PIFF 2023 AWARD NOMINEES & WINNERS:

1 - Best Feature Film 

The Party 

The Son Rises 

A Pretty Good Movie - WINNER 

Yes Repeat No 

2 - Best Short Film 

Heroes 

Awaken Her 

Back Home 

Ball and Vase 

Black Boy Suffering Is A Mood. - WINNER

Bound 

The Caddy 

Darlings 

Fight Like A Mother 

Frelse 

fu 

A Ghost Story 

Glimpse 

Kanashimi 

Testimony 

The Visit 

3 - Best Documentary Feature 

DancingDADS 

Sorry, We’re Closed - WINNER 

4 - Best Documentary Short 

SUE 

Nicholas Brothers: Stormy Weather 

A Boat For My Brother - WINNER 

The Sandwich Man 

The Exchange Girl 

5 - Best Feature Screenplay 

Cleopatra’s Needle by Leanne Melissa Bishop 

Kairn: Mates of the Alliance by Fionne Foxxe Farraday, Oliver Tuthill and Tara Walker 

Maestra by Susan Polk 

Missed Connection by Bruce Gadel 

Mystic Stranger by Gerald Berns and David Morse 

Out of the Flames by Stephanie Hutchinson 

Raguel by Ali Jordan 

Sam’s Place by Sheri Sussman - WINNER 

6 - Best Short Screenplay 

Death’s Assistant by Brian G. White 

Madly by P. Patrick Hogan 

On The Last Day by Rachel S. Thomas - Medwid 

Watching Walter by Mark Brown - WINNER

Yachatz by Dawna Sirard 

7 - Best Stage Play 

Sad-Man by Connor Lawless 

Autumnal Summer by Ed Vela - WINNER 

8 - Best Student Film 

Leaving The Factory 

Bliss and Sad 

Far From The Wheel 

Plain Sight 

Thunderclouds 

The Baseball Cap 

Roses 

Senseless - WINNER 

9 - Best Music Video 

Fireline 

Strange Loops 

Unsteady 

A Biker’s Dream 

You Can’t Hide The Light - WINNER 

10 - Best Animation 

Trojan Horace 

In Your Dreams 

Turning The World - WINNER 

11 - Best Actor ( Feature ) 

Leif Gantvoort ( A Pretty Good Movie ) 

Erik Alexander Gavica ( The Son Rises ) - WINNER 

Lyndon Hoffman-Lew ( The Party ) 

Ebin Antony ( The Party ) 

Carter Skyers ( The Party ) 

12 - Best Actress ( Feature ) 

Mariana Anaya ( The Son Rises ) 

Sara Catherine Bellamy ( The Party ) - WINNER 

Michelle Redman ( The Party ) 

Savannah Meaike ( The Party ) 

Briza Covarrubias ( The Son Rises ) 

13 - Best Actor ( Short ) 

Roberto Sanchez ( Testimony ) 

David Cameli ( Back Home ) - WINNER 

Jeremy Schaye ( Back Home ) 

Austin Pendleton ( Ball and Vase ) 

Marc Anthony Sepulveda ( Bonus Time ) 

Michael O’Neill ( Bound ) 

Ron Perlman ( The Caddy ) 

Teddy Lee ( Darlings ) 

Ed Begley Jr. (A Ghost Story) 

Roberto Sanchez ( Heroes )

Sky Elobar ( The Lizard Laughed ) 

Zhan Wang ( Paper UFOs ) 

Lashaun Clay ( True Story: God Tells Bad Jokes ) 

Stephen Barrington ( True Story: God Tells Bad Jokes ) 

Andrew Rudy Galindo ( Sana, Sana ) 

14 - Best Actress ( Short ) 

Kerri Lynn Miller ( Awaken Her ) - WINNER 

Alisha Gaddis ( Alone Together ) 

Cailyn Rice ( The Book of Disquiet ) 

Ashley Platz ( Fight Like A Mother ) 

Stephanie Erb ( Lady Invisible ) 

Jeanine Bartel ( Overdue ) 

Christina Connerton ( The Recruit ) 

Maxi Witrak ( Romanova ) 

Leigh Rachel Faith ( In Search Of ) 

Talia Rose Goodman ( Romanova ) 

Hannah Hedrick ( Roses ) 

Leanne Melissa Bishop ( In Search Of ) 

Rena Strober ( Spaghetti & Matzo Balls! ) 

Marissa Pistone ( Sana, Sana ) 

Princess Punzalan ( Self Storage ) 

15 - Best Director ( Feature ) 

Leif Gantvoort & Brian Spillane ( A Pretty Good Movie ) 

Alexander G. Seyum ( The Son Rises ) 

Kevin Stevenson ( The Party ) - WINNER 

Peter Ferriero ( Sorry, We’re Closed ) 

Oliver Oertel ( DancingDADS ) 

Michael Moshe Dahan ( Yes Repeat No ) 

16 - Best Director ( Short ) 

Christianne Cruz ( Aftertaste ) 

Kerri Lynn Miller ( Awaken Her ) 

Meg Swertlow ( Alone Together ) 

Bailey Castle ( Back Home ) 

David Baram ( Ball and Vase ) 

Vince Maui ( Black Boy Suffering Is A Mood. ) 

Christopher Willis ( The Book of Disquiet ) 

Ronny Rose ( Darlings ) 

Dale Griffiths Stamos ( Entwined ) 

Meagan Noel Fulps ( Fight Like A Mother ) 

Seki Hiroyuki ( fu ) 

Roberto Sanchez ( Heroes ) - WINNER 

Melissa Skirboll ( Overdue ) 

Ingela E. Ogard ( A Real Adventure ) 

Melissa Jane Rodriguez ( Sinigang ) 

Brian Shakti ( Foreverland ) 

Jason Camp ( Testimony ) 

Matthew Law ( True Story: God Tells Bad Jokes ) 

17 – Best Horror/Thriller 

Aftertaste 

Black Dragon 

Call From Kelly 

The Erl King 

In Search Of 

The Last Word 

Mamu 

The Needle 

Ouija Bro 

Pool 

Plain Sight 

SCRATCH - WINNER 

Storage 

Testimony 

18 – Best Sci-Fi 

Dark Cell 

Heroes 

Falling Up 

A Real Adventure - WINNER 

Stratosphere 

Wakener 

19 – Best Comedy 

A Pretty Good Movie  

Across The Room 

Asking For It 

Beware of Goat 

Foreverland 

The Lizard Laughed 

Parking Spot - WINNER 

Seatbelts 

Sinigang 

Sweetest Day 

Welcome to Candy’s 

20 – Best Film Score 

The Can by J.M. Quintana Cámara 

Frelse by Jesse Haugen - WINNER 

The Last Cloudweaver by Ros Gilman