2021 Nominees & Winners
Best Overall:
Tess & Dodi - Allee Stone - Santa Ana, CA
Conjugal Revivification - Reed H. Sharp - Huntington Beach, CA
Out of My Mind - Colin Dowse - Carmel, CA
In The Weeds - Nick Milczarczyk - Waterloo, Ontario
Pho - Ethan Chu - Irvine, CA
Beth - Ava Bounds - York, United Kingdom
The Other - Nolan Hieu Trifunovic - Santa Ana, CA
ILEA - Samuel Correa - Miramar, FL
Holographic Dreams: or the Art of Nature and the Nature of Art - Jackson Coates & Dawood Tafsir - Southlake, TX
Winner: Friday - Hudson Flynn - New York, NY
Best Direction:
Tess & Dodi - Allee Stone - Santa Ana, CA
Best of Three - Alex Guo - Irvine, CA
Hot Head - Luca Csathy - Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Conjugal Revivification - Reed H. Sharp - Huntington Beach, CA
Friday - Hudson Flynn - New York, NY
Out of My Mind - Colin Dowse - Carmel, CA
Pho - Ethan Chu - Irvine, CA
The Omega - Elinor Weber - Santa Ana, CA
Beth - Ava Bounds - York, United Kingdom
Winner: In The Weeds - Nick Milczarczyk - Waterloo, Ontario
Best Drama:
Down Seafaring Way - Roxy Morris, Sophia Lee, Shiva Kansagara, Meia Voss - San Diego, CA
Add 30 Seconds - Nicolas Romero - Washington, DC
Isolation - Theo Baldwin Edwards - New Orleans, LA
Holding On - Alejandro Cantu - Ann Arbor, MI
Dreams of Ambivalence - Ren Collantes - Fullerton, CA
The Omega - Elinor Weber - Santa Ana, CA
Beth - Ava Bounds - York, United Kingdom
Intangible - Hazel Belle Sepenuk - Los Angeles, CA
The Sky Behind The Clouds - Chris Zou
Winner: Pho - Ethan Chu - Irvine, CA
Best Film Invitational - Complete Experience:
"Waiting For An Answer" Prosper High School - Team A - Prosper, TX
"Waiting For Divine Intervention" - St. Mary's Hall - San Antonio, TX
"Waiting For A Chance" - West Broward High School - Pembroke Pines, FL
"Waiting For Bro" - Christopher Columbus High School - Miami, FL
"Waiting For My Mother" - Mamaroneck High School - Mamaroneck, NY
"Waiting For a Yes" - Prosper High School Team B - Prosper, TX
"Waiting For Octavia" - Lone Peak High School - Highland UT
"Waiting For Grandpa" - The Westminster Schools - Atlanta, GA
First Runner-Up: "Waiting For the Punchline" - Nature Coast Technical High School - Brooksville, FL
Winner: "Pizza is Worth Waiting For" - Team Boise - Boise, ID
Best Film Invitational - Claustrophobic Creativity Challenge:
Runner-Up: Cerchio - James Clemens HS Team B - Madison, AL
Winner: Not You - Skyridge High School - Lehi, UT
Best Film Invitational - Music Video Challenge:
Runner-Up: Out of Battery - Westlake High School - Saratoga Springs, UT
Winner: What Would You Do? - Lone Peak HS - Highland, UT
Best Experimental:
La Tua Presenza - Sania Bhatia - San Diego, CA
A Not So Subtle Commentary On Being A Teenager - Campbell Topping - Denver, CO
Dreams I Recall - Vasco Ayala - Lisbon, Portugal
What’s Going On in Apartment B? - TJ Santoro - Ashburn, VA
Climbing The Mountain - Samuel Stein - Madison, CT
Fantasies of a Decaying Memoir - Faith Nguyen - Mars, PA
LENZ - Amir Hossein Tabbat - Tehran, Iran
Cross Currents - Eli Berliner - New York, NY
Adrift - Shreyansh Dixit - Frisco, TX
Winner: Monty - Diego Andaluz, Alejandro Santorra, Savannah Hutson, Trace Baxley, & Luca Huff - Fort Lauderdale, FL
Best Cinematography:
Through Their Eyes - Alisha Heng - Glen Oaks, NY
What’s Going On in Apartment B? - TJ Santoro - Ashburn, VA
CAPTIFS - Philippe Vanasse-Paquet - Shefford, Québec - DP: Kevin Champagne-Lessard
By Your Side - Ethan Chu - Irvine, CA - DP: Antone Axten
Horizons - Sean Treacy - Ashford, Ireland
In The Weeds - Nick Milczarczyk - Waterloo, Ontario
Isolation - Andreas Rothbart - Los Angeles, CA
ILEA - Samuel Correa - Miramar, FL
The Other - Nolan Hieu Trifunovic - Santa Ana, CA
Winner: Pho - Ethan Chu - Irvine, CA - DP: Antone Axten
Best Editing:
Cross Currents - Eli Berliner - New York, NY
Adrift - Shreyansh Dixit - Frisco, TX
Best of Three - Alex Guo - Irvine, CA
Erased - Leonardo Cross - Long Island City, NY
Breach - Owen Linzhe Zhang - Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia
The Sky Behind The Clouds - Chris Zou
Isolation - Theo Baldwin Edwards - New Orleans, LA
Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Life - Angela Kim - Irvine, CA
DokTok - Zane Kalani - Highlands Ranch, CO
Winner: Out of My Mind - Colin Dowse - Carmel, CA
Best Screenplay:
Tess & Dodi - Allee Stone - Santa Ana, CA
Washed Up - Rachael Doel
Conjugal Revivification - Reed H. Sharp - Huntington Beach, CA
Strings Attached - Colin Beyersdorf - Madison, AL
Hot Head - Luca Csathy - Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Friday - Hudson Flynn - New York, NY
In The Weeds - Nick Milczarczyk - Waterloo, Ontario
Foyer - Sam Skelton - Provo, UT
The Omega - Elinor Weber - Santa Ana, CA
Winner: Death By Handshake - Hudson Flynn - New York, NY
Best Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy:
The Sidekick - Katie Leung & Sophia Calcagno - Poway, CA
Incursion - Kai Willey & Noah Lillywhite - Visalia, CA
The Invisible Man - Elijah Anthony Feigner - Battle Ground, WA
Human After All - Junsang Yoo - San Diego, CA
Shadow Walkers - Keynesia Turner & April Butler - Longview, TX
My Best Friend - Benji Tucker - Los Angeles, CA
ERSATZ - Gabriel Henk - Texarkana, TX
The Firmament - Morgan Winters - West Palm Beach, FL
Showtime - Kelci Smith - Nocona, TX
Winner: ILEA - Samuel Correa - Miramar, FL
Female Rising Star Award:
Hannah Jones - Madison, AL
Campbell Topping - Denver, CO
Angela Kim - Irvine, CA
Maddie Rudolph - Highlands Ranch, CO
Lulu Chiang - Idyllwild, CA
Isabella Bonelli - Marlboro, NJ
Ava Bounds - York, United Kingdom
Elinor Weber - Santa Ana, CA
Nikki Behjat - Las Vegas, NV
Winner: Allee Stone - Santa Ana, CA
Maverick Award:
Enkata - Max Hendrickson - Dublin, Ireland
The Waterspout - Yubin Namgung - Denver, CO
FOMO - Kevin Meggs - Dublin, Ireland
LENZ - Amir Hossein Tabbat - Tehran, Iran
Strings Attached - Colin Beyersdorf - Madison, AL
Dial Tone - Noah Sellers - Carlsbad, CA
DokTok - Zane Kalani - Highlands Ranch, CO
Detached - Esther Komperda - Chicago, IL
Dreams I Recall - Vasco Ayala - Lisbon, Portugal
Winner: Holographic Dreams: or the Art of Nature and the Nature of Art - Jackson Coates & Dawood Tafsir - Southlake, TX
Best International Film:
Kidult - Shin Habin - Seoul, Korea
FOMO - Kevin Meggs - Dublin, Ireland
LENZ - Amir Hossein Tabbat - Tehran, Iran
Dreams I Recall - Vasco Ayala - Lisbon, Portugal
CAPTIFS - Philippe Vanasse-Paquet - Shefford, Québec
Horizons - Sean Treacy - Ashford, Ireland
Cloudy Dream - Rayhaneh Einollahi, Bahareh Einollahi - Karaj, Iran
The Escapist - Jeongwoo Brian Cho - Seoul, Korea
Fluff - Anzi Tang - Chengdu, China
Winner: Beth - Ava Bounds - York, United Kingdom
Best Visual FX:
Fantasies of a Decaying Memoir - Faith Nguyen - Mars, PA
Dreams I Recall - Vasco Ayala - Lisbon, Portugal
Out of My Mind - Colin Dowse - Carmel, CA
The Firmament - Morgan Winters - West Palm Beach, FL
Human After All - Junsang Yoo - San Diego, CA
ILEA - Samuel Correa - Miramar, FL
The Marlboro Man Died in the Apocalypse - Jack Cosgriff - Denver, CO
The Sidekick - Katie Leung & Sophia Calcagno - Poway, CA
Thought Cabinet - Xavier Wehrli - London, Ontario
Winner: Best of Three - Alex Guo - Irvine, CA
Best Original Score:
Beasts in the Orange Clouds - Mario Landeros - Visalia, CA
Dreams of Ambivalence - Ren Collantes - Fullerton, CA
My Immortal Plant - Eilythia Penati - Washington, D.C.
Death By Handshake - Hudson Flynn - New York, NY
The Omega - Elinor Weber - Santa Ana, CA
Intangible - Hazel Belle Sepenuk - Los Angeles, CA
My Best Friend - Benji Tucker - Los Angeles, CA
Holding On - Alejandro Cantu - Ann Arbor, MI
I Don't Want To Be Here - Milo Barrett - Woodstock, NY
Winner: Delivery - Adam Chawdhury - Coppell, TX
Audience Choice Award:
Winner: In The Weeds - Nick Milczarczyk - Waterloo, Ontario
Teacher of the Year Award:
Winner: Mr. Vidal “Chuck” Rivera - West Broward High School - Pembroke Pines, Florida
Spark Award:
Them - Sean McKenna - Medford, NJ
Prey - Sienna Crosby - Plantation, FL
Delusions - Rebecca Anton - East Elmhurst, NY
The Beauty Conversation - Karis Lai - Princeton, NJ
Beyond The Model - Jessica Lin - Sacramento, CA
A Divided City - Jonas Du & Samantha Cohn - Atlanta, GA
Not Dead Yet - Matthew Kodsi - Brooklyn, NY
We Are The Revolution - Akash Dewan - Irvine, CA
Unmasked - Fredrique Guevara-Prip, Armando Avila & Sarah Bell - New York, NY
Winner: @MeTooLGHS - Natalie Giselle Brooks - Los Gatos, CA
Best Comedy:
Tess & Dodi - Allee Stone - Santa Ana, CA
Tarof - Sam Gharavi & Kian Agahi - Irvine, CA
Best of Three - Alex Guo - Irvine, CA
Death By Handshake - Hudson Flynn - New York, NY
Washed Up - Rachael Doel
Attack of the Wacko - Jagur Rozell - Fort Collins, CO
Fork, Knife, & Chainsaw - Hudson Flynn - New York, NY
Kendall & Princeton - Thomas Fitzgerald, Sadie Swanson - Warwick, RI
Overnight - Van Emberger - Alpharetta, GA
Winner: Hot Head - Luca Csathy - Rancho Santa Fe, CA
Best Documentary:
Holographic Dreams: or the Art of Nature and the Nature of Art - Jackson Coates, Dawood Tafsir - Southlake, TX
Cops Are(n't) Colorblind: Changing the NYPD from the Inside and Out - Demitrius Doward, Nyla Cepeda, Laye Diakite, Geordy Eduardo Mejia, Niaja L. Nazario, Diana Pagan, Jhonatan St. Phard, Taliya Hughes, Mikey Rosa, Moesha Martinez, Shaniya Fletcher - Brooklyn, NY
Marcel Duchamp: The Art of Life - Angela Kim - Irvine, CA
Born Amish - Frost Martin - Sacramento, CA
A Divided City - Jonas Du & Samantha Cohn - Atlanta, GA
I Am A Traister: The Sarah Moskovitz Story - Alexa Biggs, Veronica Howard, Izadora Kashper, Ella Levkowitz, Asher Meron, Bella Rahi, Henry Ullendorff, Olivia Uzielli, Lincoln Weinstock - Los Angeles, CA
Texas Power Outage: Sights & Sounds - Shreyansh Dixit - Frisco, TX
911: The Thin Gold Line - Kyle Patton - Nolensville, TN
@MeTooLGHS - Natalie Giselle Brooks - Los Gatos, CA
Winner: Think Like A Filmmaker - Eli Berliner - New York, NY
Best Animation:
Enkata - Max Hendrickson - Dublin, Ireland
Cosmic Melody - Priscilla Diaz, Joshua Higgs, Jordyn Tyber, Danielle Winnans, Alexandra Parker and Melanie Schwarts - Allen, TX
Sesame - Patrick McDonald - Bedford, NH
Cloudy Dream - Rayhaneh Einollahi, Bahareh Einollahi - Karaj, Iran
History of Animation - Collin Bogert - Woodstock, NY
Delivery - Adam Chawdhury - Coppell, TX
First Dances What Could Possibly Go Wrong? - Nikki Behjat - Las Vegas, NV
Party Animals - Luna Ubide Holmes - Brooklyn, NY
A Ship Called Lili - Natasha Clement, Alexa Druyanoff, Ian Kim, Dovely King, Eve Levy, Idalis McZeal, Ella Moriarty, Gracie Sandman, Hank Schoen - Los Angeles, CA
Winner: Through Their Eyes - Alisha Heng - Glen Oaks, NY
Best Music Video:
ILOVEITWHENTHEWRLDSPINS - Jack Cosgriff - Denver, CO
X-Ray - Martaize Smith - Minneapolis, MN
The Fixer - Grant Meder & Abby Wimberley - Madison, AL
Somebody to Me - Sophia Beltran & Dash Kwan - New York, NY
No Fun - Rodrigo Perez & Brian Olmo - Miami, FL
If And When - Leila Saidane - Richardson, TX
Made For Me - Julia Morgan, Tal Ritter, Maddie Rudolph & Nikki Girard - Highlands Ranch, CO
Skinny Brittle Bones - Anissa Victoria Acosta & Grace Wong - Miami, FL
Know Better - Nolan Hieu Trifunovic - Santa Ana, CA
Winner: Run Away - Noah Frech - Laguna Niguel, CA
Best Action Sports:
WC Basketball Hype - Jackson Rowland - Cleveland, GA
SW Volleyball - Nityanta Saripalli - Overland Park, KS
The Underdog - Nityanta Saripalli - Overland Park, KS
The Road to the Championship Amidst Pandemic: Ben Roy - Tim Lang - Ocean Grove, NJ
RELENTLESS: The Chance Blackburn Story - Ryder Koch - Post Falls, ID
Groovy Girls Basketball - Erin Rud - Draper, UT
JCHS Football Promo 2020 - Caroline Finklea & Sneha Subramani - Madison, AL
Prosper High School Athletic Recap - Tony Zeleke - Prosper, TX
Snow MTB - Ethan Hymas
Winner: GRIT - A Motocross Short Film - Ryder Koch - Post Falls, ID
Best Adventure/Travel:
The Alabaster Awakening - Brian Diaz - San Jose, CA
The Heart of Seoul - Junwon Choi - Suwon-si, Korea
Hungary - Yicheng Martin Gao - Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia
A Southern Summer - Abigail Elizabeth Hugill - Tallahassee, FL
Winner: SOARING - Matthew Warter - Palos Verdes Estates, CA
Best Broadcast Journalism - Feature Story:
Soles by Sir - Christopher Gomez - Miami, FL
The Black Collective - Roxy Morris, Shiva Kansagara, Sophia Lee - San Diego, CA
The Brown Booby - Elizabeth Swords, Jacob Tetlow - Springfield, MO
A Covid Christmas - Elizabeth Swords, Jacob Tetlow - Springfield, MO
The African American Heritage Trail - Elizabeth Swords, Jacob Tetlow - Springfield, MO
A Second Shot - Wyatt Anderson - West Palm Beach, FL
The Bonsai Guy - Rachael Doel
Brewing Change - Elena Kim - Irvine, CA
Lending a Helping Hand - Grace Shao - Irvine, CA
Winner: No More Hunger, No More Waste - Angela Kim - Irvine, CA
Best Broadcast Journalism - Sports Feature:
Carpe Diem Academy Package - Andrea Guzman
Longhorn Life: Jyaire Trevino - Matthew Correa, Jyaire Trevino - Buford, GA
JETNATION: JC Golf - Grant Meder & Mason Holtcamp - Madison, AL
One Shot - Kayla Sim - Fullerton, CA
Blair Crew During COVID-19 - Samantha Levy - Silver Spring, MD
Winner: The Voice of the Explorers - Neo Gaitan
Best Broadcast Journalism - Broadcast TV Highlights:
On the Radar Highlight Reel - Hannah Jones & Joe Dobbs - Madison, AL
Broadcast Journalism: Broadcast TV Highlights Palm Desert High School - Noah Allen - Rancho Mirage, CA
Winner: Baker News - Tristan Hall - Baldwinsville, NY
Best Middle School:
Reminiscence - Arianna Reboni - Denver, CO
Blank - Mia Evans - Denver, CO
Germs - Coral De La Cruz-Novey - Arlington, VA
Fly (But With Your Mask On) - Kaela Jia - Storrs, CT
First Chair - Matthew Wilson - Detroit, MI
Gratitude - Laya Mathikshara Mathialagan - Chennai, India
Rapport - Caroline Nyberg - Denver, CO
The Painter - Vivian Blanz - San Francisco, CA
Ubuntu - Konner Turner - Detroit, MI
Winner: H.I.V. PSA - Audrey Maxon - Glendale, CA
Best PSA:
The Homo Sapien Virus - Andrew Wang - Buffalo Grove, IL
Mental Wellness - Samuel Correa - Miramar, FL
Dear Anxiety - Alex Guo - Irvine, CA
Food For Thought - Sanay Saboo - Irvine, CA
Rally Against Addiction - Charlie Brandon Scott & Jayk Eric Brinton - Highland, UT
Bloom - Grace Shao & Shailee Sankhala - Irvine, CA
You Need To Vote! - Amogh Thakkar - Clarksville, MD
Puppet - Elena Kim & Cecilia Mou - Irvine, CA
Kindness Counts - Alysen Rose - Prosper, TX
Winner: The Masked Robber - Mary Boyer - Oceanside, CA
Best Micro-Movie
Cupid's Stupid - Kallie Coombs - Las Cruces, NM
Homemade - Christopher Andre' Otto & Brody Mccandless - Key West, FL
The Meteor Shower - Erik Jaman - Winnetka, IL
Screenagers - Sean Ussery - Alpharetta, GA
Vacant - Samuel Correa - Miramar, FL
We Choose To Go To The Moon - Natalie Miesak - Windermere, FL
Thems The Beans - Grayson Waggoner - Madison, AL
Dog Food - Meygan Smith
I Don't Know - Dylan Lao - Sugar Hill, GA
Winner: Gym Day - Sanay Saboo - Irvine, CA
Best Podcast:
The Price of Periods - Anjali Einstein - Bothell, WA
Evading The Nuclear Apocalypse - Alexander Leavy - Richland, WA
Diversity in Media: the MCU vs the DCEU - Imani Milligan, Mionna Parks - McDonough, GA
Filmmaker Talk: Ricky Staub - Diego Andaluz - Fort Lauderdale, FL
Filmmaker Talk: Carlos Lopez Estrada - Diego Andaluz - Fort Lauderdale, FL
Charity Talks Podcast - Against Malaria Foundation - Brooke Dunefsky - Irvington, NY
Voter Choice and Family - Rita Shuster - Hollywood, FL
Winner: Filmmaker Talk: Aneesh Chaganty - Diego Andaluz - Fort Lauderdale, FL
Best Atlantic Records Custom Music Video:
It’s Still Cool If You Don’t - Josh Gerber - Lehi, UT
Deadline - Ty Cottle, Hansil Wilbert Kim, Matthew Greer - Highland, UT
The Business - Kaia Chambers - Houston, TX
It’s Still Cool If You Don’t - Grace Wong - Doral, FL
Michelle - Bella Hall - Boise, ID
Imagine - Ty Cottle - Highland, UT
Michelle - Isabella Klug - East Setauket, NY
Winners:
Deadline - Anne Ploegman - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Deadline - Jayk Brinton - Highland, UT
Imagine - Gunner Paas, Tyler Smith - Lehi, UT
Best Tutorial:
How to Use Watercolor - Yezy Suh - San Diego, CA
The Makings of Egg, Rice, & SPAM - Nikia Fenix - San Diego, CA
How to Make A Movie - Zhiyao Song & Shuoyan Ji - Avon, CT
Drawing With Fire: The Art of Pyrography - Olivia Jordan Cevasco - Bronxville, NY
How to Use Perspective - Jayk Eric Brinton - Highland, UT
How To Ship & Package for Depop - Lexi Worms - Solana Beach, CA
The Lip Smacker - Jordan Perez - Miami, FL
How to Remove a Smudge on Your Wall - Siyeong Emma Im - Seongnam-si, Korea
Winner: Cellular Senescence - Nitya Ayyagari - Pleasanton, CA
Best Vlog Life:
Dear Future Self - Isabella Bonelli - Marlboro, NJ
Dreams and Memory - Dongin Matthew Chun - Seoul, Korea
Quarantine Travel Film - Ben Rehrman
I Don't Have An Idea - Gunnar Main - Landisville, PA
Winner: An Unusual Vlog in a Pandemic - Yoonji Choi - Seoul, Korea