner for August (USA)

Best Acting Duo: Stephanie Savić and Robert Dill for Twenty One at the Belle Saloon (USA)

Best Ensemble Cast: Jennifer Bartels, Beth Grant, Holmes Osborne, and Jackie Quinones for Confessions of a Closeted People Pleaser (USA)

Best Cinematography: Jean-Baptiste Rière for Dark Cell (France)

Best Editing: Ben Élie for Bad Vintage: A Randy Tale (USA)

Best Original Score: Abigail Western for August (USA)

Best Original Story: Sylvie Zaidman and Chloé von Arx for Truth (Belgium)