Last Friday, Next Generation Indie Film Awards announced the winners for the 3rd annual Awards Gala at the Loews Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles. The award ceremony was hosted by Co-Founder, and actor Calum Worthy
In attendance was Catherine (Founder, Chair & Director), Goulet, Therese ‘Tag’ Goulet (Founder & Director), and Andrew Jenkins (Founder, CEO, and Executive Director). Another founder, and Host Calum Worthy (American Vandal, Reboot) was also in attendance. We got the chance to speak to Calum and Andrew about their involvement in the Next Generation Awards as well as what they thought about the films and filmmakers awarded.
“We wanted to recognize the best of independent Cinema from all around the globe,” said Andrew Jenkins when asked about the goals of the foundation. “We had an impressive lineup of nominees this year and cannot emphasize enough how proud we are of each and every one of the filmmakers recognized at this year’s gala,” said Co-Founder and Director, Therese ‘Tag’ Goulet. “It is a privilege to recognize emerging filmmakers and their creative spirit and bring light to their hard work.“
Following the red carpet was the award ceremony, hosted by Calum Worthy, who did a fantastic job at both keeping it light but also keeping it moving. Some of the winners awarded were Jane Campion who was awarded the the 2nd annual Luminary Award, which recognizes a transformative figure in the industry whose work and journey serve as a guiding light to the filmmaking community (last year it was presented to Rian Johnson). Surprise guest, Karan Suri (Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse, Deadpool), presented one of the awards as well. Next Generation Indie Film Awards is a non-profit organization started by Award-winning film producers and Catherine Goulet, the founder of Next Generation Indie Book Awards. Next Gen supports filmmakers through its annual awards and other programs. Their organization has provided financial backing for more than 50 independent short film projects.
The 2023 Next Generation Indie Film Award winners are listed below:
Best Narrative Feature:
Above the Clouds (dir. Jon Hill, Produced by Sean Cook, Dan Riesser, Justin Oberman)
Beyro (dir. Morteza Ali Abasmirzaei)
KARAOKE (dir. Moshe Rosenthal)
MANUELA (dir. Clara Cullen, Produced by Helena Martel Seward)
Mutt (dir. Vuk Lungulov-Klotz, Produced by Alexander Stegmaier)
Best Documentary Feature:
Anxious Nation (dir. Vanessa Roth, Laura Morton)
Dusty & Stones (dir. Jesse Rudoy)
JessZilla (dir. Emily Sheskin)
The Bough Breaks (Directed and Produced by Caroline Strong & Danny Strong)
The Issue with Tissue – A Boreal Love Story (dir. Michael Zelniker)
When Wire Was King: The Transformation of Telecommunications (dir. Jennifer A. Manner)
Best Direction in a Feature:
Above the Clouds (dir. Jon Hill)
BOCA CHICA (dir. Gabriella Athena Moses)
KARAOKE (dir. Moshe Rosenthal)
MANUELA (dir. Clara Cullen)
Mutt (dir. Vuk Lungulov-Klotz)
Best Produced Screenplay in a Feature:
HOSTILE TERRITORY (Brian Presley)
Little Brother (Sheridan O’Donnell)
Moe (Evelina Fernández)
Moonlight Warrior (Hong Ying)
Best Cinematography in a Feature:
Above the Clouds (Nathan Cornett)
Grey Tints (Dallin Hodgkin)
KARAOKE (Daniel Miller)
Little Brother (Conor Murphy)
Mutt (Matthew Pothier)
Best Actor in a Feature:
Above the Clouds (Chris Labadie)
ICON (Parker Padgett)
KARAOKE (Sasson Gabay)
Little Brother (Philip Ettinger)
Mutt (Lío Mehiel)
Best Actress in a Feature:
Above the Clouds (Kahyun Kim)
ICON (Devon Hales)
KARAOKE (Rita Shukrun)
MANUELA (Bárbara Lombardo)
Mutt (MiMi Ryder)
TAPE (Selena Lee)
Best Supporting Actor in a Feature:
Above the Clouds (Matty Cardarople)
I Can (Daniel Roebuck)
KARAOKE (Lior Ashkenazi)
Little Brother (JK Simmons)
Best Supporting Actress in a Feature:
Above the Clouds (Sun Park)
Above the Clouds (Tiffany Chen)
Beyro (Sahra Asadollahi)
MANUELA (Alma Farago)
Best Narrative Short:
I N C O N D I C I O N A L (Alex Meridy)
Lollygag (Tij D’oyen, Produced by Cameron Morton)
Lullaby (Noah Kinsey, Produced by Noah Kinsey & Spencer Rich)
Rest in Piece (Antoine Antabi)
The Ballerina (Adam Hartwiński)
Unborn Biru (Inga Elin Marakatt)
Best Documentary Short:
Breaking Silence (Amy Bench, Annie Silverstein)
Grounded (Jordan Hoffmaster)
ifine (Adisa Septuri, Ebony Gilbert)
NIGHT/LEYL (Mehmet Tolga Eskiocak)
POWERS (Paige Morrow Kimball)
Shirampari: Legacies of the River (Lucia Florez)
Best Short by a First-Time Filmmaker:
First Time (Nicolas Block)
Jesus Would Have Loved Punk Rock (Abbey George)
Lullaby (Noah Kinsey)
Tahlequah the Whale: A Dance of Grief (Written and Directed by Daniel Kreizberg)
The Best Time (Shaunic Stanford)
Best Short by a Student Filmmaker:
Ant Hotel (Yu-hsuan Teng)
Recollect (Eli Akio Williams)
The Call of Water (Kaya Tone)
Who I Wasn’t (Seeley Björkstén)
Winter Bloom (Ivan Krupenikov)
Best Short by a 50+ Filmmaker:
Chinese Medicine Angels (Michael Chu)
Dotting the “I” (Doug Tompos)
I (heart) Jack Lalanne: A Cartoon Memoir (LeAnn Erickson)
Prospect Mark (Maria Teresa Alvarado)
The Sweet Taste of Freedom (Matthew Penn)
Best Short by an LGBTQ+ Filmmaker:
Chavo (Alecio Araci)
I (heart) Jack Lalanne: A Cartoon Memoir (LeAnn Erickson)
My Abortion Saved My Life (Ruby Fludzinski, Tiler Wilson)
Outlandish (Ayodeji Otuyelu)
Rural (Amelia Annen)
The Devout (John Mark Hostetler)
Best Short by a BIPOC Filmmaker:
Bamber Bridge (Mark D. Bonner)
Call Me By My Name (Ruixi Gao, Produced by Ruixi Gao, Olina Wong, and Kathy Wu)
Him & Her (Simonee Chichester)
My Life in 2 Luggages (Gabriel Ponte-Fleary)
Please In Spanish (Patricia Seely)
Best Drama Short:
Any Wednesday (Allie Light, Patrick Stark)
Kanashimi (Directed by Michael Horwitz, Produced by Todd Felderstein and Fran Harvey)
My Heart Won’t Stop Beating (Madeline Rose Carter)
The Howling (Bartosz Brzeziński)
The Sweet Taste of Freedom (Matthew Penn)
Best Comedy Short:
Black Karen (Directed by Meagan Good, Written by Danielle Nicolet)
I Can Explain (Emorphia Margaritis)
Suzy Makes Cupcakes (Jayson Therrien, Produced by Morgan Ermter, Griffin Cork, & Scott Westby)
The Vacation (Jarreau Carrillo)
Wei-Lai (Robin Wang)
Best Horror Short:
115 (André Gogola, Vito Gogola)
BOYHOARDER (Gabrielle Carrubba)
Drawn (Ty Clancey)
Physis (Walter Rastelli)
Spooky Society (Bryson Lima)
Best Science Fiction Short:
Apotheosis (Max Pearce)
DejaVu (Alex Rios)
Launch at Paradise (Carrie Ann Quinn)
Steeplechase (Andrey Kezzyn)
The Adventures of Capt Sanchez – Loyalty Test (Jeff Michael Davies)
Best Animated Short:
Friendship (Lin Tam)
Remembering Nearfield (Sean Alexander Carney)
Still Up There (Joe Loftus)
Tahlequah the Whale: A Dance of Grief (Written and directed by Daniel Kreizberg, Executive Produced by Meinardas Valkevičius, Amy Andersson, Daniel Kreizberg, Produced by Akvilė Bliujūtė-Janušė)
THE SPRAYER (Farnoosh Abedi)
Best Experimental Short:
Brave New World/reimagined (Nicholas Johnson)
Outlandish (Ayodeji Otuyelu)
POLARIS (Directed by Scott Tanaka, Seth Woodard, Adam Adorono, Produced by Sharon Woodard, Dark Sky Percussion)
Pyrotechnics (Onyou Oh)
Vultures (Daniel Denegre)
Best Foreign Language Short:
5 More Minutes (Alberto Niculae)
Eden House (Adelina Borets)
Never Say Cry (Ziyao Liu)
Once upon A time (Ahmed Reggad)
The Ballerina (Adam Hartwiński)
Best Music Video:
POLARIS (Scott Tanaka, Seth Woodard, Produced by Sharon Woodard, Dark Sky Percussion, Composed by Seth Woodard & Darren Van Derpoel)
SIX FEET UNDER (Gladwin Pinto)
Skeletons (Sebastián Vargas Flor)
Snap (Aramayis Hayrapetyan)
Sunflowers – A Strange Feeling of Existential Angst (Carolina Bonzinho, Leander Meresaar)
Best Web Series (One Episode):
“Night Visit” (Abdul Stone Jackson, Produced by Kyle Zanika)
Chateau Laurier -Season 2 (James Stewart)
Reign (Mike Chaturantabut, Joe Lujan, Produced by Christian Larson)
What Remains of Emily (Director Mya-Breyana Morton, Produced by Tashina Southard)
Best Direction in a Short:
By Any Other Name (Daniel Deville)
Lullaby (Noah Kinsey)
The Sweet Taste of Freedom (Matthew Penn)
THE VAN (Bernard Badion)
Wei-Lai (Robin Wang)
Best Produced Screenplay in a Short:
Chateau Laurier -Season 2 (James Stewart)
Exile (Corey Gilbert)
Junior’s Giant (Debra McGrath)
Six Feet of Separation (Toni Nordli)
Three A.M. (Barbara Blumenthal-Ehrlich)
