2023 SoCal Film Awards Winners Announced

DIAMOND AWARDS

Best Feature Film: Sword and Sorrow, Dir. Emad Rahmani, Mehrdad Mehrabi
Best Short: Personalized Futures, Dir. Max Delfino
Best Documentary Feature: Hometown Legends, Dir. Kolby Akamu Moser, Nainoa Langer
Best Documentary Short: GOAL: Same Game. New Players., Dir. Karen Arango
Best Screenplay (Long-Form): Moksha, Written by Saurin Lakhia
Best Screenplay (Short-Form): The 22, Written by Amanda Gecewicz

AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE

Best Feature: Kanne Kalaimaane (Apple of Mye Eye, My Dearest), Dir. Seenu Ramasamy Ramakrishnan
Best Short: Five Questions, Dir. David Arrow
Best Documentary Feature: Becoming Tigers – A Water Polo Journey, Dir. Tony Melanson
Best Documentary Short: Mountains, Dir. Alex Knopf
Best Screenplay (Long-Form): Familiar Realm, Written by Jose Montalvo
Best Screenplay (Short-Form): Off the Path, Written by Richard Redlo

AWARDS OF ACHIEVEMENT

Best Feature: Troubleshooter, Dir. King Jeff
Best Short: Family Gone, Brian Stamper
Best Documentary Feature: Great White Encounters, Dir. Jason Perryman
Best Documentary Short: Aris Demetrios: Sculpture From The Heart, Dir. Josh Aronson
Best Screenplay (Long-Form): As Scared of You, Written by Jesse Dorian
Best Screenplay (Short-Form): My Dad F*cks, Written by Julia Linger

ADDITIONAL AWARD WINNERS

Actor in a Lead Role:
Sana, Sana; Andrew Galindo

Actress in a Lead Role:
Five Questions, Amber Paul

Animated Short:
In Love, Dir. Damien Bastelica

Cinematography:
Pete’s Peak, Dir. Trevor James

Credit Sequence:
KAD (Korean Adoptee), Katharin Mraz

Cultural Impact:
Ukraine, Ukraine (Half the World Away); Dir. Christine E. Whitten

Director:
The Last Target, Matthew Kui

Editing:
Vax, Dir. Barak Shpiez

Educational:
Healthy Hero, Dir. Satchin Panda

Ensemble Cast:
What Found Me In The Woods On a Night Like Tonight, Dir. Kelton Walsh White

Experimental Movie:
Mallard Ballet, Dir. Mary Piller

Faith Based Movie:
Decamp, Dir. Faye Viviana

Family Film:
The Note, Dir. Daniel Vidal Perez

First-Time Filmmaker:
Bare Luxuries, Dir. Armando Smith

International Film:
Forgotten Neighbours – A History Lesson, Dir. Andrzej Dudziński

Micro Short:
Bird’s Eye View, Dir. Yue Yang

Music Video:
Synthetic Me, Dir. Susan Lim, Christina Teenz Tan, Samudra Kajal Saikia

Score:
Omnitask, Dir. Mark Renken

Produced Screenplay:
Three A.M., Dir. Karen Trachtenberg

Sound Design: 
Folsom, Dir. Marlonino Banut

Trailer: 
Deforestation, Dir. Kyle Zanika

Web Series: 
Inland Empire, Dir. Renee J. Vaca

Youth Movie:
Bee the Solution, Dir. Charlotte Quintanar

YouTube Creation:
Decode the Mystery – A YouTuber Turned Filmmaker, Dir. Shihyun Wang

Screenplay (Long-Form) Finalists:

• Bounce, Written by Chris Manydeeds
• Dead Tooth, Written by Mitchell Jay Sulkess
• Flight Risk, Written by J.D. Brookshire
• Hazel the Viking, Written by Jim Norman
• Heroes, Just for One Day (Breaking Thick Ice), Written by Salvatore Riggio
• Hope and Faith – An Obsession of the Heart Part Two, Written by Adam Poulos
• Love, Beer, and Children; Written by James Bock
• Morituriosis, Written by Jesse Dorian
• On That Beach, Written by Felicity Fair Thompson
• The Garden of Earthly Delights, Written by Steven Howard
• The Pickleball Killer, Written by Jim Carroll

Screenplay (Short-Form) Finalists:

• A New Believer / Refound Faith, Written by Ellie Mae Louise Smith
• Applause, Written by Kat Sparks
• Asherah’s Colors II, Written by Gary Mazeffa
• Dinner with Dante, Written by Katherine Diane Schimmel
• Do Unto Others, Written by Joseph Michael Leone
• In Between, Written by Ryan Chong-Chun Huang
• The Leading Star, Written by Sophia Chou, Todd Lien

Short Honorable Mention:

• American Dream, Dir. Wayne Knight
• Big Momma Earth, Dir. Santiago Calogero
• Crickets, Dir. Macie Rose O’Neil
• Deserted, Dir. Gabrielle Thomas
• HoneyPill, Dir. Christopher Saucedo-Sandoval
• Rare Land, Dir. Ethimis Hatzis
• Talk Back, Dir. Alec Cohen
• Tattoo, Dir. Liam Andrew Karp
• The Sacred Bees, Dir. Kay Qiao
• Use Your Intuition, Dir. Orlando A. Joubert A., Jr.
• Who Knows, Dir. Brandon Rozo
• Wolves, Dir. Elias Garza

Documentary Feature Honorable Mention:

• Don’t Turn Your Back on Friday Night, Dir. Mike Schmiedeler, Michael O’Brien
• Hollywood’s Pastor: The H.K. Rasbach Story, Dir. Darryl M. Haase
• Invisible Corps, Dir. Chris Schueler
• Julian: A Jiu Jitsu Story, Dir. Max A. Bloom
• Palm Springs Air Museum “Women in Aviation,” Dir. Phillip Large
• The Quilt: A Living History of African American Music, Dir. Julya Jara

Documentary Short Honorable Mention:

• Bruce’s Beach: A Catalyst for Reparations? Dir. Swika Sampat
• Chistina Zenato and the Reef Shark Connection, Dir. Jason Perryman
• Dysability, Shihyun Wang