A spectacular awards program recognizing the best talent in independent cinema from around the globe.

The Best of NFMLA Awards recognize the best talent in independent cinema from around the globe. The 2024 Awards honor 130 Nominees across 16 Award Categories. The Nominees are comprised of projects that screened as part of the NFMLA Monthly Film Festival 2023 season which ran from January 1st, 2023 through December 31st, 2023.

Winners

Best New Filmmaker   

Gianfranco Fernández-Ruiz 

Best Feature Film   

Wake Up, Leonard – Directed by Kat Mills Martin and Produced by Maria Krovatin, Kat Mills Martin, Nigel DeFriez & Kira Pearson 

Best Documentary Feature Film   

Join or Die – Directed by Rebecca Davis and Produced by Rebecca Davis & Pete Davis  

Best Short Film, Documentary   

Wild Magnolias – Directed and Produced by Alexandra Kern

Best Short Film, Comedy   

Fishmonger – Directed by Neil Ferron and Produced by Valerie Steinberg, Jordan Willcox & Neil Ferron 

Best Short Film, Drama   

The Ballad of Tita and The Machines – Directed by Miguel Angel Caballero and Produced by Helena Sardinha & Rafael Thomaseto 

Best International Short Film, Drama   

Big Bang – Directed by Carlos Segundo  

Best International Short Film, Comedy   

Sweet Refuge – Directed by Maryam Mir 

Best Short Film, Animated   

The Cave – Directed by Kim Jinman & Chon Jiyoung 

Best New Media & Experimental   

Sallad – Directed by Tramaine Townsend and Produced by Amir Meghani, Hance Taplin & Jairus Midget 

Best Screenplay   

Each Lovely Thing – Written by Paloma Nozicka. Lucas A. Ferrara & Vance Smith 

Best Performance, Comedy   

Galen Howard, What Wilderness Permits   

Best Performance, Drama   

Renee Victor, This One is For the Neighborhood  

Best Cinematography 

Morvarid Reyes Talebzadeh, Guillotine  

Best Film Editing   

Goldie Jones, I’m Sorry, I Tried, I Love You 

Best Sound Design   

Matt Cimino, Four Nights and a Fire 

Best Score   

Maha Al-Saati, VHS Tape Replaced 

nominees

feature

The Pines
USA
//
88 Mins
Dir. Kimberly Caicedo, Writ. Kimberly Caicedo, Ben Johnson & Prod. Ben Hunter Johnson, Henry Caicedo, Erika Colbertaldo
Guillotine
USA
//
90 Mins
Dir. Ray Izad-Mehr, Writ. Sara Vahabi & Prod. Uriah Herr, Tamas Birinyi
Approaching Shadows
Wales, UK
//
85 Mins
Dir. Andrew Turner, Roque Cameselle, Writ. Steve Swindon & Prod. Steve Swindon
Mother of Color
USA
//
87 Mins
Dir. Dawn Jones Redstone, Writ. Dawn Jones Redstone & Prod. Ashley Mellinger, Tara Johnson-Medinger
Wake Up, Leonard
USA
//
73 Mins
Dir. Kat Mills Martin, Writ. Nigel DeFriez, Kira Pearson, Kat Mills Martin & Prod. Maria Krovatin, Kat Mills Martin, Nigel DeFriez, Kira Pearson

documentary feature

Join or Die
USA
//
104 Mins
Dir. Rebecca Davis, Writ. Pete Davis & Prod. Rebecca Davis, Pete Davis
Home is a Hotel
USA
//
90 Mins
Dir. Kevin Duncan Wong, Writ. & Prod.
unseen
USA
//
88 Mins
Dir. Set Hernandez, Writ. Set Hernandez, Daniel Chávez & Prod. Day Al-Mohamed, Fálix Endara
Greener Pastures
USA
//
82 Mins
Dir. Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian, Writ. & Prod.
On The Line: The Richard Williams Story
USA
//
93 Mins
Dir. Stuart McClave, Writ. & Prod. Chavoita LeSane, Duncan Montgomery, Stuart McClave, Jack Selby, Gary Ousdahl

documentary short

Wild Magnolias
USA
//
15 Mins
Dir. Alexandra Kern, Writ. & Prod. Alexandra Kern
Prelude of a Story
Chile
//
17 Mins
Dir. Ashley Salman, Writ. Ashley Salman, Karina Sandoval & Prod. Ashley Salman
Justice for Vanessa
USA
//
15 Mins
Dir. Audrey Shuppert, Katharine Johnson, Daniel McGreevy, Writ. & Prod. Michael Ross, Audrey Shuppert
Woman. Life. Freedom. Athlete Abuse.
USA
//
20 Mins
Dir. Poppy Farsijani, Writ. Poppy Farsijani & Prod. Poppy Farsijani
Alpha Kings
USA
//
15 Mins
Dir. Enrique Pedraza Botero, Faye Tsakas, Writ. & Prod. Enrique Pedraza Botero, Faye Tsakas, Stefan Weinberger
The Unclaimed
USA
//
16 Mins
Dir. Jason Maxwell Cooper, Jay Armitage, Writ. & Prod. Jason Maxwell Cooper, Jay Armitage
Encuerados
USA
//
11 Mins
Dir. Orlando Bedolla, Writ. & Prod. Yuliana Franco & David Mosqueda
Confluence: A Meditation in Documentary Form
USA
//
15 Mins
Dir. ETA & Shanhuan Manton
Barefoot Empress
India
//
15 Mins
Dir. Vikas Khanna, Writ. Vikas Khanna & Prod. Doug Roland, Bindu Khanna
Con Mascaras Y Sin Papeles
USA
//
34 Mins
Dir. Carlos Alberto Mendez, Writ. & Prod. Carlos Alberto Mendez

new media & experimental

Patient
USA
//
20 Mins
Dir. Lori Felker, Writ. Lori Felker & Prod. Lori Felker
The Future Is Worn
USA
//
4 Mins
Dir. Adrian Rojas Elliot, Writ. Devon Stern & Prod. Brittany Bagwell
Valerine
USA
//
5 Mins
Dir. Andrea Vonjako Giacomini, Writ. Andrea Vonjako Giacomini & Prod. Andrea Vonjako Giacomini
Cry
USA
//
5 Mins
Dir. Jacob Harding, Writ. & Prod. Jacob Harding, Ryan Moerer
A Spell For A Queer Home
USA
//
40 Mins
Dir. Amanda Madden, Writ. Amanda Madden & Prod. Amanda Madden
Open To It (Episode 4: Open To Voyeurism)
USA
//
16 Mins
Dir. Frank Arthur Smith, Writ. Frank Arthur Smith & Prod. Afrika Jonée, Greg Wolf, Matt Hartman, Sarah Whitaker
Spirit Mother – Black Sheep
USA
//
3 Mins
Dir. Clarence Deng, Writ. Clarence Deng & Prod. Emily Reas
How to Hack Birth Control
USA
//
25 Mins
Dir. Sassy Mohen, Writ. Sassy Mohen & Prod. Sassy Mohen, Steve Cubine
Poly People
USA
//
10 Mins
Dir. Thales Corrêa, Writ. Melisa Girard, Thales Corrêa, Anthony Moore & Prod. Thales Corrêa, Anthony Moore
Sallad
USA
//
14 Mins
Dir. Tramaine Townsend, Writ. Tramaine Townsend & Prod. Amir Meghani, Hance Taplin, Jairus Midget

animation

Whiteness At Work
USA
//
6 Mins
Dir. Peter Bonde Becker Nelson, Writ. Peter Bonde Becker Nelson & Prod.
A Bear Named Jesus
Canada
//
6 Mins
Dir. Terril Calder, Writ. Archer Pechawis & Prod. Christa Couture
The Spyglass
Sweden
//
9 Mins
Dir. Malin Erixon, Writ. Malin Erixon & Prod. Malin Erixon
Babe Beach
Croatia
//
9 Mins
Dir. Ida Lasic, Writ. Ida Lasic & Prod. Ida Lasic
The Fourth Wall
Iran
//
10 Mins
Dir. Mahboobeh Kalaee, Writ. Mahboobeh Kalaee & Prod. Mahboobeh Kalaee
The House of Loss
Japan
//
10 Mins
Dir. Jinkyu Jeon, Writ. Jinkyu Jeon & Prod. Koji Yamamura
The Cave
South Korea
//
14 Mins
Dir. Kim Jinman, Chon Jiyoung
Christopher at Sea
France
//
20 Mins
Dir. Tom CJ Brown, Writ. Laure Desmazieres & Prod. Tom CJ Brown
Creature Comfort
USA
//
11 Mins
Dir. Ryan Oligmueller, Writ. Ryan Oligmueller & Prod. Ryan Oligmueller
¡Nails!
USA
//
5 Mins
Dir. Eliana Pipes, Writ. Eliana Pipes & Prod. Eliana Pipes, Revel Rosa

international comedy

VHS Tape Replaced
Saudi Arabia
//
17 Mins
Dir. Maha Al-Saati
If the Sun Drowned into an Ocean of Clouds
Lebanon, France
//
20 Mins
Dir. Wissam Charaf
Sweet Refuge
USA
//
12 Mins
Dir. Maryam Mir
Me & Aydarous
Saudi Arabia
//
8 Mins
Dir. Sara Balghonaim, Writ. Sara Balghonaim & Prod. Raed Alsemari, Salman Almusaad
The Mountain
UK
//
15 Mins
Dir. Clare Macdonald, Writ. Adam Steedman Thake & Prod. Robyn Forsythe
Corners
Canada
//
13 Mins
Dir. James Brylowski, Writ. James Brylowski & Prod. James Brylowski
Benevolent
Canada
//
19 Mins
Dir. Jared Marino, Writ. Jared Marino, Sabrina Soto & Prod. Jared Marino, Liam Hoban Thrush, Rhiannon Murray-Leung, Alyssa Bruno, Scott Edward Morris
Saturday Fuego Diablo
Canada
//
12 Mins
Dir. Anita Abbasi, Writ. Anita Abbasi & Prod. Anita Abbasi, Murphy Diggon
Tank Fairy
Taiwan
//
10 Mins
Dir. Erich Rettstadt, Writ. Erich Rettstadt & Prod. C.K. Hugo Chung, Anita Tung
Containing Safety
Wales, UK
//
11 Mins
Dir. TAPE, Writ. Steve Swindon, Andrew Turner and the TAPE Writers Room & Prod. TAPE Community Music and Film

international drama

Eitr
Canada
//
15 Mins
Dir. Fateema Al-Hamaydeh Miller
La Ultima Ascensión
Netherlands
//
23 Mins
Dir. Kevin Osepa, Writ. Kevin Osepa & Prod. Danielle Guirguis
Rose
Canada
//
25 Mins
Dir. Roxann Whitebean, Writ. Roxann Whitebean & Prod. Jason Brennan
Big Bang
Brazil
//
14 Mins
Dir. Carlos Segundo, Writ. & Prod.
Piedra Dura
Bolivia
//
20 Mins
Dir. Rommel Villa, Writ. Rommel Villa & Prod. Simon Avila
Balam
Mexico
//
10 Mins
Dir. Guillermo Casarin, Writ. Guillermo Casarin & Prod. Julia M Quiceno, Joshua Powell, Guillermo Casarin
I Remember The Footprint In The Snow
Canada
//
14 Mins
Dir. Cazhhmere Downey, Writ. Cazhhmere Downey & Prod. Temilola Adebayo, Kent Donguines
The Chase
Canada
//
11 Mins
Dir. Gurjeet Kaur Bassi, Writ. Gurjeet Kaur Bassi & Prod. Gurjeet Kaur Bassi, Katrina Saville
Elpida
Greece
//
18 Mins
Dir. Billy Soulis, Writ. Billy Soulis & Prod. Nicholas Baldas, Billy Soulis, Ioanna Petinaraki
Mate
Australia
//
33 Mins
Dir. George-Alex Nagle, Writ. Daniel Corboy, George-Alex Nagle, Ben Tarwin & Prod. George-Alex Nagle, Ben Tarwin, Nick Bolton

drama short

Four Nights and a Fire
USA
//
13 Mins
Dir. Alex Nystrom, Writ. & Prod. Jeff Walker, Jeremy Charles, Lisa Normand
Each Lovely Thing
USA
//
16 Mins
Dir. Paloma Nozicka, Writ. Paloma Nozicka & Prod. Lucas A. Ferrara, Vance Smith
The Ballad of Tita and the Machines
USA
//
15 Mins
Dir. Miguel Angel Caballero, Writ. Luis Antonio Aldana, Miguel Angel Caballero & Prod. Helena Sardinha, Rafael Thomaseto
Brownsville Bred
USA
//
20 Mins
Dir. Elaine Del Valle, Writ. Elaine Del Valle Del Valle & Prod. Leslie Cohen, Adrienne Lovette, Debbie Esko-Gold, Elaine Del Valle
FABULA
USA
//
19 Mins
Dir. Hector Ignacio Serrano, Writ. Hector Ignacio Serrano & Prod. Annissa Omran, Katherine Aranda, Savana Lua Vagueiro da Fonseca, Matt Johnson
Blue Square Heart
USA
//
30 Mins
Dir. William Venus Means, Writ. William Venus Means & Prod. Olia Zimarova, Yulia Safonova, Jay Swuen
Lunchbox
USA
//
16 Mins
Dir. Anne Hu, Writ. Anne Hu & Prod. Anne Hu, Gilana Lobel, Oliver Brooks, Rachel Liu, Chenney Chen, Gabriella Murillo
I’m Sorry, I Tried, I Love You
USA
//
10 Mins
Dir. Goldie Jones, Writ. Goldie Jones & Prod. James J. Yi
The Bond
USA
//
16 Mins
Dir. Jahmil Eady, Writ. Jahmil Eady & Prod. Jahmil Eady, Selena Leoni, Reina Higashitani
Amina
USA
//
13 Mins
Dir. Shanrica Evans, Writ. Shanrica Evans & Prod. Taryn Nagle

comedy short

Fishmonger
USA
//
25 Mins
Dir. Neil Ferron, Writ. Neil Ferron, Alexandra Dennis-Renner & Prod. Valerie Steinberg, Jordan Willcox, Neil Ferron
SABORRRR!
USA
//
17 Mins
Dir. Gianfranco Fernandez-Ruiz, Writ. Gianfranco Fernandez-Ruiz, Zach Johnson & Prod. Zach Johnson, Bryson Alejandro, Gianfranco Fernandez-Ruiz, Kelsie Elena, Rachel B Davis
Beautiful, FL
USA
//
16 Mins
Dir. Gabriela Ortega, Writ. Adrian Ferbeyre, Joel Perez & Prod. Helena Sardinha, Phillip Yaw Domfeh
Wish Upon A Disco Ball
USA
//
19 Mins
Dir. Anabel Inigo, Writ. Anabel Inigo & Prod. Rachel Allen, Danielle Mullins, Alissa Nguyen
What Wilderness Permits
USA
//
16 Mins
Dir. Joel Marsh, Writ. Mike Leavitt & Prod. Mike Leavitt
Committing
USA
//
17 Mins
Dir. Kanya Iwana, Writ. Alex Harper & Prod. Christina Alba, Alex Harper, Darrin Bush, Nicklaus von Nolde
Out of This World
USA
//
17 Mins
Dir. Elia Petridis, Writ. Elia Petridis & Prod. Kris Wynne, Marlene Lacasse, Ben Miller
Jelly Bean
USA
//
13 Mins
Dir. Nessa Norich, Writ. Nessa Norich & Prod. Nessa Norich, Katy McClellan
Mal De Amores (Lovesick)
USA
//
15 Mins
Dir. Fiorella Vescovi Garcia, Writ. Fiorella Vescovi Garcia, Kyle Selby & Prod. Leah Meyerhoff, Elizabeth Meza, Thailin Silva
Kid Ugly
USA
//
12 Mins
Dir. Jazmin Aguilar, Writ. Jazmin Aguilar & Prod. Miranda Guzman, Miranda Pacheco

screenplay

Alexandra Dennis-Renner
Fishmonger
Archer Pechawis
A Bear Named Jesus
Johnny Kirk
The Fourth
Hannah May Cumming & Alex Hartwig
Baby Fever
Morgan Jerkins
Black Madonna
Elaine Del Valle
Brownsville Bred
Tyler Mckenzie Evans
Diaspora
Paloma Nozicka
Each Lovely Thing
Neil Ferron
Fishmonger
Danny Pudi
Running
Jess Dang
Surrender

performance drama

T’áncháy Redvers
Rose
Ana del Rocío
Mother of Color
Franchesca Ramsey
Black Madonna
Jesse Barney (Sextia N’eight)
Blue Square Heart
Summer Rose Castillo
Brownsville Bred
Chrysanthi Avlioniti
Elpida
Nicole Nwokolo
I Remember The Footprints In The Snow
Nandini Kanhere
Madhavi
Joshua Brennan
Mate
Renee Victor
This One is For the Neighborhood

performance comedy

Galen Howard
What Wilderness Permits
Dariana Alvarez
Beautiful, Fl
Michael D. Cohen
Corners
Dominic Burgess
Fishmonger
Raed Yassin
If the Sun Drowned into an Ocean of Clouds
Nessa Norich
Jelly Bean
Skarlett Redd
Kid Ugly
Bex Talyor-Klaus
Out of This World
Marian Mesula
Tank Fairy
Motasem Nasser
VHS Tape Replaced

cinematography

Clement Sauvage & Julia Quinceno
Balam
Omee Ganatra
Barefoot Empress
Jack McDonald
Fishmonger
Morvarid Reyes Talebzadeh
Guillotine
Robert L. Hunter
The Ballad of Tita and The Machines

film editing

Clémence Diard
If the Sun Drowned into an Ocean of Clouds
Wissam Charaf
If the Sun Drowned into an Ocean of Clouds
Christopher Adam Hruby
Guillotine
Goldie Jones
I'm Sorry, I Tried, I Love You
Anne Hu
Lunchbox
Anisha Acharya
The Chase

sound design

Luke Stacy
Mate
Matt Cimino
Four Nights and a Fire
Joel Arguelles
Fabula
Alejandro Castaneda & Chris Carmona
Kid Ugly
Vaggelis Katsinas
Elpida

score

Elaine Del Valle
Brownsville Bred
Eddie Frente
Brownsville Bred
Ruy Folguera & Ariana DiLorenzo
Out of This World
Adam Pickrell
Sallad
Maha Al-Saati
VHS Tape Replaced
Nathan Engelmann
Wish Upon a Disco Ball

jury

Adriana Fernandez
Previously at Bad Robot
Alexandria Martin
West Window Picture House
Alison Small
Brownstone Productions
Amanda Miller
Psyop
Ana Bond
Sony Pictures Television
Ana Souza
Sundance Institute
Asalle Tanha
Cartoon Network
Ashlie Sapiro
MAX
Basil Khalil
Oscar® and Palme d’Or Nominated Writer and Director
David Valdez
NBCUniversal
Diego Nájera
Participant
Divya D’Souza
Invention Studios
Elizabeth A. Bell
Stampede Ventures
Evan Anglin
Zero Gravity Management
Felipe Vargas
DGA Awarded Director
Fior Fabian
MACRO
Florentina Almonte
ShortsTV
Haley Pigman
Blumhouse
Ivana Martinez
VERVE
Jon Hersh
Housefire Management
Jon Kee
Circle of Confusion
Juan Devis
Ninetythree Media
Lisa Nwankwo
Participant
Mackenzie Maguire
Gravitas Ventures
Marjon Javadi
The Walt Disney Company
Matazi Weathers
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Meggie Choi
Amazon MGM Studios
Mike Rosen
PRETTYBIRD
Mitchell Bendersky
Expectation Management
Montserrat Gómez
NBCUniversal
Noémie Sornet
FUSE
Roberto Larios
Verve
Rodrigo Moscoso
Zero Gravity Entertainment
Samantha Cameron-Mowat
New Regency
Savannah Abrishamchian
Monkeypaw Productions
Yvette Miley
NBCUniversal

sponsors

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