OCTOBER 7-13 2025
#SOHO16 #SIFFNYC
2025 WINNERS & NOMINEES LIST
BEST US SHOWCASE FEATURE FILM
NOMINEES:
“A Cell Phone Movie” by Will Sterling
“After All” by Kerstin Karlhuber
“An Arrangement” by Noree Victoria
“Apostory Blues” by Peter Pavlakis
“Carry the Darkness” by Douglas Forrester
“Go On” by Landon Ashworth
“Hello Beautiful” by Ziad H Hamzeh
“I’ve seen all I need to see” by Zeshaan Younus
WINNER:
“The Ballad of a Hustler” by Heitor Dhalia
BEST WORLD SHOWCASE FEATURE FILM
NOMINEES:
“A Farewell to Youth” (Canada) by Adam Jack
“Are we done now?” (Canada) by Ben Immanuel
“The Art of Telling Lies” (Canada) by Pascal Payant
“Ilaw/Light” (Philippines) by Nestor Amador Malgapo Jr.
“Seems Like Love” (Russia) by Yana Klimova-Yusupova
“Song of the Fireflies” (Philippines) by King Palisoc
“Where There Is Love There Is No Darkness” (France) by Stevan Lee Mraovitch
WINNER:
“Wingless” (Bulgaria) by Niki Iliev
BEST SHOWCASE DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM
NOMINEES:
“Faith Healers” (Philippines) by Regina Aquino
“Looking Up” by Elena Neuman
“Maura & Maggie get Callbacks (to play themselves)” by Tennyson Bardwell
“Sanctuary” by Autumn McAlpin, Vienna Boyes
“Saving Walden's World” by James S Merkel, Deborah Shaffer
“Space Chasers” by Dr. Steven Swancoat
WINNER:
“Left Behind” by Anna Toomey
BEST US SHOWCASE SHORT FILM
NOMINEES:
“Becca comes to Visit” by Skya Theobald
“Crane” by Aiden Keltner
“Fast Edee” by Zebedee Row
“Forgive me , Father” by Lyndall Stephenson
“If Birds believed in God” by Samer Saifan
“Sands Street” by Claro de los Reyes
“Shoulder Season” by Sierra Schnack
“Sotto Voce” by David Stillman Meyer
“standby” by Robert Gomes
“The Fencer” by Nicholas Marchetti
“The Lonely Isles” by Max Hakim
WINNER:
“The Singers” by Sam Davis
BEST WORLD SHOWCASE SHORT FILM
NOMINEES:
“Don’t be late, Myra” (Pakistan) by Afia Serena Nathaniel
“Making Beauty” (Canada) by Tammy Salzl
“millie” (Australia) by Pedro Greig
“One more round” (Ireland) by Barry O'Connor
“Teach us how to fly” (Ukraine) by Liliya Syvytska
“Dente” - “Teeth” (Italy) by Frank Dell'Oro
“The Most Powerful Human on Earth” (United Kingdom) by Andrew Richardson
“What’s Wrong, Emma” (France) by Teo Frank
“Wholesome Warmth” (Spain) by Javi Sánchez-Blanco
WINNER:
“Under the Northern Skies” (Finland) by Timo Sakari Puustinen
BEST SHOWCASE DOCUMENTARY SHORT
NOMINEES:
“Fiddler On the Moon” by Daniel A. Miller, Seth Kramer, Jeremy Newberger
“Living Undone” by Amanda Kasmira Cryer
“The Imperfect Mother's Club” by Devorah Herbert
“Voices of Tomorrow” by Lena Popilieva
“West Landing” by Doug Gallo
WINNER:
“Samland” by Grace B Poppe
BEST SHOWCASE ANIMATED FILM
NOMINEES:
“Almost Ten” by Dan Quinn, Sean Davis
“Determination” by Chari Pere
“Flower of the Dawn” by Mark Risley
“Grandpa's Beef Stew” by HaiTao Wu
WINNER:
“The High King's Daughter” by Joël Gibbs
AUDIENCE AWARD for FEATURE
TOP 5 BY OUR AUDIENCE VOTES
“The Ballad of a Hustler” by Heitor Dhalia
“Ilaw/Light” (Philippines) by Nestor Amador Malgapo Jr.
“Looking Up” by Elena Neuman
“Song or the Fireflies” (Philippines) by King Palisoc
WINNER:
“Faith Healers” (Philippines) by Regina Aquino
AUDIENCE AWARD for SHORT FILMS or SERIES PILOT
TOP 5 BY OUR AUDIENCE VOTES:
“Before you” by Lauren Melinda
“Books” by Micah Khan
“Dewey Days” by Zach Rineer
“F*k that Guy” by Hanna Gray Organschi
WINNER:
“Double Happiness” by Shari Albert
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR EXHIBITION FILMS
TOP 5 BY OUR AUDIENCE VOTES:
“Five Month Trial” by Orlando Joubert Jr.
“Martyr of the Gowanus” by Brian Meere
“This will never work” by Niccolo Aeed and Marina Tempelsman
“The Mother, the Menacer and Me” by Jon Salmon
WINNER:
“Brooklyn Minnesota” by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen
BEST LONG FORM SERIES PILOT
NOMINEES:
“Books (the Pilot)” by Micah Khan
“By the Lake” by Alex Dauphin
“Consider the Rainbow” by Shontina Vernon
“It's a Lot” by Scott Breitbarth
WINNER:
“Dewey Days” by Zach Rineer
BEST SHORT FORM SERIES PILOT
NOMINEES:
“My So-Called Iraqi Wedding” by Ayser Salman
“Nadine” by Tash Ann
“The Ninth” by Matt Ferrucci
“The Wheel Deal” by Nick D'Ambrosia
WINNER:
“Disc” by Renzo Montoya
BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE IN A FEATURE OR SHORT FILM
NOMINEES:
“Apostasy Blues”
“Bang Bang”
“Ravel”
“The Lonely Isles”
“The Singers”
WINNER:
“Sotto Voce”
BEST ACTING PERFORMANCE IN A LEADING ROLE - US FEATURE
NOMINEES:
Bernardo Barreto (The Ballad of a Hustler)
Erika Christensen (After All)
Landon Ashworth (Go On)
Penelope Ann Miller (After All)
Renee Gagner (I've seen all I need to see)
WINNER:
Tricia Helfer (Hello Beautiful)
BEST ACTING PERFORMANCE IN A LEADING ROLE - WORLD FEATURE
NOMINEES:
Anna Zavtur (Seems like Love), Russia
Dex Castro (Ilaw/Light), Philippines
Morrisette (Song of the Fireflies), Philippines
Oumar Diaw (Where there is love, there is no darkness), France
Stefany Obadiaru (Wingless), Bulgaria
WINNER:
Naum Shopov (Wingless), Bulgaria
BEST ACTING PERFORMANCE IN A LEADING ROLE - US SHORT
NOMINEES:
Adam Budron (If Birds believed in God)
Bear D'Angelo (The Fencer)
Lalia Hays (How Are We Feeling Today?)
Mike Young (The Singers)
Ray Abruzzo (The Fencer)
WINNER:
Reed Birney (Standby)
BEST ACTING PERFORMANCE IN A LEADING ROLE - WORLD SHORT
NOMINEES:
Dasha Plahtiy (Teach Us How To Fly), Ukraine
Imelda Staunton (The Most Powerful Human On Earth), United Kingdom
Innayah Umer (Don't Be Late, Myra), Pakistan
Lloyd Cooney (One More Round), Ireland
Sarah Bennington (What's Wrong Emma?), France
WINNER:
Lauren Larkin (One More Round), Ireland