LAFA WINNERS
September 2018
Best Picture
THE BEACON
Chris Staehler
Best Narrative Feature
SANTA INOCENCIA
Meritxell Campos Olivé
Best Narrative Short
LIGHTHOUSE
Arturo Saboia, Joaquim Haickel
Honorable Mention: Narrative Film
KILL THE LIGHT
Mark Schimmel
Best Indie Feature
SAY MY NAME
Jay Stern, Deborah Frances-White, Lisa Brenner
Honorable Mention: Indie Feature
MIRACLE OF CHRISTMAS
Eri Tsukimoto
Best Indie Short
JUDITH & HOLOFERNES
Aurora Maria Lopez, Oscar Turri
Honorable Mention: Indie Short
ANA
Manuela Berlanga
Best Drama Feature
THICKER THAN WATER
Dominic Crisci
Best Drama Short
KOMMANDO 1944
Derek Quick
Honorable Mention: Drama
JOYCE
Nora Jaenicke
Best Comedy Feature
SHITHEAD
Mike Morelli
Best Comedy Short
THE MASSES
Toni Nagy
Best Dark Comedy Feature
THE SLEEPER BY THE RIVER
Manuel Sanchez
Best Dark Comedy Short
I'M TELLING YA!
Helder F Gomes
Best Romantic Comedy
GRAFFITI
Divyansh Sharma
Honorable Mention: Romantic Comedy
WHEN 'HE' INTERVENED
Nihal Vasudevan
Best Thriller Feature
WAITING ROOM
Alexander Leontaritis
Best Thriller Short
THERE'S SOMETHING IN THE TRUNK.
Daniel J. Egbert
Honorable Mention: Thriller
BROKEN INNOCENCE
Francisco Baca
Best Horror
TERRORDACTYL
E.K. Scarfone
Honorable Mention: Horror
DODAH
Jondaniel Cornett
Best Mystery Film
STRIGES
Gregory Vogt
Best Sci-Fi
THE BEACON
Chris Staehler
Honorable Mention: Sci-Fi
AJI
Anastasia Berezovsky
Best Experimental Film
SOMNAMBULIST
Ju-Chiang Yang
Honorable Mention: Experimental Film
DISCONNECTIONS
Alberto Martín-Aragón
Best Inspirational Feature
CURING THE INCURABLE?
Gary Null
Honorable Mention: Inspirational Feature
DON'T STARE AT ME!
David Balla
Best Inspirational Short
MAXIMA: THIS LAND OF MINE
Mariel Sosa
Honorable Mention: Inspirational Short
DD-214
Jared Drake
Best Action Film
NIGHT SHIFT
John Balazs
Honorable Mention: Action Film
POLISI MALING
Randolph Zaini
Best Film Noir
SOMBRA CITY
Elias Plagianos
Honorable Mention: Film Noir
DAMAGED
Richard Rotter
Best LGBTQ Film
MY NAME WAS JANUARY
Elina Gress, Lenee Son
Best Fantasy Feature
AND THEY LIVED..
Meitar Paz, Javier Espinoza
Best Fantasy Short
THE GOLDEN SCISSORS
Qinmeizi Le
Honorable Mention: Fantasy Film
THE SHROUD
Marie Vandelannoote
Best Crime Film
WHIRLPOOL
Anmar Bajaba
Best TV Series
TRUE MUSICIANS
Imre Szabó-Stein, David Géczy
Best Web Series
OR DIE TRYING
Chelsea London Lloyd
Honorable Mention: Web Series
DAMAGED
Richard Rotter
Best Sitcom
TEAM MARS
Steve O'Reilly, Andy Ferguson, Damien Drake
Best Web/TV Pilot
THE WACKY WOBBLERS
Drew Stalker, Angi Tianzhu
Honorable Mention: Web/TV Pilot
SOUL UNDERTOW
David Palkowski
Best Documentary Feature
CYBERWORK AND THE AMERICAN DREAM
James Shelley
Honorable Mention: Documentary Feature
SEARCHING FOR THE LOTUS-BORN MASTER
Laurence Brahm
Best Documentary Featurette
SUPERHUMAN QUEST - THE NINJA
Rob Baard
Honorable Mention: Documentary Featurette
SNIFFER DOGS
Don wen-bin
Best Documentary Short
SYRIA'S TENT CITIES
Mira Hamour
Honorable Mention: Documentary Short
THE TRAFFIC SEPARATING DEVICE
Johan Palmgren
Best Animation
GEOMETRY
Simo Liu
Best Music Video
FEELING LOW: LUBIANA
Semoulin Mehdi
Honorable Mention: Music Video
ILLUMINATI
Paul Ittian Smith
Best Student Film
POLYMORPHIA
Bernardo Covarrubias Villarreal
Honorable Mention: Student Film
AVA
Sahvannah Henry
Best Microfilm
WRONG NUMBER
Megan Binnie
Honorable Mention: Microfilm
BLUE LIES
Austin Taft
Best Director
SAY MY NAME
Jay Stern
Honorable Mention: Director
THE SLEEPER BY THE RIVER
Manuel Sanchez
Best First Time Director
I SEE
Akaki Popkhadze
Honorable Mention: First Time Director
DRAG
Brandon Sherrill
Best Indie Filmmaker
SANCTUARY
Kristina Hyland
Honorable Mention: Indie Filmmaker
SUGAR LAND
Lorenzo Lanzillotti
Best Young Filmmaker
HOUSING ON FIRE
Michelle Cho
Honorable Mention: Young Filmmaker
MIKO FOY - WASTED TIME
Grey Smoley
Best Actor (Feature Film)
THE SLEEPER BY THE RIVER
Dominique Pinon
Honorable Mention: Actor (Feature Film)
GRAFFITI
Divyansh Sharma
Best Actress (Feature Film)
THICKER THAN WATER
Ellie Popov
Honorable Mention: Actress (Feature Film)
THE SLEEPER BY THE RIVER
Marina Tomé
Best Actor (Short Film)
KOMMANDO 1944
Daniel Joo
Honorable Mention: Actor (Short Film)
SOMBRA CITY
Josh Burrow
Best Actress (Short Film)
BUILDING A SWIMMING POOL
Daisy Kosmider
Honorable Mention: Actress (Short Film)
ENLIGHTENMENT
Brianna Sacry
Best Actor in an Indie Film
SAY MY NAME
Nick Blood
Best Actress in an Indie Film
WAITING ROOM
Tonia Sotiropoulou
Best Supporting Actor (Feature)
THE SLEEPER BY THE RIVER
Pascal Turmo
Best Supporting Actress (Feature)
THICKER THAN WATER
Madeleine Kennedy
Best Supporting Actor (Short)
KOMMANDO 1944
Bejo Dohmen
Best Supporting Actress (Short)
DISCONTENT
Karol Gabriel
Honorable Mention: Supporting Actor
THICKER THAN WATER
Anthony Brandon Wong
Honorable Mention: Supporting Actress (Feature)
THE SLEEPER BY THE RIVER
Delphine Depardieu
Honorable Mention: Supporting Actress (Featurette)
NIGHT SHIFT
Liz Conrado
Best Young Actor
PRINCE IN A JAR
Stephen Moran
Best Young Actress
HER STORY
Jess Gabor
Honorable Mention: Young Actress
APPREHENSION
Megan Samways
Best Child Actor
THE GOLDEN SCISSORS
Brendan Fowler
Best Child Actress
SANCTUARY
Faith Matthews
Best Duo
ALLEN + MILLIE: A SHORT ROMANCE
Brooke Lewis & Courtney Gains
Honorable Mention: Duo
A KING'S CHOICE
Taraiyasi Prym-Waqa, Lester Purry
Best Ensemble
KOMMANDO 1944
Daniel Joo, Louie Chapman, Jeff Seid, Bejo Dohmen, Mike Bingaman, Bryan Navarro, John Manahan, Derek Quick, Brett Ian Edwards, Evan Henderson, Aramis Merlin, Vincson Green, Benjamin Schnau
Honorable Mention: Ensemble
I BELONG HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
Andreas O'Rourke, April Yanko, David Ogrodowski, Jene' Rossini, Anne Rematt, Jackson Frew
Best Cinematography
KOMMANDO 1944
Christopher Brendan Kistan
Honorable Mention: Cinematography
ENLIGHTENMENT
Jorge Córdova
Best Editing
KOMMANDO 1944
Derek Quick
Honorable Mention: Editing
I DON'T WANT TO SLEEP ALONE
Rongdanyang Xiang
Best Score
SATURN VOYAGER
André Luiz Machado
Honorable Mention: Score
THE VERY LOVING CATERPILLAR
Mariano Saulino
Best Song
KOMMANDO 1944
Ahmed Arifin
Honorable Mention: Song
FAR AWAY PLACES
Toni Cornell
Best Sound Design
KOMMANDO 1944
Alexander Verbitskiy
Honorable Mention: Sound Design
TOMISLAV'S DIARY
Cheng Hsien Yu
Inspiring Woman in a Film
NANA'S ROOM
Mitch Roberson
Best Visual Effects
SHITHEAD
Wilfred Driscoll
Best Makeup
KOMMANDO 1944
Kao Miyamoto
Honorable Mention: Makeup
ECHOES OF WAR
Susana Mondragon
Best Commercial
WE ARE ALL ALIEN
James F. Coton
Honorable Mention: Commercial
BE THE CONTRAST
Klaus Kneist
Best Original Story
KOMMANDO 1944
Derek Quick
Honorable Mention: Original Story
I BELONG HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
Nicholas Zarzeczny
Best Screenplay Feature
PAINTED SHARKS
Brian Lutes
Honorable Mention: Screenplay Feature
MARRY ME, LATER MAYBE
Jim Norman
Best Screenplay Short
FAR FROM THE CASTLE
Julia Jansch
Honorable Mention: Screenplay Short
FATAL PERFECTION
Konstantinos Pateronis
Best Drama Screenplay (Feature)
SURFMEN OF THE PACIFIC
Derek Quick
Honorable Mention: Drama Screenplay (Feature)
MOJO
Joanne Bellew
Best Drama Screenplay (Short)
COWS CAN'T SWIM
Jonas Möllmann
Honorable Mention: Drama Screenplay (Short)
LAST RESORT
Marco Gabriel
Best Comedy Screenplay
HERCULEAN TASK
Mark Allard-Will
Best Action Screenplay (Feature)
THE NIGHT WITCHES
Steven Prowse
Best Action Screenplay (Short)
THE LIFE GAMBLE 2
Peter Janov
Best Sci-Fi Screenplay
BLUE MOUNTAIN
Lâle Teoman
Best Thriller Screenplay (Feature)
WOLVES OF BEIRUT
Kat Sparks
Best Thriller Screenplay (Short)
BLOOD ON THE SNOW
Sidharth Eleswarapu
Honorable Mention: Thriller Screenplay
CLAUSTROPHOBIA
Jeff Woodard
Best Fantasy Screenplay
THE CHAMP AND OTHER SHORT STORIES
Jonathan Omar Colon
Best First Time Screenwriter (Feature)
NATALIE RISING
Donna Wheeler
Best First Time Screenwriter (Short)
SOMNAMBULIST
Ju-Chiang Yang
Honorable Mention: First Time Screenwriter
ELBOWLESS NIGHT
Zicen Zhou
Best Television Script
THE EMPATH
Steve Brown
LAFA Winner: The Beacon - Trailer
LAFA Winner: Kommando 1944 - Trailer
LAFA Winner: Joyce - Trailer
LAFA Winner: Judith & Holofernes - Trailer
LAFA Winner: The Sleeper by the River - Trailer
LAFA Winner: There's Something in the Trunk - Trailer
LAFA Winner: Thicker Than Water - Trailer
LAFA Winner: TerrorDactyl - Trailer
PARTNER FESTIVALS
OFFICIAL LAFA
STATUETTE
Winners may order the official
LAFA statuette
LAFA Winner: Lubiana - Feeling Low - Trailer