2025 Austin Film Festival Honorees
The Austin Film Festival has named its distinguished 2025 award recipients, celebrating excellence across screenwriting, producing, and filmmaking. This year’s honorees showcase a blend of groundbreaking creativity and significant contributions to the industry.
Key Award Recipients
- Rian Johnson received the illustrious Bill Wittliff Award for Screenwriting.
- Christine Vachon was honored with the Polly Platt Award for Producing.
- Greg Kwedar & Clint Bentley earned the Writers’ Writer Award.
- Yvette Lee Bowser took home the Outstanding Television Writer Award.
- Christopher McQuarrie was recognized for Extraordinary Contribution to Filmmaking.
Winners of the Screenplay & Teleplay Competitions
The 2025 festival also crowned winners across diverse screenplay and teleplay categories, highlighting new voices and original stories in drama, comedy, sci-fi, horror, and digital series formats.
Drama Feature Screenplay Award (Presented by Writers Guild of America, East)The Other Side of 25 by Becca Hurd |
Comedy Feature Screenplay AwardLauren Lindsay Can Go To Hell by Kate Beacom & Lacey Jeka |
Sci-Fi Feature Screenplay AwardOn the Other Side by Lanre Olabisi |
Horror Screenplay Award (Presented by Vertigo Entertainment)SHIFT by Danny Salemme |
Drama Teleplay Pilot AwardDr. Nash by Cassidy Nash Davis |
Comedy Teleplay Pilot AwardCrapshoot by Drew McInturff |
Drama Teleplay Spec AwardYellowjackets: Thicker than Water by Cynthia He |
Comedy Teleplay Spec AwardAbbott Elementary: Skip Skampi’s by Scott Olsen |
Enderby Entertainment AwardThe Other Side of 25 by Becca Hurd |
TV Comedy Fellowship (Sponsored by Nickelodeon Writing Program)Medusa: An Animated Series by Ruby Mainieri |
YMH Studios Comedy FellowshipFollow The Money by Patrick Franklin |
Big Indie Screenwriting FellowshipRoots of Conflict by Ari Mostow |
The Donners’ Company AwardBelieve/Bерим by Ryan Werner |
Wonder Project | Stand Together Fellowship27 Cows by Christopher Holt |
AMC One-Hour Pilot AwardCourier Girl by Anna Zabel |
Adult Comedy Animated Series Fellowship (Presented by Starburns Industries)Time Traveling Cum Cops by Austin Schauer |
Josephson Entertainment Screenwriting FellowshipsLady Em by Cristina Pippa (TV) and Black Silk by Patrick Michael (Feature Film) |
Short Screenplay AwardDid You Have a Good Time? by Kevin Talley |
Scripted Digital Series AwardString City by Suemedha Sood |
Fiction Podcast AwardDial it Up by Philip Thorne & Oystein Brager |
Playwriting AwardShepherd by Gregory Paul |
Film Competition Jury Winners
The festival’s film competition honored a variety of outstanding works across feature films, shorts, documentaries, and digital series, showcasing new talent and compelling storytelling.
Narrative FeatureA Man Walks Down the Street, writer/director: Yuval Hadadi |
Documentary FeatureSearching for Satyrus, writer/director: Rena Effendi Honorable Mention: Bite to Bite, director: Kelly Lipscomb |
Comedy Vanguard FeatureTheatre People, writer: Michael B. Breen |
Dark Matters FeatureCruel Hands, writers: Al & Matthew Kalyk / director: Al Kalyk |
Narrative ShortFoxhole, writer/director: Nick Dugan |
Narrative Student ShortRecess, writer/director: Jan Saczek |
Documentary ShortWe’re Fine, director: Misha Karpenko |
Animated ShortBeyond Measure, writer/director: David Ferrier |
Produced Digital SeriesBliss Talent, writers: Rachel Ravel & Elvira Ibragimova / director: Elvira Ibragimova |
Enderby Entertainment Fellowship AwardMy Only Friend is a Robot Named Beans, writer/director: Anika Kan Grevstad |
Young FilmmakersTime Will Tell, writer/director: Peyton Cooper |
These categories qualify for consideration for an Academy Award®
Audience Choice Awards
Festival attendees also selected their favorite films across several categories, capturing the public’s voice in this celebrated annual event.
Marquee FeatureThe Boy From St. Croix, Director: Scott Duncan |
Narrative FeatureAmerican Baby, writers: Tanya Leonova and Ellen Rodnianski / Director: Ellen Rodnianski |
Documentary FeatureStronger Than You Think, Directors: Janice Molinari and Melissa Forman |
Comedy Vanguard Feature (Tie)Crystal Cross, Writer/Director: Richie James Follin |
Dark Matters FeatureSacrificios, Writers: Mauricio Chernovetzky, Alexander Iosjpe / Director: Mauricio Chernovetzky |
Texas Independent FeatureValentina, Writers: Noelle Forougi, Tatti Ribeiro / Director: Tatti Ribeiro |
Narrative Short (Tie)More Than Dust, Writer/Director: Julia Weisberg Cortés |
Narrative Student ShortRecess, Writer/Director: Jan Saczek |
Documentary ShortThe Night Herons, Writer/Director: Will Hammond |
Animated ShortBeyond Measure, Writer/Director: David Ferrier |
Produced Digital SeriesBetsy Fucking Ross, Writer/Director: Kayla Baken |
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Sammanfattning
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