2024 Award Winners
Best Feature Narrative: This Time
Starring CHARLES MARTIN SMITH, ANWEN O’DRISCOLL, DEBORAH COX
Written by ALLIE JENNINGS
Directed by ROBERT VAUGHN
Produced by SAHAR WHELAN, JENNIFER LOUISE GIBSON, ROBERT VAUGHN
Executive Producers ALLIE JENNINGS, CHARLES MARTIN SMITH, DEBORAH COX, ROBIN DUNNE, JOHN LAING, MARK GINGRAS, LEWIS CHESLER, RICHARD ARLOOK, JACKIE PARDY, DON MCDONALD
Co-Executive Producers TIFFANY SWEARS, DAVID PERLMUTTER, DOUG SLOAN, BANNER ISAAC
Associate Producers BRANDON LUDWIG, ARCADE RILEY
Edited by SHELDON LUDWIG
Production Design by SARAH LANG
Cinematography by JUSTIN YAROSKI
Original Music by STACEY HERSH
Costume Design by SARAH LAKE
Casting by LARISSA MAIR
Best Feature Documentary: PARADISE
Starring JOE HOLLIS
Filmed & Directed by GARRETT MARTIN
Executive Producer T.W.
Edited by GARRETT MARTIN and SARAH JOYNER
Colorist TED SNAVELY
Original Score by CHRIS LARUE HORTON
Ballad Vocalist DONNA RAY NORTON
Sound Design by CHARLES SOVEK
Story Advisor CHAD HEARTWOOD
Best Short Narrative: Where Can I Live?
A small yellow bird (Prothonotary Warbler) runs afoul of human impacts on its environment.
Directed by MIRANDA JACOBY
Animated by MIRANDA JACOBY
Composed by MARINA LOPEZ
Flute by TRE ABALOS
Best Short Documentary: Dr. Eddie Henderson: Uncommon Genius
Dr. Eddie Henderson: Uncommon Genius tells the remarkable life story of renowned African American jazz trumpeter and flugelhorn player Eddie Henderson. Eddie Henderson’s curiosity, need for exploration, and athleticism led him down many career paths, including figure skating and dual careers in medicine and music. He was born on October 26, 1940, in New York City. His father was a singer with the Charioteers, and his mother was a dancer at the Cotton Club. At 82, Eddie Henderson continues to perform and record, cementing his legacy as one of his generation’s most versatile and talented jazz musicians.
Starring DR. EDDIE HENDERSON
Directed by MICHELLE BAUER CARPENTER
Produced by MICHELLE BAUER CARPENTER, MARK RABIDEAU
Associate Producers JOSHUA BLAIR; LESLIE GASTON-BIRD, CAS, MPSE; TREVR MERCHANT
Director of Cinematography TREVR MERCHANT
Audio Engineer LESLIE GASTON-BIRD, CAS, MPSE
Creative Director JOSHUA BLAIR
Music Consultant MARK RABIDEAU
Best Cinematography: The Jukebox
Memories of the past swirl in the mind of a young man who must watch as his father succumbs to a terminal illness. After working to put the past behind him, the young man, now a father himself, must finally confront his grief by finding peace through a jukebox once owned by his late father. The surprise discovery of an audio recording from his youth reminds him of his father’s love and gives him the peace he has been searching for.
Starring CHESTER SHEPHERD, JOSEPH GRAY, ZACH HUMPHREY
Written & Directed & Edited by JON HOUSHOLDER, JEFF SCHAFER
Produced by BRENT KUNZE
Director of Photography JOSEPH BECKMAN
Assistant Director & Visual Effects MICAH GOODWIN
Re-Recording Mixer SCOTT HINKLEY
Music Composition by STEVEN DOAR
Colorist LOREN WHITE
Post-Production Supervisor BRETT RAMKER
Casting Director KELLEE STALL
Best Lead Performance
Chester Shepherd as “Todd Marshall”
in The Jukebox
Best Supporting Performance
in It’s In The Water
A thirsty traveler lost in the desert encounters a water salesman.
Starring J.D. STARNES, KEVIN ROBERGE, ZACHARY FRONING, BRAYDEN ROBERGE
Written & Directed by BRAYDEN ROBERGE
Assistant Director CATE RICHARDS
Produced by ZACHARY FRONING, GOLDA GAMLIN
Edited by GAGE SQUIERS
Director of Photography BRETT DUNLAP
People’s Choice Award: Bite of Bénin
How does one define home? There lies in everyone a deeply rooted connection to home that is interwoven into the fiber of our being and can never be severed. For Chef Adé, who was adopted from her homeland of Bénin at the tender age of ten, home is an irrevocable condition. Home is a place she is continually being directed toward. In this beautiful, and at times, painful story, Adé travels back home to understand her African heritage and reclaim her identity through food and the Béninese women who mean so much to her. She learns that food is not solely about sustenance, but it is very much embedded in our identity. It represents culture, history and most importantly it nourishes the soul. Not only is it empowering to represent heritage and identity through food, it also has the power to heal generational trauma.
Starring ADÉGNIMKA CARRENA, ANGÉLE BANDEIRA CARRENA, VANESSA CARRENA, FELICITÉ ZOUMENOU, ÉLISABETH BODY LAWSON
Written & Directed by BRAD HERRING, ADÉ CARRENA
Produced & Edited by BRAD HERRING
Director of Photography BRAD HERRING
Music by HANS JOHNSON