LAFA Winners - August 2025

Best Picture

Finnick - Denis Chernov, Tatiana Belova, Jeffrey Hylton

Best Narrative Feature

Love and Lemon Trees - Savanna Crasto, Pierce Gordon

Best Narrative Short

The Hiring Protocol - Francois Chquene

Honorable Mention: Narrative Film

Red Clay - Tian Zeng

Best Indie Feature

Huskies - Don Tjernagel

Best Indie Short

Play - Juan T Ibanez, Scott Michael Dunn, Jessica Lynn Ambuehl

Honorable Mention: Indie Film

Teddy Hayworth - Matthew J Brewer

Best Comedy

Stalk This Way - Zachary Boulton, Winnie Mzembe

Best Dark Comedy

BONIFACIO - Alberto Martín-Aragón, Julia Doménech

Best AI Film

Summer Triangle - Takeru Nakazawa

Best Sci-Fi

The Hiring Protocol - Francois Chquene

Best Inspirational Film

A Greater Purpose - Jose Francisco Malave

Best Musical/Dance Film

Self in Sync Like Jennie - Hsiang Li wang

Best LGBTQ Film

DIVERSAMENTE - Luis Luyando, Willy Martin

Best Web/TV Pilot

Spice Frontier: Escape from Veltegar - Aaron Gilman, Adam Meyer, Jalil Sadool

Honorable Mention: Web/TV Pilot

Mid-lennial Life Crisis - Carlie Mantilla-Jordan, John Eliot Jordan

Best TV Series

Heal avec Delphine - Delphine Breyne, Florian Van Huffel

Best Virtual Reality

Dolphins Of The Reef - Ken Musen, Howard Vu

Best Commercial

Your choices are… - Ming Ming Li

Best Documentary Feature

PS Love Robby - Maggie Sposato, Brian Thomas, Brian Rubiano

Honorable Mention: Documentary Feature

Point Washington Outlaws - Kirby Clements

Best Documentary Short

Direct Hit - Jacob Robertson Knight

Honorable Mention: Documentary Short

Born Racer - Bobby (Shibo) Yu

Best Animation

Finnick - Denis Chernov, Tatiana Belova, Jeffrey Hylton

Honorable Mention: Animation

Clover - Elva Yang

Best Music Video

Rock Music, Girl Secrets - Emilia Vaughn, Aidan Meixner, Gigi Watson

Honorable Mention: Music Video

Timeless : A Symphony in Motion - Susan Mey Lee Lim, Christina Teenz Tan, Samudra Kajal Saikia

Best Student Film

The Victim - Annie Liones Nguyen

Honorable Mention: Student Film

Sophomore: Major Problems - Maxwell Sternlicht

Best Microfilm

Study Hard - Hungyu Kuo

Best Director

Mid-lennial Life Crisis - Carlie Mantilla-Jordan, John Eliot Jordan

Honorable Mention: Director

Chip - Kexin Wang

Best First Time Director (Feature)

PS Love Robby - Brian Thomas

Best First Time Director (Short)

The Hiring Protocol - Francois Chquene

Honorable Mention: First Time Director

Fine Details - Hugh Hedley Lewis

Best Young Filmmaker

Above the Enclave - Zhiqiang Sun

Best Actor

Love and Lemon Trees - Joel Drabble

Best Actress

The Hiring Protocol - Adele Galloy

Best Actor in an Indie Film

Play - Scott Michael Dunn

Best Actress in an Indie Film

Stalk This Way - Winnie Mzembe

Best Supporting Actress

The Victim - Ye Zhong

Best Editing

The Hiring Protocol - Francois Chquene

Best Score

Spice Frontier: Escape from Veltegar - Luke Thomas

Honorable Mention: Score

Ainthinai - A Timeless Bond - Niranjan Pandian

Best Song

Timeless : A Symphony in Motion - Manu Martin, Ron Josef Danziger, Christina Teenz Tan

Inspiring Woman in a Film

Following in the footsteps of my ancestors - Ute Köhler

Best Original Story

Spice Frontier: Escape from Veltegar - Chris Porter, Jalil Sadool

Screenplay of the Month

Good Looking Bachelors: The Musical - Brady Stanley

Best Feature Screenplay

Good Looking Bachelors: The Musical - Brady Stanley

Honorable Mention: Feature Screenplay

Into the Light of Day - David Law

Best Short Screenplay

Pockets - Daisy Helen Davis

Best Drama Screenplay

Unacceptable - Damien Mulvany

Best Comedy Screenplay

Bury - Flynn Fletcher, Doug Mellard

Best Horror Screenplay

Dawn - Dominique Liana Corneil

Best Sitcom Screenplay

The Greens at Palm Scheme - Paul M Bourassa

Best Sci-Fi Screenplay

Spice Frontier: Escape from Veltegar - Chris Porter, Jalil Sadool

Best Fantasy Screenplay

HATS - Adeeb Adrian

Best First Time Screenwriter (Feature)

The Midnight Crew - Gary Miceli

Honorable Mention: First Time Screenwriter (Feature)

EXCHANGE - Robert Frank Hirsch

Best Television Script

The Allegory of the Hood - Diane Thomassin

Special Jury Award - Film

Land Of - Grant Long, Veronica Jacques

Special Jury Award - Screenplay

Play Therapy - Cindy Lee Cannon

Finnick - Trailer:

* Winners may order an official LAFA statuette

* Winners may order a review - FilmFreeway Gold members get $50 off