California Film Awards

The California Film Awards is a film awards ceremony that offers awards in the categories of Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Cinematography, Directing, First-Time Directors, Editing, Screenplay, Animation, Art Design, Music Videos, Short Films, Experimental Films, Student Films, California Films, Foreign Films, Documentaries and Feature Narratives.^[1] Only independent films are eligible.^[2]

Award winners

2010 winners

Grand winners^[3]

• Grand Jury Award: Exodus Fall - Ankush Kohli and Chad Waterhouse (USA)
• Special Jury Prize: The Taste of Relation - Mukesh Asopa (Canada)
• Special Jury Prize: Homeless in Los Angeles - Brandon James Miller (USA)
• Special Jury Prize: The Darkroom - Z. Eric Yang (USA)
• Special Jury Prize: Mind Games - Daniel Deason (USA)
• Special Jury Prize: Darkmoon - Alexander G. Seyum (USA)
• Special Jury Prize: The Gypsy - Jon Navarro (USA)
• Best Narrative Film: Mud - Karlos Alastruey (Spain)
• Best Feature Film: The Story - Steve Bellamy (USA)
• Best Documentary Film: The Lost JFK Tapes: The Assassination - Tom Jennings (USA)
• Best Narrative Short: Running Away With Blackie - Lucas Garcia (USA)
• Best Dramatic Short: Liminal - Stephen Keep Mills (USA)
• Best Foreign Film: Little Perfect Girls - Clement Schneider (France)
• Best Foreign Short: Toby's Odyssey - Steven Forrester (United Kingdom)
• Best Student Film: Year of the Faun - Chloe Chevalier (France)
• Best Student Short: Grandfather - Hanjin Park (USA)
• Best Animated Film: Little Gobie - Tony Tang (Hong Kong)
• Best Animated Short: A Noiseless Patient Spider - Nancy Rodwan (USA)
• Best Director: Atroz - Francisco Alvarez (Spain)
• Best First-Time Director: Awakening Arthur - Courtney Dixon (USA)
• Best Screenplay: A Cigar At The Beach - Stephen Keep Mills (USA)
• Best Actor: Friends and Lovers - Ron Pike (USA)
• Best Actress: Anne Jennings - Lauren Montgomery (Japan)
• Best Comedy: The Other Cheek - Ivonne Contreras (USA)
• Best Family Film: My Little Princess - Enzo Zelocchi (USA)
• Best Drama: Behind the Eight Ball - Mike Graveline (Canada)
• Best First-Time Documentary: Whats Up? - Kim Sheridan (USA)
• Best California Film: The Drummond Will - Alan Butterworth (United Kingdom)
• Best California Short: Two Hours In The Dark - Chip Hackler (USA)
• Best Experimental Film: The Nature of Cities - Chuck Davis & Timothy Beatley (USA)
• Best Music Video: Kill For You' - Dawn Cobalt (USA
• Best Television Pilot: 4 Track: Sketch Comedy TV - Nicholas Morrison (USA)

Screenplay competition

• 1st: I'll Die Tomorrow written by John Maffucci
• 2nd: San Andreas written by Joshua Rutherford
• 3rd: Winless Winner written by Randy Hatch
• 4th: Tales of the Arranged Marriage written by Harrish Mandyam
• 5th: Death and Forgiveness written by Joe Barton

2011 winners

Grand winners^[4]

• Grand Jury Award: The Italian Key - Rosa Karo (United Kingdom)
• Special Jury Prize: Boxed Up - Sean McCarthy (USA)
• Special Jury Prize: Flat Tire - Machua Koinange (USA)
• Special Jury Prize: Marathon Boy - Gemma Atwal (United Kingdom)
• Special Jury Prize: Baer - Bryce Hirschberg (USA)
• Special Jury Prize: Compulsion - Jon Myers (USA)
• Best Animated Film: Dead Technology - Adam Tinius (USA)
• Best California Film: Stage Left: A Story of Theater in San Francisco - Austin Forbord (USA)
• Best California Short: The Glitter Emergency - Paul Festa & Kevin Clarke (USA)
• Best Comedy: MILF Money - Aaron Preist (USA)
• Best Commercial: Poker Face - Marc Morgenstern (Canada)
• Best Director: Menschenliebe - Alexander Tuschinski (Germany)
• Best Action Sports Film: Winter - Steve Bellamy (USA)
• Best Documentary Film: Women in the Dirt: Landscape Architects Shaping Our World - Carolann Stoney (USA)
• Best Drama: Jalopy - Libby Blood (USA)
• Best Dramatic Short: Kissed by the Devil - M. Legend Brown (USA)
• Best Experimental Film: 6 for 7 - Michel Massicotte (Canada)
• Best Family Film: Smartie Pants - Michael Kontaxis (USA)
• Best First-Time Director: Zombie - Thomas Caruso (USA)
• Best First-Time Documentary: Nefarious: Merchant of Souls - Benjamin Nolot(USA)
• Best Foreign Film: Meherjaan - Rubaiyat Hossain (Bangladesh)
• Best Foreign Short: Common Ground - Hollie Fifer (Australia)
• Best Humanitarian Film: National AIDS Memorial Grove Tribute - Andrew Ehrenfeld (USA )
• Best Music Video: Oh Luv - Magz Magda Sztompka (USA)
• Best Narrative Film: Teenagers - Paul Verhoeven (France)
• Best Narrative Short: Half Empty - Jessica Manherz (USA)
• Best Screenplay: The Diner - Adam Smith (USA)
• Best Student Film: The King's Garden - Phoebe Fronista (USA)
• Best Television Pilot: Stardust and the Bandit - Sarah Sher & Dick Fisher (USA)

Screenplay competition

• 1st Place: Jupiter written by Richard Moon
• 2nd Place: Select Society written by Barbara Nicolosi
• 3rd Place: The Watermelon Project written by Jennifer Bouani
• 4th Place: Burning Ice written by N.A. Bevins
• 5th Place: Pot Shop written by Judah Ray Neiditch

Diamond Award winners
Animated film competition

• 5 Minutes Each - Vojin Vasovic
• 8 Second Dance - Trey Moya & Howard Cook
• Heart - Erick Oh

Television productions competition

• Day Zero: Episode 1x1 - "Lethal" - Cal Nguyen

California film competition

• Assisted Fishing - Joe Crouch
• Paper Drama - Steven M. Hirohama

Commercial competition

• Nerf Nuke - Victor Masters

Documentary film competition

• Beaverbrook - Matthew Callahan
• Ciao Cirella - Berthaud Christophe
• Haterolgy - Danny Singleton
• Living River - Vinit Parmar
• Simurgh - Ruhi Karadag

Music video competition

• Anutha Time - David Padadac
• Don't Wake Me Up - Lydia Galeno
• H2O - Jean-Marie Marbach
• Hunger - Daniel Chisholm
• Mutant Calculator - Alexander Tuschinski

Narrative film competition

• 40 West - Dana Packard
• Beach Spike - Tony Tang
• Hamesima X - Yuval Ovadia & Or Yashar
• Princess - Shane Rodgers

2012 winners

Grand winners^[5]

• Grand Jury Award: Wampler's Ascent - Elizabeth Wampler (USA)
• Special Jury Prize: Uprising - Fredrik Stanton (Egypt, USA)
• Special Jury Prize: Eternity - Alex Galvin (New Zealand, Hong Kong)
• Special Jury Prize: End of the Road: How Money Became Worthless - Tim Delmastro (Australia)
• Special Jury Prize: Dance of Love - Wilco de Groot (Netherlands)
• Special Jury Prize: Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia - Robert Lemelson (USA)
• Best Narrative Feature : 180º - Fernando Kalife (Mexico)
• Best Documentary Feature: American Songwriter - Michael Altman (USA)
• Best Narrative Short: Fight Night Legacy - Hisonni Johnson and Michael Sarnoski (USA)
• Best Documentary Short: Beyond Superman - Alexander Hadden (USA)
• Best Foreign Feature: Siberia, Monamour - Slava Ross (Russia)
• Best Foreign Short: Passage 2011 - Sisy Boat, Thomas Huber, Wolfgang Aichner, & Matthias Fuchs (Germany)
• Best Student Feature: Life Without - Franz Erian (USA)
• Best Student Short: Ave Rats Lost Downtown - Christopher Schlumpf (USA)
• Best Animation: Trid an Stoirm - Fred Burdy (Ireland)
• Best Animated Short: Vengeance + Vengeance - Mark Chavez
• Best Director: Mossadegh - Roozbeh Dadvand (USA)
• Best Screenplay: 35 South - John Morton (USA)
• Best Actor: Dio Johnson of Fight Night Legacy - Hisonni Johnson and Michael Sarnoski (USA)
• Best Actress: Amber Kent in CiviliTEA - Johnnie Hector (USA)
• Best Supporting Actor: Tomas Boykin of Elegy for a Revolutionary - Paul van Zyl (South Africa, USA)
• Best Supporting Actress: Bari Hyman of Damaged Goods - Michael Miceli (USA)
• Best California Feature: Bank Roll - Doug Maguire (USA)
• Best California Short: The Body Bag - Dean Whitney (USA)
• Best Experimental Film: Counterfeiters - Bryce Hirschberg (USA)
• Best Music Video: Super Bass Man (The Fishing Song) - Greg Zajac and Simon L. Baker (Canada)
• Best Television Pilot: Mevuasim (Busted) - Asaf Yecheskel (Israel)
• Best Comedy: Spaghetti Fur Zwei - Matthias Rosenberger (Germany)
• Best Family Film: Small Market, Big Heart - Tobin Halsey (USA)
• Best First-time Director: RGB - Kailas Prasannan (Australia)
• Best First-time Documentary: American Autumn: an Occudoc - Dennie Trainor Jr. (USA)
• Best Dramatic Film: A Drop of Love - Golam Mustofa (Canada)
• Best Television Commercial: LAZR - Xiao Zheng (USA)

Screenplay competition

• 1st: Pearl written by Lyvia A. Martinez
• 2nd: Squiddy, Sedona, and Me written by Steven M. Hirohama
• 3rd: How I Became a Hot Chick With Average Breast Size written by Dong Won Kang
• 4th: Marriagehood written by John Harris
• 5th: Worm written by Keir Burrows

2013 winners

Grand winners^[6]

• Grand Jury Award: The K Effect. Stalin's Editor directed by Valenti Figueres (Spain)
• Special Jury Prize: Agnus Dei directed by Agim Sopi (Kosovo)
• Special Jury Prize: Out Smart directed by Dawn Cobalt (USA)
• Special Jury Prize: My Sundance Obsession directed by Rod Lopez (USA)
• Special Jury Prize: Honor Diaries directed by Dana Wilsey (USA)
• Special Jury Prize: Dance of the Books directed by Lorena Fernández Carrillo (SPAIN)
• Best Narrative Feature: The Immortal Edward Lumley directed by William Wall (USA)
• Best Narrative Short: Greedy Girl directed by Megan Anderson and Isabelle Gander (Australia)
• Best Foreign Film: Una Larme De Plus directed by Paul Verhoeven (France)
• Best Musical: Beauty and the Beat directed by Yann Le Quellec (France)
• Best Student Short: Thin Air directed by Natalie Nalesnyik (Australia)
• Best Animation: The Symphony of Our Life directed by Paul Verhoeven (France)
• Best Director: Swalk directed by Dawn Cobalt (USA)
• Best Actor: McKinley Freeman, Greencard Warriors directed by Miriam Kruishoop (USA)
• Best Screenplay: Fetiche written by Candace Infuso (USA)
• Best Actress: Marta Gastini for Tanith directed by Germano Boldornini (Italy)
• Best California Film: Joshua directed by Sungjin Ahn (USA)
• Best California Short: Ocean directed by Tory Nelson (USA)
• Best Music Video: Phoenix Song directed by Kate Marzullo (USA)
• Best Television Pilot: Johnny directed by Roberto D'Antona (Italy)
• Best Comedy: Love in the Time of Advertising directed by Matt Berenty & David Bokser (USA)
• Best Family Film: Zombeo & Juliecula directed by Stev Elam (USA)
• Best First-time Director: Awake directed by Connie Lisogar-Cocchia (Canada)
• Best Dramatic Film: Mind Trip directed by Eros D'Antona (Italy)
• Best Thriller: Blur directed by Jazz Virk (Canada)

Screenplay competition

• 1st: The Marcoing Incident written by Jeffery W. Travis
• 2nd: Soulless Town written by Sierra Bothof
• 3rd: Stat Dad written by Charles Laulette
• 4th: Munsey Park written by Ingrid Abrams
• 5th: The Renovation written by Brian Hugh O’Neill

2014 winners

Grand winners^[7]

• Grand Jury Award: Reflections of Maya Rose directed by Alexandra Wedenig
• Special Jury Prize: One Small Hitch directed by John Burgess
• Special Jury Prize: If The Trees Could Talk directed by Michael Weinstein
• Best Narrative Feature: Indigo directed by John Smith
• Best Documentary Feature: Well Now You're Here, There's No Way Back directed by Regina Russell
• Best Narrative Short: Wake Up, Samantha Evans directed by Haley Doyle
• Best Documentary Short: Not Anymore: A Story of Revolution directed by Matthew VanDyke
• Best Foreign Feature: The Boss Wants a Happy Ending directed by Kivanc Baruonu
• Best Foreign Short: I Remember The Future directed by Klayton Stainer
• Best Student Short: Two and a Quarter Minutes directed by Joshua Ovalle
• Best Animation: I Need My Monster directed by Howard Cook
• Best Director: Blue Chameleon directed by Teresa Carante
• Best Screenplay: The Niece written by Martin Ponferrada
• Best California Feature: Waiting In The Wings: The Musical directed by Jeffrey A. Johns
• Best California Short: Slushamed directed by Anne McGrath
• Best Music Video: Away directed by Rodney Daughtrey
• Best Television Pilot: Todd and Anne: Water in the Pot Jeffrey Engelson

Screenplay competition

• 1st: The Family written by Steven Shepherd
• 2nd: Soul to Soul written by Michael Sieve and John Harris
• 3rd: And On The Seventh Day written by Phillip Hardy
• 4th: Dead Men Will Rise written by Connor Twigg
• 5th: Forgive Me Father written by Jose Olivier

California film competition

• Gen RX directed by John B. Taschner

2015 winners

Grand winners^[8]

• Grand Jury Award: The Parting Shot directed by Anirban Roy
• Special Jury Prize: Dirty War directed by Daniel (Linpu Gao)
• Special Jury Prize: Alegria - A Humanitarian Expedition directed by Christoph von Toggenburg
• Best Narrative Feature: Voiceless directed by Pat Necerato
• Best Documentary Feature: The Rainforests Are Under Threat directed by Jerome Dolbert
• Best Narrative Short: Mirror directed by Nick Coppola
• Best Documentary Short: Ron Taylor: Dr. Baseball directed by Drew Taylor, Matthew Taylor
• Best Foreign Feature: On The Horizon directed by Pascal Payant
• Best Foreign Short: Another Love directed by Victor Perez
• Best Student Short: The Wedding Crasher directed by Derek Wayne Aiello
• Best Animation: Switch Man directed by Hsun-Chun Chuang, Shao-Kuei Tong
• Best Animated Short: The Looking Planet directed by Eric Law Anderson
• Best Director: Sangria Lift directed by Melanie Star Scote
• Best Screenplay: Eva's Diamond written by Ice Neal
• Best California Feature: Billy Mitchell: Rebel General directed by Ronald Dietel
• Best California Short: From the Cliff directed by Mary Piller
• Best Experimental Film: Coven directed by Saray Blades
• Best Music Video: Destiny Arises directed by Michael Addison
• Best Television Pilot: Todd and Anne: Water in the Pot Jeffrey Engelson
• Best Comedy: My First Love directed by Mylissa Fitzsimmons
• Best Dramatic Film: Intersection directed by Tim French

Screenplay competition

• 1st: Derek Dickens & The Dream written by Phil Valentine
• 2nd: Walking Point written by RJ Nevens, Jr.
• 3rd: Rum House written by Michael Sieve
• 4th: Valley of Spirits written by Warren R Hull
• 5th: The Way Back Home written by Jonathan LaPoma

References