Announcing the AFF Jury Nominees for all film categories! This year’s nominated films showcase a diverse pool of talent from across the world, proving independent filmmakers are innovators in the field, pushing boundaries, putting a fresh spin on old-school tropes, and telling riveting, emotional stories. All winners will be announced at the AFF Awards Luncheon on Saturday, October 26.
Narrative Feature
The Thawing of Ice
Writer: Sarah Lévesque, François Péloquin
Director: François Péloquin
Audrey’s Children
Writer: Julia Fisher Farbman
Director: Ami Canaan Mann
La Gloria
Writer: J. T. Walker, Christopher Young
Director: J. T. Walker
The Wise Guy
Writer/Director: Sam O’Mahony
Adjunct
Writer/Director: Ron Najor
Color Book
Writer/Director: David Fortune
Documentary Feature
Desert Angel
Director: Vincent DeLuca
Artifact War
Director: Evan Carpenter, Jacob Schwarz
Champions of the Golden Valley
Director: Ben Sturgulewski
Norita
Director: Andrea Tortonese, Jayson McNamara
Phantoms of the Sierra Madre
Writer: Lars Kristian Andersen
Director: Håvard Bustnes
*smiles and kisses you*
Director: Bryan Carberry
Dark Matters Feature
Presented by Vertigo Entertainment
Shaman
Writer: Daniel Negret
Director: Antonio Negret
The Beldham
Writer/Director: Angela Gulner
In Vitro
Writer: Talia Zucker, Will Howarth, Tom McKeith
Director: Will Howarth, Tom McKeith
The Fetch
Writer/Director: J.C. Doler
Ba
Writer/Director: Benjamin Wong
Tummy Monster
Writer/Director: Ciaran Lyons
Comedy Vanguard Feature
Operation Taco Gary’s
Writer/Director: Michael Kvamme
Sisters
Writer/Director: Susie Yankou
Party People
Writer: Lindsey Robertson
Director: Joey LePage
Lady Parts
Writer: Bonnie Gross
Director: Nancy Boyd
Time Travel is Dangerous
Writer: Chris Reading, Anna-Elizabeth Shakespeare, Hillary Shakespeare
Director: Chris Reading
The Perfect Club
Writer/Director: Ricardo Castro
I Hate Myself and Want to Die
Writer/Director: J. Davis
Narrative Shorts
Children’s Books
Writer/Director: Nino Mancuso
Fortune
Writer: Matthew Perkins, Corey Cott
Director: Matthew Perkins
The Cockroach
Writer/Director: Mary Pat Bentel
Zari
Writer/Director: Shruti Parekh
Punter
Writer/Director: Jason Adam Maselle
Hot Sheet Motel
Writer/Director: Alexandria Lane
Documentary Shorts
I Am Ready, Warden
Director: Smriti Mundhra
The Believers
Director: Evan Newman
Land of Lost Toys
Director: Nicholas Stachurski
The Action Man
Director: Eros Zhao
Pet Store
Director: Joanna Rothkopf
Dancing Warrior
Director: Rachel McDonald, Peter Goetz
Animated Shorts
Bottle George
Writer/director: Daisuke ‘Dice’ Tsutsumi
Family Portrait of the Black Earth
Writer: Ivan Popov-Zaeka, Mihail Minchev, Yordanka Beleva
Director: Ivan Popov-Zaeka
Yuck!
Writer/director: Loïc Espuche
Homemaker
Writer: Chase Olivarius-McAllister
Director: Ciara Kerr
Fiego and the Magic Fish
Director: Joe Murray
An Angel on Oxford Street
Writer: Geoff Thompson
Director: Paul Shammasian
Narrative Student Shorts
When Big People Lie
Writer: Gianfranco Fernández-Ruiz, Pablo Cervera Gutierrez
Director: Gianfranco Fernández-Ruiz
Lice
Writer/Director: Vindhya Gupta
Vial
Writer: Alexandre Jerard Davis, Robert Capron, David Holmes
Director: Alexandre Jerard Davis
Drawn Into Darkness
Writer/Director: Ryan McCue
A Better Place
Writer/Director: Shih-Chun Hsiao
Jesus Thief
Writer/Director: Kyle Thomas Wyborski
Produced Digital Series
Sasha Counters!
Writer: Anna Zaytseva, Daria Maslovskaya
Director: Anna Zaytseva
Barden and Sarah Start a Pandemic
Writer/Director: Tyler Peterson
I Need Your Love
Writer: Walker Kalan
Director: Camille Trust, Walker Kalan
Playground
Writer/Director: Kendra Alesha McGee
The Big Oil Alliance
Writer: Jeanie Calleja, Robin McCulloch, Gord Rand, Liisa Repo-Martell, Rick Roberts, Megan Flynn
Director: Lisa Robertson
Scammers
Writer: Rustem Omarov, Ilkhan Iskhakbayev
Director: Olzhas Nurbay
Texas Short Film Award
Presented by Aduro Studios & Film and Shorthand Camera
Taco Baby
Writer: Jacob William Daniels, Lizbeth Joanne Daniels
Director: Jacob William Daniels
The Last Book Buy
Director: Erik Mauck
How to Disappear
Writer/Director: Anthon Chase Johnson
Four Influencers & A Funeral
Writer: Daved Wilkins
Director: Kelly Frye
I Am Ready, Warden
Writer/director: Smriti Mundhra
There’s A Klansman in the Trunk!
Writer/Director: Xavier Ingram