Past Festivals

Award Winners

Mary Shelley Award

As part as its continuing effort to discover and celebrate female voices working in the genre field, Other Worlds every year presents the Mary Shelley Award, awarded to the best film that furthers the involvement and representation of women in the SciFi genre. The Mary Shelley Award is named for the author of Frankenstein, the original SciFi novel – a work that examines the human condition and the positive and dangerous possibilities of science.

 

2015

Winner

Embers Claire Carré

Jury

Marjorie Baumgarten Film Critic and Senior Editor at the Austin Chronicle, and member of the Association of Women Film Journalists,

Kristy Breneman Creative Director and Programmer for the Atlanta Film Festival, one of the largest and longest-running festivals in the country

Mynette Louie Independent Spirit Award-Winning Producer and President at Gamechanger Films, the first for-profit film fund dedicated exclusively to financing narrative features directed by women

 

2016

Winner

Kepler X-47 Erin Li

Jury

Anne Chaisson, Executive Director at Hamptons International Film Festival

Alysia Reiner, Producer/Founder Broad Street Pictures (EQUITY - Sundance Jury award winner), actress (Orange in the New Black, SIDEWAYS, EQUITY)

Sarah Adina Smith, writer/director (BUSTER’S MAL HEART, THE MIDNIGHT SWIM)

 

2017

Winner

La Sirena Rosita Lama Muvdi

Jury

Claire Carré writer/director/ editor (and inaugural Mary Shelley Award Winner!)

Denise Gossett actress & founder of Shriekfest Film Festival

Alison Willmore critic at BuzzFeed News

 

2018

Winner

The Adventures of Penny Patterson Stephanie Donnelly

Jury

Melanie Addington Executive Director of Oxford Film Festival

Lizzie Borden Filmmaker (BORN IN FLAMES)

Jacqueline Coley Editor at Rotten Tomatoes

 

2019

Winner

Dispel Kylie Eaton

Jury

Stéphanie Joalland filmmaker (THE QUIET HOUR)

Lela Meadow-Conner Executive Director of the Film Festival Alliance

Susan Kerns acquisitions executive for Cow Lamp Films and Associate Chair of the Cinema and Television Arts Dept. at Columbia College, Chicago.

 

2020

Winner

Blight Brittany Clemons

Jury

Alyx Picard Davis Executive Director, deadCenter Film

Sabina Graves Filmmaker, journalist, ComingSoon.net

Erin Li Filmmaker, past winner, Kepler X-47

 

2021

Winner

Blank Natalie Kennedy

Jury

Chloe Carroll⁠ filmmaker (THE HONEYMOON PHASE, ELYSIA)

Jenna Dufton Programming Director, Inside Out Toronto and the St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival⁠

Greta Hagen-Richardson⁠ Distribution Coordinator at Ava DuVernay’s Array; Director of Programming at the Hot Springs Doc Film Festival; Lead Features Programmer at the New Orleans Film Festival

 
 

The Dan O’Bannon Awards

Our annual Audience Awards are named to honor SciFi legend Dan O’Bannon (Alien, Dark Star, Total Recall). The winners, like always, are selected by the audience during the festival and normally receive their Xenomorph Trophy at the closing night party.

 

2014

Best Feature

Time Lapse Directed by Bradley King; Written by BP Cooper and Bradley King

Best Short

One Minute Time Machine Directed by Devon Avery; Written by Sean Crouch

 

2015

Best Feature

No Men Beyond This Point Written and directed by Mark Sawers

Best Short

Aden Written and directed by Gary H. Lee

 

2016

Best Feature

Domain Written and directed by Nathaniel Atcheson

Best Short

Monsters Directed by Steve Desmond; Written by Steve Desmond and Michael Sherman

 

2017

Best Feature

Gnaw Directed by Haylar Garcia; Written by Jim Brennan, Haylar Garcia, and Kathryn Gould

Best Short

Einstein-Rosen Written and directed by Olga Osorio

 

2018

Best Feature

The Wrong Todd Written and directed by Rob Schulbaum

Best Short

Oxford Coma Written and directed by Jake Jarvi

 

2019

Other Worlds

Best Feature

I am Human Directed by Taryn Southern and Elena Gaby

Best Short

Balloon Directed by Jeremy Merrifield; Written by Jeremy Merrifield and Dave Testa

Under Worlds

Best Feature

Spiral Directed by Kurtis David Harder; Written by Colin Minihan and John Poliquin

Best Short

Keloid Written and directed by Brendan Polecutt

 

2020

Best Feature

An Ideal Host Directed by Robert Woods; Written by Tyler Jacob Jones

Best Short

Alone Directed by William Hellmuth; Written by J. Scott Worthington

 

2021

Other Worlds

Best Feature

Kratt Written and directed by Rasmus Merivoo

Best Short

The Following Year Directed by Miguel Campaña; Written by Luis López Carrasco and Miguel Campaña

Under Worlds

Best Feature

Homebody: The Haunting of Guy Withers Written and directed by Zach Endres

Best Short

Still Together Directed by Christopher Piazza; Written by Sara Ruth Blake and Christopher Piazza

 

The Parsec AWards (previously the Cthuhlies

A series of awards given by the programming team

 

2014

Features

Best Script

Time Lapse

Best Director

Brett Ryan Bonowicz (The Perfect 46)

Best Actor

Whit Herford (The Perfect 46)

Best Actress

Danielle Panabaker (Time Lapse)

Best Cinematography

The Reconstruction of William Zero

Best Editing

APT 3D

Best Score or Music

Time Lapse

Best VFX

Bloody Knuckles

Best Production Design

The Well

 

Shorts

Emerging Script

Martian American

Emerging Director

Steven Ayromlooi (The Sun Devil and the Princess)

Emerging Actor

Patrick Edward Wynne (Slumptown)

Emerging Actress

Mandy Amano (The Sun Devil and the Princess)

Emerging Cinematography

Gasmask

Emerging Editing

One-Minute Time Machine

Emerging Score or Music

The House At The Edge of the Galaxy

Emerging VFX

The Developer

Emerging Production Design

The Sun Devil and the Princess

 

2015

Features

Best Script

Mark Sawers (No Men Beyond This Point)

Best Director

Rolf van Eijk (T.I.M. The Incredible Time Machine)

Best Actor

Patrick Gilmore (Andrew Myers, No Men Beyond This Point)

Best Actress

Greta Fernandez (Miranda, Embers)

Best Cinematography

Martijn van Broekhuizen (T.I.M. The Incredible Time Machine)

Best Editing

Mark Sawers (No Men Beyond This Point)

Best Score or Music

Timo Pierre Rositzki (Boy 7)

Best VFX

Neil Rowe (Reconnoiter)

Best Production Design

William Hatch Crosby (Jackrabbit)

 

Shorts

Emerging Script

Maximillian Stenstrom (The Taker)

Emerging Director

Willem Kampenhout (The Surface)

Emerging Actor

David Lee Hess (Donald, Pact)

Emerging Actress

Carole Brana (Amy, Replika; Meredith, On/Off)

Emerging Cinematography

Davey Gilder (The Pig Child)

Emerging Editing

Serban Georgescu (Replika)

Emerging Score or Music

Chris Ruenes (The Taker)

Emerging VFX

Gary H. Lee (Aden)

Emerging Production Design

Ashley Cook (The Surface)

 

2016

Features

Best Script

Andy Mitton (We Go On)

Best Director

Roxy Shih (The Tribe)

Best Actor

Aden Young (The Unseen)

Best Actress

Britt Lower (Domain)

Best Cinematography

Martin Gschlacht (Stille Reserven)

Best Editing

Yftah Paul Shoshan (OMG I’m a Robot?!)

Best Score or Music

Jay Woelfel (Island of Lost Souls)

Best VFX

Matt Hoffman (Virtual Revolution)

Best Production Design

Lauren Fitzsimmons (Domain)

 

Shorts

Emerging Script

David Gaddie, Steven Kelleher (Beautiful Dreamer)

Emerging Director

Ben Leonberg (Bears Discover Fire)

Emerging Actor

Jamie Pigott (Populace)

Emerging Actress

Jo Armeniox (Beautiful Dreamer)

Emerging Cinematography

Russell Gleeson (Blight)

Emerging Editing

Xavier Pijuan (Maria Fernanda in Time)

Emerging Score or Music

Jared Dymbort (John The Carpenter)

Emerging VFX

Aaron Rovner (Rae)

Emerging Production Design

Francois Dickes (Quenottes)

 

2017

Features

Best Script

Brian DeLeeuw (Curvature)

Best Director

Roope Olenius (Tuftland)

Best Actor

Joey Klein (Painless)

Best Actress

Lyndsy Fonseca (Curvature)

Best Cinematography

Christian Sorensen Hansen & Pete Ohs (Everything Beautiful Is Far Away)

Best Editing

Sean Albertson & Banner Gwin (Beyond Skyline)

Best Score or Music

Ryudai Abe (Cocolors)

Best VFX

Patrick Flannery (Beyond Skyline)

Best Production Design

Michi Suzuki, Koji Hashiguchi, Yuichi Suehiro & Mitsuji Kamata (Cocolors)

 

Shorts

Emerging Script

Olga Osorio (Einstein-Rosen)

Emerging Director

Nicholas Payne Santos (Holiday Fear)

Emerging Actor

Kirk Johnson (Scanners)

Emerging Actress

Anna Mazurik (The Tinwife)

Emerging Cinematography

Jarin Blaschke (The Quantified Self)

Emerging Editing

Michael Bartolomeo (Solved)

Emerging Score or Music

Nick Angeloni (Mary and Marsha in the Manor of Madness)

Emerging VFX

Miguel Ortega (The Ningyo)

Emerging Production Design

Catya Plate (Meeting MacGuffin)

 

2018

Features

Best Script

Chad Archibald (I’ll Take Your Dead)

Best Director

Billy Senese (The Dead Center)

Best Actor

Richard Hatch (Diminuendo)

Best Actress

Sandra Mae Frank (Soul To Keep)

Best Cinematography

Alberto Lee (Cygnus)

Best Editing

D.C. Hamilton (The Fare)

Best Score or Music

Steph Copeland (I’ll Take Your Dead)

Best VFX

Alex Gans (The Axiom)

Best Production Design

Lucy Gahagan (White Chamber)

 

Shorts

Emerging Script

Corey Aumiller, Colin West (Here & Beyond)

Emerging Director

Stephanie Donnelly (The Adventures of Penny Patterson)

Emerging Actor

Charlie Pecoraro (Malocostraca)

Emerging Actress

Stacy Snyder (Heartless)

Emerging Cinematography

Andrew Scott Baird (Starlets)

Emerging Editing

Mark Kerins (Echoes)

Emerging Score or Music

Stefan Paul Goetsch (The Body Client)

Emerging VFX

Mike “J Hook” Noble (The Silver)

Emerging Production Design

Dani Manning (The Daughters of Virtue)

 

2019

Features

Best Script

Chris Bavota, Lee Paul Springer (Dead Dicks)

Best Director

Chad Crawford Kinkle (Dementer)

Acting Ensemble

Brian Silverman, Anslem Richardson, Clay Wilcox, Anita Leeman Torres (After We Leave)*

Acting Ensemble

Heston Horwin, Jillian Harris (Dead Dicks)*

* Moving forward, in place of delineating gender in our acting awards, Other Worlds will be awarding two winning films each year for acting ensemble.

Best Cinematography

Julie Kirkwood (After We Leave)

Best Editing

Richard Fox, David Marmor, Anna Rotke (1 BR)

Best Score or Music

Jay Woelfel (The Old Dark House)

Best VFX

Multiple artists (Scare Package)

Best Production Design

Johannes Bade, Marcel Barion, Philipp Bojahr, Massimo Müller (The Final Land)

 

Shorts

Emerging Script

Addison Heimann (Ava in the End)

Emerging Director

Robert Summers, Russell Summers (See You On The Other Side)

Acting Ensemble

Taylor Cathcart, Jason Rogel (Keloid)*

Acting Ensemble

Anna Campbell, Max Lesser (Liminal)*

* Moving forward, in place of delineating gender in our acting awards, Other Worlds will be awarding two winning films each year for acting ensemble.

Emerging Cinematography

Sam Nuttmann (Lane 9)

Emerging Editing

Andrew F. Gleason, Thomas Nicol (Hide and Seek)

Emerging Score or Music

Nick Angeloni, Olivia Dalessandro (This Dark Thought)

Emerging VFX

Blockhead VFX (We Are Not Alone)

Emerging Production Design

Timothy Martin (The Automaton)

 

2020

Features

Best Script

Dennis Curlett Jr. (Paradox Lost)

Best Director

Amelia Moses (Bleed With Me)

Acting Ensemble

Lee Marshall, Lauren Beatty, and Aris Tyros (Bleed With Me)

Best Cinematography

Alain Duplantier (Meander)

Best Editing

Robert Woods (An Ideal Host)

Best Score or Music

Röckët Stähr (Death of a Rockstar)

Best VFX (TIE)

Fito Dellibarda and Laura G Loaisa (Skylin3s);
David Ross, Phil Wray and Oliver Pearson Pajtra (Dune Drifter)

Best Production Design

Cristy Figueiredo and Pedro de Lima Marques (Tales of Tomorrow)

 

Shorts

Emerging Script

Amara Mesnik (In Suspension)

Emerging Director

Young H Lee (Raze of the Cyborg)

Acting Ensemble

Stephanie Barkley and Thomas Wilson Brown (Alone)

Emerging Cinematography

Jasper Techel (Q: Ghostly Remote Effect)

Emerging Editing

Stephen Staunton (Something Doesn’t Feel Right)

Emerging Score or Music

Mark Murphy (Something Doesn’t Feel Right)

Emerging VFX

Young H Lee, Yung Chen, and Alice Xie (Raze of the Cyborg)

Emerging Production Design

Alejandro Ariel Martin (Epirenov)

 

2021

Features

Best Script

Daniel Lazo, Eran May-Raz (Sight Extended)

Best Director

Rob Schroeder (Ultrasound)

Acting Ensemble

Ed Gonzalez Moreno, Natalia Dominguez (The Alternate)

Best Cinematography

Christopher Walters (Wicked Games)

Best Editing

Jason R. Miller (Madelines)

Best Score or Music

Tauno Aints (Kratt)

Best VFX

Narath Boriboonhiranthana, Darby Faccinto (Sight Extended)

Best Production Design

Rylan Hornall, Jessica Savarese (Residents of Arcadia)

 

Shorts

Emerging Script

Luis López Carrasco, Miguel Campaña (The Following Year)

Emerging Director

Gloria Mercer (Hekademia)

Acting Ensemble

Clare McNulty, Steve O'Brien, Donna Cooper, Eudora Peterson, Sara Ruth Blake (Still Together)

Emerging Cinematography

Juri Beythien (BLUE FiRE)

Emerging Editing

Brennan Gilpatrick (academy)

Emerging Score or Music

Jorge Magaz (The Following Year)

Emerging VFX

Roger Nall (The Relic)

Emerging Production Design

Cheyenne Ford (Friend of Sophia)

 

Screenwriting Winners

 

2015

Teleplay, Grand Prize Winner

Jen-16 Craig Berger

Screenplay Short

Alpha Son Jeremy Scroggins

Screenplay Feature

Drones & Drivers Haley Isleib

 

2016

Screenplay Short, Grand Prize Winner

Keystroke Tom Sanchez Prunier

Screenplay Feature

Dream Machine Aaron B. Koontz, Cameron Burns & Farrell Rose

Teleplay

Preternatural: Flight of the Godwits Joe Action

 

2017

Screenplay Feature, Grand Prize Winner

Gravitational Mass Kris Kapp

Teleplay

The Transporter Device Alan R. Howcroft

Screenplay Short

The Quench Bryan Abrams and Michael Keller

 

2018

Screenplay Feature, Grand Prize Winner

Infinitus Euroy Tan

Screenplay Short

Stuck Katy Erin

Teleplay

Ussuria Liliia Rivers

 

2019

Teleplay, Grand Prize Winner

Altered Evyn Williams

Screenplay Short

Deb & Joan Isaac Rathbone

Screenplay Feature

Turnover Matthew Borlik

 

2020

Screenplay Feature, Grand Prize Winner

How I Learned to Blog Like A Champ After the End of the World Nick Carmine

Screenplay Short

Norval Meets the Outer Gods Dale Nicholls

Teleplay

All You Oliver Warden