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Slamdance 2025 Screenplay Competition Winners List
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Slamdance 2025 Screenplay Competition Winners List

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Returning for their festival’s 32nd edition from February 19-25, 2026, the bold voices behind Slamdance continue to tell a cutting-edge story by honoring breakout talents who could redefine the film and TV business, too. On Tuesday night in Los Angeles (the event’s new home after leaving Park City, Utah and Sundance behind last year), the 2025 Slamdance screenwriting competition announced its winners at an awards ceremony downtown — hosted by AGBO, the indie studio founded by Anthony and Joe Russo.

In 2025, the contest celebrated writers across five categories: feature film, horror/thriller, TV pilot, short film, and screenplay mentorship. Slamdance awarded more than $18,000 in prizes and creative resources to the talented winners who emerged from a competitive pool of more than 4,200 submissions. A TV pilot about motherhood and healthcare following a woman working in a rural clinic, “The Badlands Woman’s Clinic” by Brennan Cusack took home the $10,000 grand prize.

Sinners

“We read thousands of stories this year, and ‘Badlands Woman’s Clinic’ didn’t just stand out — it recalibrated the room,” said festival director Taylor Miller in a press release. “It’s the kind of writing that changes how you think about what television can hold. At a time when storytelling is engineered to please algorithms, this pilot refuses the formula.”

Reflecting on the win, Cusack continued, “In a country where millions live in ‘maternity care deserts,’ ‘The Badlands Clinic’ celebrates the women who have worked together to create oases. This story explores the transformational power of choice in women’s lives. Here in rural America, choice is not just a headline. It is power, identity, dignity, community, and survival.”

First place winners in the other four categories took home $2,000 each, as well as one-year memberships to Roadmap Writers (an educational digital platform for screenwriting) and complimentary legal services from Pessah Law Group — an official fest sponsor and Slamdance’s own legal counsel. Awarded to “The Gift of Rain” by Renn Tan, the Best Feature winner will also get script coverage from Sony Pictures Classics.

Screenwriter Erick Torres was given this year’s Slamdance Screenplay Mentorship Award for “Cucuy,” the story of a fighting dog who escapes the pits to pursue redemption. The festival will collaborate with Torres to turn that captivating idea into an even better script through one-on-one coaching sessions.

“Cucuy is a story of endurance, trauma, second chances, and the power of love,” said festival manager Anna Lee Lawson in the same release. “Torres demonstrates remarkable talent through his emotional depth, creativity, and ability to tell a powerful story without relying on dialogue. We see tremendous potential here and look forward to working with Erick.”

Read on for the complete list of the 2025 Slamdance screenplay competition winners.

Grand Prize Winner

“The Badlands Woman’s Clinic” by Brennan Cusack

Mentorship Winner

“Cucuy” by Erick Torres

Best Feature

1st place: “The Gift of Rain” by Renn Tan

2nd place: “Vital” by Amir Zargara & Gabe Berry

3rd place: “Burn Her Slowly” by Edith Storm

Best Horror/Thriller

1st place: “MESA” by Pam Covington

2nd place: “Scissor Mouth” by Deborah Richards

3rd place: “Frozen Lies” by Eric R. Lotter

Best Pilot

1st place: “The Badlands Woman’s Clinic” by Brennan Cusack

2nd place: “Entre Nous” by Christina Keach

3rd place: “Broker” by Jas Kandola

Best Short

1st place: “The Comfort Woman Statue” by Kyung-Ja Lee

2nd place: “Inbetweening” by James Newman

3rd place: “Sourdough (Masa Madre)” by Gádor Camacho Cervantes

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Little Amélie or the Character of Rain Review: A Small Animated Wonder
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Animation Is Film Festival Winners Include Little Amelie, Arco

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Animation Is Film, the Los Angeles-based film festival dedicated to spotlighting animation as an art form, announced the winners of their 8th annual festival this week.

“Little Amélie or the Character of Rain,” a French animated film directed by Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han, took the Grand Jury Prize from the festival. Another French film that played at Cannes, “Arco” by Ugo Bienvenu, received the Audience Award. The Fumi Kitahara Special Jury Prize, renamed this year to honor late publicist Fumi Kitahara, went to Spanish Animated film “Decorado” from director Alberto Vázquez. Short films “Gigi” by Cynthia Calvi and “Éiru” by Giovanna Ferrari won the Shorts Jury Grand Prize and the Special Jury Prize for Shorts, respectively.

'Little Amélie or the Character of Rain'

In an interview with IndieWire, Festival director Matt Kaszanek spoke about how the festival was created in 2017 to challenge narratives about animation as a lesser form of art, as well as showcase the best of international animated cinema.

“I think it’s unique to other festivals in that it’s its name is also its mission, which is to celebrate animation, to push back on a narrative that some people have, even subconsciously, that animation is kind of some lesser form of cinema. That you can like animation, but those are not titles that should be considered among the best films of the year,” Kaszanek told IndieWire. “I hear the word animated used as a qualifier a lot. When people are talking about films, they’ll say ‘Oh, I really, really loved ‘Flow.’ That was the best animated film of the year.’ And I would counter that, I think ‘Flow’ was one of the best films of last year. Animation Is Film is very much about that, and that’s its mission.”

Reflecting on how the festival has grown, Kaszanek told IndieWire that the festival has grown in attendance every year since its inception. He also said that, as the festival has established a foothold in the industry, it has become a bellwether for the Animated Feature and Animated Shorts race, with it becoming common for the majority of the movies that make the categories to play at the festival.

“Most of the films that you’re seeing at the festival, these are the films that are getting nominated for Academy Awards,” Kaszanek said. “Four of the best animated shorts had played at Animation Is Film [last year]. And then on the feature side, if you look back over the last four years, it’s pretty common we’ll have typically four, sometimes five of the Best Animated Feature nominees.”

The 2025 festival opened with “Scarlet,” an anime film from director Mamoru Hosoda. “Arco” served as the centerpiece film for the festival, while “Little Amélie” was the official closing selection. Other movies that played at the festival included “Lesbian Space Princes,” “All You Need Is Kill,” “A Story About Fire,” and a remastering of “Paranorman.” Panels from the festival included talks with the directors behind “KPOP Demon Hunters” and a sneak preview of the upcoming “Zootopia 2.”

“We really try to position ourselves as, this is your opportunity to really see everything that’s played at the bigger festivals over the course of the year. So you’re looking at what was at Berlin? And so we got ‘A Story About Fire’ from there, and then what was playing in Cannes, and that’s ‘Arco’ and ‘Little Amélie,’” Kaszanek said. “Geographical diversity is great because we really do sell this festival as an international event, and you’re seeing films from all over the world.”

Reflecting on how the festival has made an impact and the state of animation has evolved, Kaszanek told IndieWire that he feels critical respect for animation has only grown in the years since the festival started. He brought up an increase in animated movies playing at other festivals as a sign of the medium’s evolution and a sign of a promising future for the industry.

“We’re not the only people that are kind of beating that drum that animation is film, and it should be taken seriously, and that these are films that should be celebrated alongside live action films. The progress that I’m seeing is that that’s more people are saying it. The call for that is getting louder,” Kaszanek told IndieWire. “The more film festivals that are showing animation in their lineup, in their competition, is a good thing for the entire industry, and we’re seeing that.”

The 2025 Animation is Film Festival ran from October 17 to 19th at the TCL Chinese Theaters. Read the complete list of winners below.

Grand Jury Prize: “Little Amélie Or the Character of Rain” (dir. Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han)

Audience Award: “Arco” (dir. Ugo Bienvenu)

Fumi Kitahara Special Jury Prize: “Decorado” (dir. Alberto Vázquez)

Grand Jury Prize — Shorts: “Gigi” (dir. Cynthia Calvi)

Special Jury Prize — Shorts: “Éiru (dir. Giovanni Ferrari)

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Oscar Winners Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers Talk 'The Eyes of Ghana'
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Oscar Winners Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers Talk ‘The Eyes of Ghana’

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Their most creative collaboration, 2023’s “The Last Repair Shop,” led director Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers to a Best Documentary Short Oscar win the next year. But it wasn’t a given Bowers would compose the score for Proudfoot’s feature debut, “The Eyes of Ghana.”

“Because it’s a lot of work, right? It’s like, ‘OK, it’s six months of my life,’” Proudfoot told IndieWire during an interview at the 2025 Middleburg Film Festival. “When you decide, ‘OK, this project feels like it’s part of my body of work,’ it’s a big decision, one that I take seriously.”

Though he has mostly worked as a film and TV composer on projects like “Green Book,” “Bridgerton,” and Original Score nominee “The Wild Robot,” Bowers’ work with Proudfoot also includes the Oscar-nominated short “A Concerto Is a Conversation” as co-director. But joining him on this newer, longer, global venture has the composer excited “just be a part of what was already being created.”

Linda Blair in 'Exorcist II: The Heretic'

“The Eyes of Ghana” is seen through the eyes of Chris Hesse, a Ghanaian filmmaker who documented the rise of President Kwame Nkrumah, known as the man who liberated the African continent. Furthermore, when colonizers attempted to burn all evidence of Nkrumah’s time as a revolutionary leader, Hesse snuck his reels out of Ghana, and into a London vault, where the footage has spent decades inside, waiting to be digitized.

As someone who grew up in Nova Scotia, Proudfoot was completely unaware of most of this history. While in Ghana during the COVID-19 pandemic, shooting a film for UNICEF, “the whole van of us, the crew, we’re driving down this main thoroughfare, and I saw this unusually shaped building and a statue of a man pointing. And I said, ‘What’s that?’ They said, ‘Oh, that’s the mausoleum for Kwame Nkrumah.’ And I said, ‘Who’s Kwame Nkrumah?’ Every Ghanaian in the vehicle turned around and looked at me like ‘What the hell?,” said the director. “We know Gandhi, we know Martin Luther King Jr., we know all these figures from history who are responsible for leading a movement that changed the course of a continent or hundreds of millions of people. But Kwame Nkrumah, I opened the file folder of my mind, and there’s nothing there.”

'The Eyes of Ghana' director Ben Proudfoot and composer Kris Bowers speak to a fellow attendee of the 2025 Middleburg Film Festival.
‘The Eyes of Ghana’ director Ben Proudfoot and composer Kris Bowers speak to a fellow attendee of the 2025 Middleburg Film Festival.Shannon Finney

Naturally curious, Proudfoot inquired whether he could speak to anyone who knew the politician, and his crew excitedly pointed him toward Hesse, a now-nonagenarian who worked as Nkrumah’s personal cinematographer, shooting everything on 16mm and 35mm. Though they were 60 years and an ocean apart, Proudfoot and Hesse became fast friends united in the idea of getting the word out there to maintain this treasure trove of footage. “That’s my mission in life,” Hesse told the director.

Nkrumah was crucial in jumpstarting the Ghanaian film industry, building a studio to produce work that conveys an Africa that defies the expectations promoted by colonizers. “If I say, ‘Oh, here’s a documentary set in Africa,’ you immediately have certain expectations of what that might be, based on documentaries you’ve seen in the past or world hunger infomercials on the TV or whatever. Which is not a broad understanding of what’s going on, which was Kwame Nkrumah’s whole point in the first place,” said Proudfoot. 

Through the subject of his film, the director shows how an important part of Ghana’s modern history is entwined with a love of cinema. “We’re making a film not about Kwame Nkrumah, not about Ghana, we’re making a film about Chris Hesse and his experience and how he views it. And Chris Hesse is an extraordinary film artist, a cinematographer,” said Proudfoot. “So if you’re making a film about a filmmaker, you need to bring the best of everything to the table.” The director boasted how “huge swaths of the movie are shot in IMAX 70mm,” particularly in the film’s emotional conclusion, which was shot on 5-perf, 65mm celluloid on an IMAX camera. “That literal camera that we used, that came to Ghana, came from the set of ‘Sinners.’ Same camera.”

Like Proudfoot, Bowers had not heard of Nkrumah, nor had he been to Ghana. Bower said, “I’ve always just been really curious about any sort of scoring of an African project.” Upon formally accepting the offer to once again work with his friend Proudfoot, Bowers said, “I’m aware of the deep history and tradition with music, and so that was my first bit of excitement as a composer, trying to figure out how to incorporate some of that into the score.”

The gyil, the atenteben, and the talking drum were the three key instruments that helped him achieve a more African sound. “I would ask about the gyil, which is a mallet instrument, and was asking, ‘What key does that play in typically?’ So if I write, I can write in that key. And the musician I was speaking with was like, ‘Well, actually that’s usually tuned to whomever the singer is.’ And so that made me inspired to tune themes to each of the characters’ speaking voices and [spend] time transcribing the way they spoke, to see what key range did they speak in.” For instance, the charismatic Hesse was in the key of F Mixolydian. 

Composer Kris Bowers at the 2025 Middleburg Film Festival.
Composer Kris Bowers at the 2025 Middleburg Film Festival.Shannon Finney

To play the atenteben, a bamboo flute, Bowers recruited Dela Botri based on impressive videos of the Ghanaian musician performing. “You could watch him playing jazz riffs and all this stuff. So we were like, ‘OK, we’ve got to get that guy,’” said the composer. Bowers was hesitant to use the talking drum after the instrument’s prominence in Ludwig Göransson’s Oscar-winning “Black Panther” score, but ultimately, “it’s such a huge part of Ghanaian history that it felt like I can’t not put that in there. And also, it felt weird that ‘Black Panther’ for some reason would make it so that I can’t use an instrument when I’m writing a score for an African film.”

Bowers did, however, come to a point where inspiration began getting in the way of execution. “My first pass of writing some of the cues, taking all this information, again, I spent a month studying this stuff, I tried writing a score from a Ghanaian perspective. And it was something that wasn’t quite fitting with the film,” said the composer. “The more Ben and I talked about it, the more I realized it was my own fear of not representing the country well, and music well in that way… This movie is about the power of and the love for cinema, and so [Ben] really encouraged me and helped me embrace just taking everything I know about film music, and I’ve learned now about Ghanaian music, and just try to make this as great as possible.”

He concluded, “I’m not Ghanaian. It actually would be more disrespectful for me to try to pretend like I could write this Ghanaian score. But more so, just try to take as much information as I can and be influenced and informed by that and write music from my heart at that point.”

Nana Adwoa Frimpong, Ben Proudfoot, guests, Brandon Somerhalder and Anita Afono attend the premiere of 'The Eyes of Ghana' during the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.
Nana Adwoa Frimpong, Ben Proudfoot, guests, Brandon Somerhalder, and Anita Afono attend the premiere of ‘The Eyes of Ghana’ during the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.Olivia Wong/Getty Images

Producer Moses Bwayo (and co-director of recent Best Documentary Feature nominee “Bobi Wine: The People’s President”) helped convince the prolific, Oscar-winning shorts director Proudfoot to make this his feature directorial debut.

“My philosophy is that it is our duty as filmmakers not to waste anybody’s time. And sometimes when you make a movie, the idea is that people want to escape. Certainly, I do. When I turn on a movie before I go to bed or on a Saturday afternoon or whatever, I want to go into a world for a few hours. I’m happy that it’s long,” he said. “But oftentimes with documentaries … you want to understand, you want to learn something, you want to solve the mystery, you want to meet these people, you want to come out enlightened, informed, inspired. And so if that’s the reason why you’re watching the movie — which is different, there’s a different kind of intention — you don’t want to spend more time than you need to. A lot of documentaries, especially over the last 10 years, have been designed to suck up as much of your time as possible. That’s why I’ve been so interested in short films, because it’s the opposite.”

He added, “With this film, even though it’s in the category of a feature-length documentary, it’s a lot packed into 89 minutes. As my career has gone on, what I’m committed to less so is format, of short form or feature film, and more just elegance and a richness. It couldn’t have been any shorter. And that the audience feels like, ‘Wow, I took in a lot, I went from knowing nothing about this to knowing a lot, caring a lot,’ that interests me.”

Ultimately, “The Eyes of Ghana” stealthily circles back to the kind of format Proudfoot is known for, making reference to producer and film subject Anita Afonu’s project “Perished Diamonds,” which covers the history of Ghanaian cinema in 40 minutes, plus all of Hesse’s work. “Those reels that are in the archive, they’re mainly short documentaries. So at the end, it might be a feature documentary, but it’s about an archive of short documentaries, so I can’t escape it,” said the director.

'The Eyes of Ghana' subject Chris Hesse.
‘The Eyes of Ghana’ subject Chris Hesse.Breakwater Studios

This resurfacing of Hesse’s footage is “the opposite of what’s happening in America and a lot of the world, which is history being erased, not being able to talk about a war on information. And this is an opening and a blooming of new history, which I think is very exciting,” said Proudfoot. “We’re very proud to be a part of that and drawing attention to that, not just in Ghana, but really across all Africa. Chris traveled all across the continent telling stories in all kinds of countries, because Kwame Nkrumah would lend out his film unit to all these other liberation movements. So it’s continent-wide, really.”

“The Eyes of Ghana” is the first independent feature produced by Barack and Michelle Obama’s production company Higher Ground, and has yet to find a distributor, but Proudfoot’s urgency lies more with encouraging the digitization of Hesse’s archive than rushing into a deal to release the film in theaters. “It’s just about remembering why we made this movie and continuing to pound the pavement and find people who get it, who understand it, and who believe this is an important story that must be told,” he said. “These kinds of stories, often African narratives, they just get left off. ‘It’s not relevant, it’s not important.’ It is important.”

Proudfoot added, “Part of what we’re doing with the film is helping Chris in his mission to reframe this archive, not as a nice-to-have, but as an essential piece of history.”

To Proudfoot, “The highest and best use of documentary is to get people to pay attention, and let’s face it, do something about it. Not just say, ‘That’s a nice documentary.’ [claps] ‘Here’s an award,’ or ‘We think you’re great.’ So what? This archive, if we don’t pay attention, it’s going to be gone in 15 years,” he said. “That’s what happens to cinema, that’s what happens to celluloid. So that’s our hope, whether it’s the distributor or whether it’s finding somebody who really cares about this, who has a connection to it, it must make a difference in the world. Entertainment, for me, it’s not enough. I think it must help solve that problem.”

“The Eyes of Ghana” world-premiered at TIFF before playing Middleburg. It is currently seeking a U.S. distributor.

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Brooklyn Horror Film Festival 2025 — Winners List
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Brooklyn Horror Film Festival 2025 — Winners List

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Are rats cute, creepy, or a matter of genre? That’s the sort of debate you have at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival — a warm-and-whacky annual event in New York City that expanded rapidly for its 10th edition.

Co-founded by creative director Justin Timms, this gonzo celebration started a decade ago as a quaint movie club in the backroom of a bar. Now, it’s a ten-day affair held at several different venues with an estimated 5,000 guests in attendance for 2025. That’s a 20 percent increase since last year and proof that buzz for Brooklyn Horror is building scary well.

“Rats, much like horror, are deeply misunderstood,” said Timms, who champions plenty of weird art you could describe that way. This year, Brooklyn Horror gave top accolades to Mickey Reece’s “Every Heavy Thing,” Emilio Portes’ “Don’t Leave the Kids Alone,” and “Last Call,” a short film directed by Winnie Cheung. Read the exclusive Brooklyn Horror Film Festival winners announcement below.

David Zaslav and Steven Spielberg at the premiere of 'The Color Purple' held at The Academy Museum on December 6, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

“There really wasn’t a festival like this in New York,” said Timms. “There’s the New York City Horror Film Festival, but they show more strictly defined horror movies — and Scary Movies at Lincoln Center is back, but that’s a much smaller program. So, there are other horror festivals, but they’re just not programming all of the kinds of films that we’re interested in.”

Creative director Justin Timms at the 10th Brooklyn Horror Film FestivalSean Chee, Brooklyn Horror Film Fest

Brooklyn Horror recruited IndieWire to its panel of expert judges this year. That group — which also included voices from prominent genre brands like Vinegar Syndrome, Fangoria, MPI Media, Alter, and more — toasted not just the scariest cinema but the most out-there media of all kinds. That’s important to Joseph Hernandez, the senior programmer and director of community development who has been working alongside Timms since the festival’s inception.  

“The mainstream perception of horror goes back to the ‘80s to that explosion of slasher sequels, and that’s what really helped form the image of what a horror movie is today,” Hernandez said. “Ever since then, true horror fans have been trying to explain that the genre world is so much more than that.”

The three categories in competition at Brooklyn Horror 2025 included the annual shorts contest; the Dark Matter lineup, for features grounded in serious subject matter; and the Head Trip section, for features that expand your mind. The winners from the 10th-anniversary year demonstrate just how far you can stretch the definition of an award-worthy film — in the best way.

“What worries me most is that people will stop taking big swings,” said publicist Justin Cook, when asked about his hopes and fears for the genre landscape going forward. Cook just joined Brooklyn Horror Film Festival a few years ago, but he knows what’s cutting-edge. “There should always be movies out there that take big swings. Some work for me personally. Some do not. But I will always respect a big swing.”

Asked about the best movie debate he’s had at Brooklyn Horror so far, Cook hauled off and asserted a hot take he heard earlier this week: Rob Zombie’s “Halloween” is… more entertaining than John Carpenter’s original?! Programmer Tori Potenza is a recent addition to the team too, and it’s those kinds of moments that transformed them from a visiting film critic to a yearly organizer hungry for more.

“The community is the thing that made me love this festival so much,” said Potenza, noting that many of the most important conversations in genre veer toward Dark Matter. “When you look at the history of horror, there’s so much that’s either in the subtext or the actual text that’s about marginalized communities. We are representing that history by honoring people who didn’t always have the chance to be behind the camera and tell their own stories.”

The 2025 Leviathan Award winner Ernest Dickerson at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival Sean Chee/Brooklyn Horror

“Horror is a very wide prism that can be so many things and we’re just constantly trying to reflect that in our program every year,” agreed Hernandez. “We are a genre film festival and we’re very proud of our ongoing mission to continue to stretch that definition.”

When Brooklyn Horror first got started, the infamous pizza rat video from 2015 had just gone viral. The rodent has served as the fest’s unofficial mascot ever since, but it took a decade for Timms to finally stop by a Spirit Halloween and pick up the animatronic that’s stealing the spotlight in all of this year’s photos. The rat is called Pepperoni and his agent “demands he be credited by name,” said Cook.   

But to quote the truest internet meme I’ve read in recent memory, “The worst person you know is somewhere saying, ‘I’m passionate about uplifting community.’” Not so at Brooklyn Horror, where Timms avoids taking credit and instead heaps praise on his organizers and volunteers… while waxing poetic on the redemptive quality of rats. Popping sponsored Gushers in red wine (an off-the-menu secret you found here first!), the creative director shared his favorite conversation from this year’s Brooklyn Horror as well.

Recalling a chat he had with Leviathan Award winner Ernest Dickerson, who got distracted on his way to the bathroom during a screening, Timms said, “He forgot he was waiting, and completely out of the blue, he wanted to tell me about this Japanese horror movie he saw on YouTube. He said it’s so good I need to watch it. So, you know I will.”

Read on for all the winners (and some of their reactions!) at the 10th Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.

Dark Matter Jury Awards

Best Feature: “Don’t Leave the Kids Alone”

“On behalf of everyone at ‘Don’t Leave the Kids Alone,’ we would like to thank the jury of the Dark Matter section, Matt Barone and everyone who make the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival possible and everyone who took the time to attend the screenings. Thanks for inviting the film, fighting for the theatrical experience, nurturing horror audiences, bringing together international films and colleagues of the forbidden genres. And last but not least… ¡Viva Brooklyn Horror Fest y el Cine de Terror!”
—Emilio Portes, director

A scene from director Emilio Portes’ “Don’t Leave the Kids Alone”

Best Director: Paolo Strippoli, “The Holy Boy”

Best Performance: Olivia Taylor Dudley, “Abigail Before Beatrice”

Best Screenplay: Aleksandar Radivojevic, “Karmadonna”

Best Cinematography: Cristiano Di Nicola, “The Holy Boy”

Best Practical FX: Mio Chiba and Tokhiko Endo, “Incomplete Chairs”

Head Trip Jury Awards

Best Feature: “Every Heavy Thing”

“What an honor. It’s been my lifelong goal to buck the formula of every kind of movie so it’s galvanizing to receive this award which celebrates just that.”
—Mickey Reece, director

(Left to right): Tipper Newton and Mickey Reece for “Every Heavy Thing”Sean Chee/Brooklyn Horror Film Fest

Best Director: Yûta Shimotsu, “New Group”

Best Screenplay: Avalon Fast, “CAMP”

Best Performance: Tipper Newton, “Every Heavy Thing”

Best Editing: Simon Glassman, “Buffet Infinity”

Best Cinematography: Eily Sprungman, “CAMP”

Best Sound Design: Johnny Blerot, “Buffet Infinity”

Shorts Competition Jury Awards

Best Short: “Last Call”

“I’m grateful to the festival, the jurors, and everyone who embraced the shadows of this film. This honor belongs to the cast and crew, whose artistry and devotion brought to life the strange, the unsettling, and the hauntingly beautiful metamorphosis of ‘becoming.” 
—Winnie Cheung, director

A scene from director Winnie Cheung’s “Last Call”

Best Director: Kylie Aoibheann, “The Dysphoria”

Best Performance: Nicole Elliot, “Jeff”

Best Special FX: Sharp FX, The Dysphoria

Best Screenplay: Louise Flaherty & Neil Christopher, “The Gnawer of Rocks”

Best Sound Design: Jack Goodman, “Eonian”

Best Art Direction: Danny Christopher & Sarah Ball, “The Gnawer of Rocks”

Best Editing: Marcus Fahey, “Daddy is a Hunter”

Home Invasion Award: “Rebrand” (dir. Edoardo Ranaboldo)

Special Jury Mention for Filmmaker to Watch: Nathan Ginter, “Overgrown”

The Leviathan Award

Brooklyn Horror’s first and only tribute award, was created in 2023 to honor the luminaries of horror and acknowledge their monstrous contributions to the genre.

The 2025 Leviathan Award goes to the multitalented Ernest Dickerson, whose prolific career as a cinematographer and director has given horror fans a surplus of greatness on screens both big and small. With his trailblazing run of feature films and TV show episodes dating back to the 1980s and spanning to the present day, Ernest Dickerson has helped to pave the way for the likes of Jordan Peele and Nia DaCosta by showing that horror cinema knows no color lines nor cultural barriers.

Leviathan Award winner Ernest Dickerson at the Brooklyn Horror Film FestivalSean Chee/Brooklyn Horror Film Fest

The 10th Brooklyn Horror Film Festival runs through October 25 in New York City. Check showtimes.

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2025 Daytime Emmys: Complete Winners List
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2025 Daytime Emmys: Complete Winners List

by jummy84
written by jummy84

General Hospital dominated the 2025 Daytime Emmy Awards with seven total wins, while Sir David Attenborough broke a record that was set just one year earlier.

Attenborough notably beat Dick Van Dyke’s record as the oldest-ever winner of a Daytime Emmy, which he set at the 2024 show. Dyke was 98 when he won the award, while Attenborough is 99.

General Hospital won the coveted best daytime drama series award and took home the most awards with seven trophies, including best drama actress (Nancy Lee Grahn), best supporting drama actor (Jonathan Jackson) and daytime drama writing.

Other winners on the night were The Secret Lives of Animals and The Drew Barrymore Show with three awards each, plus ABC’s Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade and Netflix’s Black Barbie, with two wins.

Drew Barrymore won a for daytime talk series host attached to The Drew Barrymore Show, which was nominated in nine categories and won three trophies. The award for best daytime talk series went to Live With Kelly and Mark.

Paul Telfer earned his first win for best actor in a daytime drama series for his turn as Xander Kiriakis on Days of our Lives, and Grahn won best actress in a daytime drama series for playing Alexis Davis on General Hospital.

During the telecast, Susan Walters won supporting daytime drama series actress for her role of Diane Jenkins Abbott in The Young and the Restless, and Jackson won for supporting daytime drama series actor for his performance as Lucky Spencer on General Hospital.

The 52nd annual Daytime Emmy Awards were handed out Friday night at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium while streaming on The Emmys apps and at watch.TheEmmys.tv. Mario Lopez served as the night’s host. During the live show, Deborah Norville was presented with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Lisa Yamada became the inaugural winner in the emerging talent in a daytime drama series category, which was one of three new awards handed out at the 2025 Daytime Emmys alongside best culinary cultural series and regional content in a daytime genre

Presenters included Brad Bestelink, Kardea Brown, Alexa Havins Bruening, Scott Clifton, Olivia d’Abo, Dan Feuerriegel, Rory Gibson, Carla Hall, Deidre Hall, Cherie Jimenez, Judge Lauren Lake, Egypt Sherrod & Mike Jackson, Ross Mathews, Michael Mealor, Karla Mosley, Joseph Rosendo, Michelle Stafford and Lisa Yamada.

The Hollywood Reporter received one nomination this year, for best arts and popular culture program for its Off Script With The Hollywood Reporter series.

The full list of winners and nominees from the 2025 Daytime Emmys night follows.

Outstanding Daytime Drama Series
Days of Our Lives (Peacock)
General Hospital (ABC) (WINNER)
The Young and the Restless (CBS)

Outstanding Daytime Talk Series
The Drew Barrymore Show (CBS Media Ventures)
The Jennifer Hudson Show (Warner Brothers Television Distribution)
The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBCUniversal Syndication Studios)
Live With Kelly and Mark (Disney Entertainment Distribution) (WINNER)
The View (ABC)

Outstanding Entertainment News Series
Access Hollywood (NBCUniversal Syndication Studios)
E! News (E! Entertainment)
Entertainment Tonight (CBS Media Ventures) (WINNER)
Extra (Warner Brothers Television Distribution)

Outstanding Culinary Instructional Series
Be My Guest with Ina Garten (Food Network)
Delicious Miss Brown (Food Network) (WINNER)
Emeril Cooks (Roku)
Lidia’s Kitchen (PBS)
Selena + Restaurant (Food Network)

Outstanding Culinary Cultural Series
BBQ High (Magnolia Network)
Chasing Flavor with Carla Hall (HBO | Max) (WINNER)
Ingrediente: Mexico (Amazon Prime Video)
TrueSouth (ESPN | ABC | SEC Network)

Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program
America’s Court with Judge Kevin Ross (Entertainment Studios)
Divorce Court (FOX)
Hot Bench (CBS Media Ventures) (WINNER)
Judy Justice (Amazon Prime Video)
Justice for the People With Judge Milian (Entertainment Studios)
We the People With Judge Lauren Lake (Entertainment Studios)

Outstanding Travel and Adventure Program
Expedition Unknown (Discovery Channel) (WINNER)
Field Trip With Curtis Stone Hong Kong (PBS)
The Good Road (PBS)
How I Got Here (BYUtv)
Joseph Rosendo’s Steppin’ Out (PBS)
Mexico Made With Love (PBS)

Outstanding Science and Nature Program
Living with Leopards (Netflix)
National Parks: USA (National Geographic)
The Secret Lives of Animals (Apple TV+) (WINNER)
Secret Lives of Orangutans (Netflix)
Secrets of the Neanderthals (Netflix)

Outstanding Instructional/How-To Program
Dime Como Hacerlo (Roku)
The Fixers (BYUtv)
Fixer Upper: The Lakehouse (Magnolia Network) (WINNER)
Going Home with Tyler Cameron (Amazon Prime Video)
Married to Real Estate (HGTV)
Martha Gardens (Roku)

Outstanding Lifestyle Program
George to the Rescue (NBC)
Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut (Netflix)
Harlem Globetrotters: Play It Forward (NBC)
Homegrown (Magnolia Network)
You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment (Netflix) (WINNER)

Outstanding Arts and Popular Culture Program
Black Barbie (Netflix) (WINNER)
Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame (PBS)
Off Script With The Hollywood Reporter (IFC)
The Swift Effect (Peacock)
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors (PBS)

Outstanding Daytime Special
Bob Newhart: A Legacy of Laughter, An “Entertainment Tonight” Special (CBS)
Dinner Party Diaries with José Andrés (Amazon Prime Video)
Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade (ABC) (WINNER)
98th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (NBC)
Shelter Me: The Cancer Pioneers (PBS)

Outstanding Short Form Program
Ballin’ Out (Outsports) (WINNER)
Billboard Presents (Billboard.com)
Catalyst (LinkedIn News)
Eat This With Yara, “The Chef Preserving Gaza’s Cuisine Amid a Genocide” (AJ+)
Live Like A Champion (Healthline)

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series: Actress
Sharon Case as Sharon Newman, The Young and the Restless (CBS)
Eileen Davidson as Ashley Abbott, The Young and the Restless (CBS)
Melissa Claire Egan as Chelsea Lawson, The Young and the Restless (CBS)
Nancy Lee Grahn as Alexis Davis, General Hospital (ABC) (WINNER)
Michelle Stafford as Phyllis Summers, The Young and the Restless (CBS)
Laura Wright as Carly Spencer, General Hospital (ABC)

Outstanding Lead Performance in a Daytime Drama Series: Actor
Peter Bergman as Jack Abbott, The Young and the Restless (CBS)
Eric Martsolf as Brady Black, Days of Our Lives (Peacock)
Greg Rikaart as Leo Stark, Days of Our Lives (Peacock)
Paul Telfer as Xander Kiriakis, Days of Our Lives (Peacock) (WINNER)
Dominic Zamprogna as Dante Falconeri, General Hospital (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Daytime Drama Series: Actress
Linsey Godfrey as Sarah Horton, Days of Our Lives (Peacock)
Courtney Hope as Sally Spectra, The Young and the Restless (CBS)
Kate Mansi as Kristina Corinthos Davis, General Hospital (ABC)
Emily O’Brien as Theresa Donovan, Days of Our Lives (Peacock)
Susan Walters as Diane Jenkins Abbott, The Young and the Restless (CBS) (WINNER)

Outstanding Supporting Performance in a Daytime Drama Series: Actor
Tajh Bellow as TJ Ashford, General Hospital (ABC)
Blake Berris as Everett Lynch, Days of Our Lives (Peacock)
Michael Graziadei as Daniel Romalotti, The Young and the Restless (CBS)
Gregory Harrison as Gregory Chase, General Hospital (ABC)
Jonathan Jackson as Lucky Spencer, General Hospital (ABC) (WINNER)

Outstanding Emerging Talent in a Daytime Drama Series
Olivia d’Abo as Fifi Garrett, The Bay (Popstar! TV)
AnnaLynne McCord as Cat Greene, Days of Our Lives (Peacock)
Ashley Puzemis as Holly Jonas, Days of Our Lives (Peacock)
Christian Weissmann as Remy Pryce, The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS)
Lisa Yamada as Luna Nozawa, The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS) (WINNER)

Outstanding Guest Performance in a Daytime Drama Series
Linden Ashby as Cameron Kirsten, The Young and the Restless (CBS)
Clint Howard as Tom Starr, The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS)
Jacqueline Lopez as Blaze, General Hospital (ABC)
Alley Mills as Heather Webber, General Hospital (ABC) (WINNER)
Valarie Pettiford as Amy Lewis, The Young and the Restless (CBS)
Avery Kristen Pohl as Esme Prince, General Hospital (ABC)

Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host
Drew Barrymore, The Drew Barrymore Show (CBS Media Ventures) (WINNER)
Jenna Bush Hager, Hoda Kotb, TODAY With Hoda and Jenna (NBC)
Kelly Clarkson, The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBCUniversal Syndication Studios)
Mark Consuelos, Kelly Ripa, Live With Kelly and Mark (Disney Entertainment Distribution)
Jennifer Hudson, The Jennifer Hudson Show (Warner Brothers Television Distribution)

Outstanding Culinary Host
Kardea Brown, Delicious Miss Brown (Food Network) (WINNER)
Joanna Gaines, Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines (Magnolia Network)
Ina Garten, Be My Guest with Ina Garten (Food Network)
Emeril Lagasse, Emeril Cooks (Roku)
Michael Symon, Symon’s Dinners Cooking Out (Food Network)

Outstanding Daytime Personality – Daily
Cassie DiLaura, Denny Directo, Kevin Frazier, Rachel Smith & Nischelle Turner, Entertainment Tonight (CBS Media Ventures) (WINNER)
Scott Evans, Zuri Hall, Kit Hoover & Mario Lopez, Access Hollywood (NBCUniversal Syndication Studios)
Star Jones, Corey Jovan, Divorce Court (Fox)
Whitney Kumar, Kevin Rasco, Sarah Rose & Judge Judy Sheindlin, Judy Justice (Amazon Prime Video)

Outstanding Daytime Personality – Non-Daily
Sir David Attenborough, Secret Lives of Orangutans (Netflix) (WINNER)
Brad Bestelink, Living With Leopards (Netflix)
Andi Sweeney Blanco, Courtney Dober, Rob North & Kirin Stone, The Fixers (BYUtv)
Anthony Mackie, Shark Beach With Anthony Mackie: Gulf Coast (National Geographic)
Martha Stewart, Martha Gardens (Roku)

Outstanding Writing Team for a Daytime Drama Series
Days of Our Lives (Peacock)
General Hospital (ABC) (WINNER)
The Young and the Restless (CBS)

Outstanding Writing Team for a Daytime Non-Fiction Program
Black Barbie (Netflix) (WINNER)
Modern Pioneering With Georgia Pellegrini (PBS)
National Parks: USA (National Geographic)
Secret Lives of Orangutans (Netflix)
Shelter Me: The Cancer Pioneers (PBS)

Outstanding Directing Team for a Daytime Drama Series
Days of Our Lives (Peacock)
General Hospital (ABC) (WINNER)
The Young and the Restless (CBS)

Outstanding Directing Team for a Single Camera Daytime Non-Fiction Program
Living With Leopards (Netflix)
Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild (NBC)
The Secret Lives of Animals (Apple TV+)
Secret Lives of Orangutans (Netflix) (WINNER)
Shark Beach With Anthony Mackie: Gulf Coast(National Geographic)

Outstanding Directing Team for a Multiple Camera Daytime Non-Fiction Program
Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade (ABC)
The Drew Barrymore Show (CBS Media Ventures) (WINNER)
The Good Road (PBS)
The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBCUniversal Syndication Studios)
The Wizard of Paws (BYUtv)

Outstanding Music Direction and Composition
Mysteries of the Terracotta Warriors (Netflix)
National Parks: USA (National Geographic)
The Secret Lives of Animals (Apple TV+)
Secret Lives of Orangutans (Netflix) (WINNER)
Secrets of the Neanderthals (Netflix)

Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video
Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade (ABC) (WINNER)
The Drew Barrymore Show (CBS Media Ventures)
Neighbours (Amazon Prime Video)
The View (ABC)
The Young and the Restless (CBS)

Outstanding Cinematography
Living With Leopards (Netflix)
Mysteries of the Terracotta Warriors (Netflix)
National Parks: USA (National Geographic) (WINNER)
The Secret Lives of Animals (Apple TV+)
Secret Lives of Orangutans (Netflix)

Outstanding Single Camera Editing
Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut (Netflix)
Mysteries of the Terracotta Warriors (Netflix)
The Secret Lives of Animals (Apple TV+) (WINNER)
Secret Lives of Orangutans (Netflix)
Secrets of the Neanderthals (Netflix)

Outstanding Multiple Camera Editing
Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade (ABC)
The Fixers (BYUtv)
How I Got Here (BYUtv)
The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBCUniversal Syndication Studios)
Resurrected Rides (Netflix) (WINNER)

Outstanding Live Sound Mixing and Sound Editing
The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBCUniversal Syndication Studios) (WINNER)
The Talk (CBS)
The View (ABC)
The Young and the Restless (CBS)

Outstanding Sound Mixing and Sound Editing
Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut (Netflix)
Joseph Rosendo’s Steppin’ Out (PBS)
Living With Leopards (Netflix)
National Parks: USA (National Geographic)
The Secret Lives of Animals (Apple TV+) (WINNER)
Secret Lives of Orangutans (Netflix)
Secrets of the Neanderthals (Netflix)

Outstanding Lighting Direction
Days of our Lives (Peacock)
The Drew Barrymore Show (CBS Media Ventures)
The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBCUniversal Syndication Studios) (WINNER)
The View (ABC)
The Young and the Restless (CBS)

Outstanding Main Title and Graphic Design
Car Masters: Rust to Riches (Netflix)
The Drew Barrymore Show (CBS Media Ventures)
Hack Your Health: The Secrets of Your Gut (Netflix) (WINNER)
Reconnecting Roots (PBS)
Tex Mex Motors (Netflix)

Outstanding Casting
Days of our Lives (Peacock) (WINNER)
General Hospital (ABC)
Making Good (BYUtv)
Start Up (PBS)
The Young and the Restless (CBS)

Outstanding Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design
The Drew Barrymore Show (CBS Media Ventures)
The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBCUniversal Syndication Studios)
Live With Kelly and Mark (Disney Entertainment Distribution)
Mysteries of the Terracotta Warriors (Netflix) (WINNER)
The Young and the Restless (CBS)

Outstanding Costume Design/Styling
The Drew Barrymore Show (CBS Media Ventures)
General Hospital (ABC) (WINNER)
Mysteries of the Terracotta Warriors (Netflix)
Sherri (Debmar-Mercury)
The Young and the Restless (CBS)

Outstanding Hairstyling and Makeup
The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS)
The Drew Barrymore Show (CBS Media Ventures) (WINNER)
General Hospital (ABC)
The Jennifer Hudson Show (Warner Brothers Television Distribution)
The Kelly Clarkson Show (NBCUniversal Syndication Studios)
Secrets of the Neanderthals (NBNetflix)
Sherri (Debmar-Mercury)

Outstanding Regional Content in a Daytime Genre
Chicagoland’s Best Bites (WMAQ-TV)
createid | SARA: A Life in Dreams and Symbols (Idaho Public Television) (WINNER)
Danzando para Sanar (WWDT-TV)
Hidden Homicide (WGN-TV)
Relish (Twin Cities PBS)

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Daytime Emmys Winners 2025
TV & Streaming

Daytime Emmys Winners 2025

by jummy84
written by jummy84

UPDATED with latest winners: The 52nd Annual Daytime Emmys, otherwise known as the daytime soaps’ biggest night, are underway Friday in Pasadena, CA.

Among this year’s nominations leaders to look for during tonight’s ceremony emceed by Mario Lopez at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium are CBS’ The Young and the Restless with 19, ABC’s General Hospital with 16, Peacock’s Days of Our Lives with 13, The Drew Barrymore Show (syndicated) with nine and The Kelly Clarkson Show (syndicated) with eight.

So far, early winners include Drew Barrymore, who won for Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host. Later, her show faces off in the Daytime Talk Series category against last year’s winner Kelly Clarkson, The Jennifer Hudson Show, Live with Kelly and Mark and The View.

Also tonight, Apple TV’s The Secret Lives of Animals has taken three Emmys including for Outstanding Science and Nature Program, and Netflix’s Black Barbie, which won for Outstanding Arts and Popular Culture Program and for writing.

Meanwhile, The Young and the Restless‘ Susan Walters and General Hospital‘s Jonathan Jackson have already won their respective supporting categories.

Only three daytime dramas will vie for the top prize for Outstanding Drama: General Hospital (last year’s winner), Days of Our Lives and The Young and the Restless. The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences says the default target is five, but guidelines state that “in any category where there are fewer than ten (10) submissions, no more than 50% of submitted entries may be nominated. This is a longstanding rule that the National Awards Committee is enforcing across all competitions to ensure the integrity of NATAS competitions and maintain the reputation of excellence for nominees.”

Sadly, a new player in the sudser world won’t be competing this year. CBS’ Beyond the Gates just bowed in February of this year; the eligibility window for this year’s Daytime Emmy nominees ended on December 31, 2024. Beyond the Gates, which has been renewed for a second season, will be eligible next year.

Follow along below to track the winners as they are announced.

Outstanding Regional Content In A Daytime Genre

createid | SARA: A Life in Dreams and Symbols
Idaho Public Television [Northwest Chapter]

Outstanding Culinary Cultural Series

Chasing Flavor with Carla Hall
HBO | Max [Max | Fremantle’s Original Productions]

Outstanding Daytime Talk Series Host

Drew Barrymore
The Drew Barrymore Show
CBS Media Ventures

Outstanding Cinematography

National Parks: USA
National Geographic [Stronghold Studios, LLC]

Outstanding Instructional/How-To Program

Fixer Upper: The Lakehouse
Magnolia Network [Blind Nil]

Outstanding Daytime Personality – Non-Daily

Sir David Attenborough
Secret Lives of Orangutans
Netflix [Silverback Films]

Outstanding Costume Design/Styling

General Hospital
ABC

Outstanding Writing Team For A Daytime Non-Fiction Program

Black Barbie
Netflix [shondalandmedia]

Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Daytime Drama Series

Jonathan Jackson as Lucky Spencer
General Hospital (ABC)

Outstanding Lifestyle Program

You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment
Netflix [Netflix | OPS | The Vogt Foundation]

Outstanding Arts and Popular Culture Program

Black Barbie
Netflix [shondalandmedia]

Outstanding Casting

Days of Our Lives
Peacock

Outstanding Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design

Mysteries of the Terracotta Warriors
Netflix

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Daytime Drama Series

Susan Walters as Diane Jenkins Abbott
The Young and the Restless (CBS)

Outstanding Travel and Adventure Program

Expedition Unknown
Discovery Channel [Ping Pong Productions]

Outstanding Multiple Camera Editing

Resurrected Rides
Netflix [Bright Bay Creative]

Outstanding Directing Team For A Single Camera Daytime Non-Fiction Program

Secret Lives of Orangutans
Netflix [Silverback Films]

Outstanding Science and Nature Program

The Secret Lives of Animals
Apple TV+

Outstanding Music Direction And Composition

Secret Lives of Orangutans
Netflix [Silverback Films]

Outstanding Live Sound Mixing And Sound Editing

The Kelly Clarkson Show
NBCUniversal Syndication Studios

Outstanding Single Camera Editing

The Secret Lives of Animals
Apple TV+

Outstanding Short Form Program

Ballin’ Out
Outsports

Outstanding Main Title And Graphic Design

Hack Your Health
The Secrets of Your Gut
Netflix [Tremolo Productions]

Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video

Disney Parks Magical Christmas Day Parade
ABC [Film 45 | EverWonder Studio | Yellow Shoes Studio]

Outstanding Writing Team For A Daytime Drama Series

General Hospital
ABC

Outstanding Sound Mixing And Sound Editing

The Secret Lives of Animals
Apple TV+

Outstanding Guest Performance In A Daytime Drama Series

Alley Mills as Heather Webber
General Hospital (ABC)

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Student Academy Award Winners 2025: See Full List
TV & Streaming

Student Academy Award Winners 2025: See Full List

by jummy84
written by jummy84

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its student winners from colleges and universities around the world at the 52nd Student Academy Awards ceremony on Monday, October 6, 2025. Gold, Silver and Bronze placements were announced and trophies presented during a ceremony held at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City. 

The Student Academy Awards were established in 1972 to provide a platform for emerging global talent by creating opportunities within the industry to showcase their work. All Student Academy Award-winning films are eligible to compete for the 98th Oscars in the Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, or Documentary Short Film categories. The 2025 winners join the ranks of such past Student Academy Award winners as Spike Lee, Robert Zemeckis, Patricia Riggen, Pete Docter, and Patricia Cardoso. Last year, five 2024 Student Academy Award-winning films made the Oscar shortlists. Past winners have gone on to receive 69 Oscar nominations in total, and have won or shared 15 awards.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 12: Sam Altman speaks onstage during A Year In TIME at The Plaza Hotel on December 12, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for TIME)

This year, the Student Academy Awards competition received 3,127 entries from 988 colleges and universities worldwide. With remarks by Academy CEO Bill Kramer and Academy President Lynette Howell Taylor, the night’s category presenters included Academy Actors Branch Governor Lou Diamond Phillips and filmmakers Craig Brewer, Jon M. Chu and Alex Woo. The 2025 ceremony is available to view on the Oscars YouTube page.

The 2025 Student Academy Award placements are:

Alternative/Experimental

Gold: Xindi Zhang, “The Song of Drifters,” University of Southern California

Silver: Vega Moltke-Leth, “Without Perfection,” University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Bronze: Mati Granica, “flower_gan,” London College of Communication, United Kingdom

Animation

Gold: Tobias Eckerlin, “A Sparrow’s Song,” Film Academy Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Silver: Lucas Ansel, “The 12 Inch Pianist,” Rhode Island School of Design 

Bronze: Sofiia Chuikovska, Loïck du Plessis D’Argentré & Maud Le Bras, “The Shyness of Trees,” Gobelins, France

Documentary

Gold: Tatiana McCabe, “Tides of Life,” University of the West of England Bristol, United Kingdom

Silver: Rebeka Bizubová, “Confession,” Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, Slovakia

Bronze: Jane Deng, “I Remember,” New York University 

Narrative

Gold: Jan Saczek, “Dad’s Not Home,” Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School, Poland

Silver: Meyer Levinson-Blount, “Butcher’s Stain,” Tel Aviv University, Israel

Bronze: ZEFAN, “Kubrick, Like I Love You,” Columbia University

First-time honors go to the University of Copenhagen, Gobelins, Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School, Academy of Performing Arts in Bratislava, London College of Communication and University of the West of England Bristol.

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Who Were Honored At The 71st National Film Awards?
Bollywood

Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji & Mohanlal Earn Major Honors — Check Out The Complete List Of Winners!

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Who Were Honored At The 71st National Film Awards?
Check Out The 71st National Film Awards Winners List! (Photo Credit – Instagram)

The 71st National Film Awards of 2025 finally shed a much-needed light on a few of the finest films and performances of the year 2023. Conducted at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi and chaired by President Droupadi Murmu, the ceremony awarded talent from all of India. From powerful acting performances to technical expertise, the awards honored the diversified palette of Indian films.

Film enthusiasts and fans eagerly awaited for the announcement of the awards. In this article, we will discuss which actors and films were honored at the 71st National Film Award. Check out the complete list of winners (retrieved via Mathrubhumi.com):

71st National Film Awards: Major Honors

  • Best Actor: Vikrant Massey and Shah Rukh Khan both won the award for their respective performances in 12th Fail and Jawan. Both impressed fans with their characters and their added depth and detail.
  • Best Actress: Rani Mukerji received the award for Mrs. Chatterjee vs Norway, giving a performance that impressed critics and viewers equally.
  • Best Feature Film: 12th Fail won the top honor after being met with applause for its story and direction.
  • Best Director: Sudipto Sen for The Kerala Story was awarded for his outstanding direction.
  • Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani took home the award because of mass appeal.
  • Best Feature Film Promoting National, Social, and Environmental Values: Vicky Kaushal-led Sam Bahadur won the honor.
  • Dadasaheb Phalke Award: Mohanlal, a seasoned actor, bagged the lifetime achievement award.

71st National Film Awards: Other Important Categories

  • Best Documentary: God Vulture and Human by Rishiraj Agarwal
  • Best Short Film: Giddh (The Scavenger) by Manish Saini
  • Best Debut Film of a Director: Aatmapamphlet by Ashish Avinash Bende
  • Best Children’s Film: Naal 2
  • Best Child Artist: Sukriti Veni Bandreddi for Gandhi Tatha Chettu, Kabir Khandare for Gypsy, and Treesha Thosar, Shrinivas Pokale, Bhargav Jagtap for Naal 2.
  • Best Actor in a Supporting Role: Vijayaraghavan for Pookkaalam and M. S. Bhaskar for Parking.
  • Best Actress in a Supporting Role: Urvashi for Ullozhukku and Janki Bodiwala for Vash
  • Best Film in AVGC (Best Visual Effects): HanuMan

71st National Film Awards: Regional Cinema Winners

The awards also highlighted regional talent:

  • Best Hindi Film: Kathal – A Jackfruit Mystery
  • Best Telugu Film: Bhagavanth Kesari
  • Best Tamil Film: Parking
  • Best Kannada Film: Kandeelu: The Ray of Hope
  • Best Gujarati Film: Vash
  • Best Bengali Film: Deep Fridge
  • Best Marathi Film: Shyamchi Aai
  • Best Malayalam Film: Ullozhukku
  • Best Assamese Film: Rongatapu 1982
  • Best Odia Film: Pushkara
  • Best Punjabi Film: Godday Godday Chaa

71st National Film Awards: Musical & Technical Honors

  • Best Male Playback Singer: P.V.S.N. Rohit for Baby (Premisthunna)
  • Best Female Playback Singer: Shilpa Rao for Jawan (Chaleya)
  • Best Lyrics: Kasarla Shyam for Balgam
  • Best Action Direction: Nandu-Prudhvi for HanuMan
  • Best Cinematography: Prasanthanu Mohapatra for The Kerala Story
  • Best Editing: Midhun Murali for Pookkaalam
  • Best Screenplay: Sai Rajesh for Baby and Ramkumar Balakrishnan for Parking
  • Best Dialogues: Deepak Kingrani for Sirf Ek Bandaa Kaafi Hai
  • Best Choreography: Vaibhavi Merchant for Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (Dhindhora Baje Re)
  • Best Make-Up: Shrikant Desai for Sam Bahadur
  • Best Costume Design: Sachin Lovalekar, Divvya Gambhir, Nidhhi Gambhir for Sam Bahadur
  • Best Production Design: Mohandas for 2018
  • Best Film Critic: Utpal Dutta (Assam)

The 71st edition of the National Film Awards is an ode to not just individual excellence but the entire talent pool of Indian films. With a mix of mainstream hits, big performances, and regional gems, the awards reflected the effervescent talent pool of the film world.

For more such stories, check out Bollywood News

Must Read: Hi Arshad Warsi, Watched You Twice In A Single Day & Here’s My Petition To Our OG Circuit Bhai – Please Keep Our Moods Jolly With Class Acts! [Opinion]

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Busan Project Market 2025 Winners Unveiled
TV & Streaming

Busan Project Market 2025 Winners Unveiled

by jummy84
written by jummy84

Armenian project “Black Star Angel” claimed the top prize at the Asian Project Market (APM), a key component of Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market, as organizers announced winners across 30 competing film projects.

Director Christine Haroutounian took home the highest honor — the APM Busan Award — for her second feature “Black Star Angel.” Eve Baswel’s “Heaven Helps Us!” and Yoon Eunkyoung’s “Gochi” emerged as the ceremony’s biggest winners, each securing two awards.

The three-day event, featuring pitching sessions and one-on-one meetings, connected filmmakers with international co-producers, financiers and global distributors.

Jordanian filmmaker Darin J. Sallam, whose debut “Farha” represented Jordan at the 95th Academy Awards, won the ArteKino International Award for her sophomore project “Churching of Women.”

Jury head Christian Jeune praised “Black Star Angel” as a “project shows great maturity in dealing with a universal question: what does it mean, ‘personal commitment,’ in a world torn by confuse and violence.”

“Busan is amazing. APM has just been like very welcoming and also very well organized,” Haroutounian told Variety. “I met people from all over the world with such different backgrounds. For them, to be able to really connect to this material that is very niche and very specific, really made me feel like I’m on the right track without diluting anything from the vision of the film.”

Asian Project Market 2025 Award Winners

APM Busan Award
“Black Star Angel,” dir. Christine Haroutounian, prod. Christine Haroutounian, Maxwell Schwartz (Armenia, U.S.)
Suzanna is no militant. But when her life begins to crumble, she enlists in a war she does not understand in a place she has never been.

One Cool Award
“The Funeral March,” dir. Fujita Naoya, prod. Fujita Kanako, Zou Aiken, Zou Lin, Shiina Yasushi (Japan, China)
A recluse woman in snowy Hokkaido steals her mother’s body to fulfill a buried promise—sparking an absurd, emotional road trip as her estranged family chases her across the frozen countryside.

CJ ENM Award
“Gochi,” dir. Yoon Eunkyoung, prod. Stanley Kwak (Korea)
A travel vlogger couple visits a lakeside village by chance. After tasting a fish called “Gochi,” the village’s bizarre truth is revealed, and they struggle to save each other from a mad festival.

VIPO Award
“Wake Me up When the Mourning Ends,” dir. Lau Kok Rui, prod. Soi Cheang, Stefano Centini, Wong Kew Soon (Malaysia, Hong Kong, Italy, Taiwan)
A grieving single mother returns for her fiancé’s final rites, hoping to reclaim her son—only to confront a family still mourning and a mother’s sorrow that mirrors her own.

Red Sea Film Fund Award
“Buy My Car,” dir. Zhang Yaoyuan, prod. Kunizane Mizue, Ichiyama Shozo, Mo Zhulin (Japan, China)
Xiao Ma, a struggling Chinese PhD student in Japan, barely survives by running an illegal taxi. But when his only car—and lifeline—gets stolen just before graduation, he embarks on a desperate, absurd quest to replace it.

ArteKino International Award
“Churching of Women,” dir. Darin J. Sallam, prod. Deema Azar, Ayah Jardaneh (Jordan)
1938, the Levant. After being wrongfully imprisoned in a mental asylum, an author is faced with a decision to surrender to insanity or fight for her sanity.

Songwon Award
“Dance Dance Revolution,” dir. Choi Hana, prod. An Boyoung (Korea)
Halloween tragedy survivors Yongsun and Surim create a ‘drinking, dancing, partying club for introverts’ in memory of their friend who didn’t return—but the disaster stigma turns them against each other.

KB Award
“Arrival of Water,” dir. Jo Heeyoung, prod. Park Sejin (Korea, Japan)
Amid the untranslated words left by his departed lover, Yuuki is confronted with his own words that never managed to depart.

Kantana Award — Picture
“Flying Cows,” dir. Nguyen Pham Thanh Dat, prod. Nguyen Huu Thi Tuong Vi (Vietnam)
In order to lift the family out of poverty, a struggling genuine farmhand Trau plans to steal a secret milk formula without knowing his growing love to the scientist forces him to choose between his family’s future and the girl he can no longer lie.

Kantana Award — Sound
“Gochi,” dir. Yoon Eunkyoung, prod. Stanley Kwak (Korea)
A travel vlogger couple visits a lakeside village by chance. After tasting a fish called “Gochi,” the village’s bizarre truth is revealed, and they struggle to save each other from a mad festival.

Kongchak Studio Award
“Heaven Helps Us!,” dir. Eve Baswel, prod. John Torres, Jules Katanyag, Dazen Santos Katanyag (Philippines)
Set against the 1981 Manila Film Center collapse, this reimagined drama follows workers whose stories intersect as they race to meet an impossible deadline—unaware that in 12 hours tragedy will strike.

TAICCA Award
“Gilddong,” dir. Park Ruiwoong, prod. Ahn Byungrae (Korea)
Drawn from truth, colored by lies—a crimson story that shook their kingdom to its core.

Sorfond Award
“Heaven Helps Us!,” dir. Eve Baswel, prod. John Torres, Jules Katanyag, Dazen Santos Katanyag (Philippines)
Set against the 1981 Manila Film Center collapse, this reimagined drama follows workers whose stories intersect as they race to meet an impossible deadline—unaware that in 12 hours tragedy will strike.

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