2023 Winners & Finalists

All Winners and Finalists for our 2023 awards program were revealed at our October 29th Awards Gala in Los Angeles.

Please scroll down to see a complete list of 2023 Winners and Finalists.

2023 Luminary Award Honoree

Jane Campion

Being the first female director to receive the Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival in 1993 for The Piano alongside an Academy Award, Jane Campion has created, co-written, directed and produced several Short and Feature films. Her most recent film, The Power of the Dog, received 12 Academy Award nominations and premiered at Venice Film Festival in 2021 where Jane was awarded The Silver Lion for Best Director.

Other nominations include BAFTA Awards; Best Film and Best Director and Golden Globes; Best Motion Picture & Best Director Motion Picture. Jane was also the recipient of the Silver Medallion at Telluride Film Festival, the Louve d’honneur at Montreal Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, Prix Lumière at Lumière Film Festival, Lyon, Director’s Tribute at The Gotham Film & Media Institute and Lifetime Achievement Award at Stockholm Film Festival.

Read Jane’s complete bio

Next Generation Indie Film Awards is proud to present Jane Campion with the Luminary Award.

2023 Best Overall Film / Grand Prize Winner

“Lollygag” by Tij D’oyen and Cameron Morton

Tij D’oyen and Cameron Morton have collaborated on many films together, including NGIFA winner Lollygag, as well as Tij’s most recent film, Nepotism, Baby! Tij (Writer/Director) was most recently selected as a fellow for the Film at Lincoln Center Artists Academy. He was included in Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film ‘22 and is this year’s Slamdance AGBO Fellow, awarded by the Russo Brothers (producers of Everything Everywhere All At Once). Cameron (Producer) was a Jacob Burns Film Center Creative Culture Fellow and is a graduate of North Carolina School of the Arts. She is currently a Sundance Producers Lab Fellow.

On their award-winning narrative short Lollygag:

Set in the leisured suburbs of East Hampton, Lollygag plays out a woman’s sensual yet macabre childhood memory about the boy next door. Lollygag is a bleak sun-drenched study of isolation, ennui, obsession and loss.

Lollygag premiered at Outfest 22′ where it received a Grand Jury Honorable Mention. It went on to screen at Slamdance 23′, where it was awarded the AGBO Award, Champs-Élysées Film Festival 23’, where it won the Grand Jury Prize, and Fantasia ‘23, where it received an audience award.

Tij and Cameron continue to create impactful independent films that explore unique stories that command the world’s attention.

Next Generation Indie Film Awards is proud to honor “Lollygag” with the 2023 Best Overall Film.

CATEGORY	WINNER	FINALISTS (listed alphabetically)
Best Comedy Short	Suzy Makes Cupcakes Directed by Jayson Therrien Produced by Morgan Ermter, Griffin Cork, & Scott Westby	Black Karen Directed by Meagan Good Written by Danielle Nicolet I Can Explain Directed by Emorphia Margaritis The Vacation Directed by Jarreau Carrillo Wei-Lai Directed by Robin Wang
Best Animated Short	THE SPRAYER Directed by Farnoosh Abedi	Friendship Directed by Lin Tam Remembering Nearfield Directed by Sean Alexander Carney Still Up There Directed by 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
Best Music Video	Sunflowers – A Strange Feeling of Existential Angst Directed by Carolina Bonzinho, Leander Meresaar	POLARIS Directed by Scott Tanaka, Seth Woodard Produced by Sharon Woodard, Dark Sky Percussion Composed by Seth Woodard & Darren Van Derpoel SIX FEET UNDER Directed by Gladwin Pinto Skeletons Directed by Sebastián Vargas Flor Snap Directed by Aramayis Hayrapetyan
Best Short by a First-Time Filmmaker	Tahlequah the Whale: A Dance of Grief Written and Directed by Daniel Kreizberg	First Time Directed by Nicolas Block Jesus Would Have Loved Punk Rock Directed by Abbey George Lullaby Directed by Noah Kinsey The Best Time Directed by Shaunic Stanford
Best Short by a 50+ Filmmaker	The Sweet Taste of Freedom Directed by Matthew Penn	Chinese Medicine Angels Directed by Michael Chu Dotting the “I” Directed by Doug Tompos I (heart) Jack Lalanne: A Cartoon Memoir Directed by LeAnn Erickson Prospect Mark Directed by Maria Teresa Alvarado
Best Short by an LGBTQ+ Filmmaker	Chavo Directed by Alecio Araci	I (heart) Jack Lalanne: A Cartoon Memoir Directed by LeAnn Erickson My Abortion Saved My Life Directed by Ruby Fludzinski, Tiler Wilson Outlandish Directed by Ayodeji Otuyelu Rural Directed by Amelia Annen The Devout Directed by John Mark Hostetler
Best Short by a BIPOC Filmmaker	Please In Spanish Directed by Patricia Seely	Bamber Bridge Directed by Mark D. Bonner Call Me By My Name Directed by Ruixi Gao Produced by Ruixi Gao, Olina Wong, Kathy Wu Him & Her Directed by Simonee Chichester My Life in 2 Luggages Directed by Gabriel Ponte-Fleary
Best Short by a Student Filmmaker	Winter Bloom Directed by Ivan Krupenikov	Ant Hotel Directed by Yu-hsuan Teng Recollect Directed by Eli Akio Williams The Call of Water Directed by Kaya Tone Who I Wasn’t Directed by Seeley Björkstén
Best Web Series (One Episode)	What Remains of Emily Directed by Mya-Breyana Morton Produced by Tashina Southard	“Night Visit” Directed by Abdul Stone Jackson Produced by Kyle Zanika Chateau Laurier – Season 2 Directed by James Stewart Reign Directed by Mike Chaturantabut, Joe Lujan Produced by Christian Larson
Best Production Design in a Short Film	Suzy Makes Cupcakes John MaClean & Colton Porelle	Bamber Bridge Mark D. Bonner CANDY PUPPET Sabrina Suarez No-Land: Life in 2223 Lei Jiang The Second Hand Charles Tanner
Best Editing in a Short Film	Suzy Makes Cupcakes Morgan Ermter	Brave New World/reimagined Nicholas Johnson Cry Harder Ian Tan Exile Corey Gilbert Pay It Guanqing Lin
Best Science Fiction Short	DejaVu Directed by Alex Rios	Apotheosis Directed by Max Pearce Launch at Paradise Directed by Carrie Ann Quinn Steeplechase Directed by Andrey Kezzyn The Adventures of Capt Sanchez – Loyalty Test Directed by Jeff Michael Davies
Best Experimental Short	POLARIS Directed by Scott Tanaka, Seth Woodard, Adam Adorno Produced by Sharon Woodard, Dark Sky Percussion	Brave New World/reimagined Written and Directed by Nicholas Johnson Outlandish Directed by Ayodeji Otuyelu Pyrotechnics Directed by Onyou Oh Vultures Directed by Daniel Denegre
Best Horror Short	Drawn Directed by Ty Clancey	115 Directed by André Gogola, Vito Gogola BOYHOARDER Directed by Gabrielle Carrubba Physis Directed by Walter Rastelli Spooky Society Directed by Bryson Lima
Best Foreign Language Short	The Ballerina Directed by Adam Hartwiński	5 More Minutes Directed by Alberto Niculae Eden House Directed by Adelina Borets Never Say Cry Directed by Ziyao Liu Once upon A time Directed by Ahmed Reggad
Best Sound Design in a Short Film	Virgins for Satan Ethan Pham & Theo Holt	Old Flames OSO Audio Pay It Guanqing Lin Russian Doll Dmitry Fesenko SUPER DILEMMA Ryan Harder
Best Original Music Score in a Short Film	The Last Cloudweaver Ros Gilman	La Línea Imaginaria Marcel Barsotti Manithan Jen Martin SUPER DILEMMA Jesse Bouvier Tahlequah the Whale: A Dance of Grief Lolita Ritmanis
Best Short Film Screenplay	Junior’s Giant Debra McGrath	Chateau Laurier – Season 2 James Stewart Exile Corey Gilbert Six Feet of Separation Toni Nordli Three A.M. Barbara Blumenthal-Ehrlich
Best Cinematography in a Short Film	The Ballerina Jakub Stolecki	Art, Love & Woodcraft Shitao Zhou POLARIS Scott Tanaka, Seth Woodard Say Cheese Munjal Yagnik Suzy Makes Cupcakes Chase Gardiner
Best Direction in a Short Film	THE VAN Bernard Badion	By Any Other Name Daniel Deville Lullaby Noah Kinsey The Sweet Taste of Freedom Matthew Penn Wei-Lai Robin Wang
Best Drama Short	The Sweet Taste of Freedom Directed by Matthew Penn	Any Wednesday Directed by Allie Light, Patrick Stark Kanashimi Directed by Michael Horwitz Produced by Todd Felderstein and Fran Harvey My Heart Won’t Stop Beating Directed by Madeline Rose Carter The Howling Directed by Bartosz Brzeziński
Best Feature Film Screenplay	Moonlight Warrior Hong Ying	HOSTILE TERRITORY Brian Presley Little Brother Sheridan O’Donnell Moe Evelina Fernández
Best Cinematography in a Feature Film	Mutt Matthew Pothier	Above the Clouds Nathan Cornett Grey Tints Dallin Hodgkin KARAOKE Daniel Miller Little Brother Conor Murphy
Best Direction in a Feature Film	MANUELA Clara Cullen	Above the Clouds Jon Hill BOCA CHICA Gabriella Athena Moses KARAOKE Moshe Rosenthal Mutt Vuk Lungulov-Klotz
Best Ensemble Cast in a Short Film	Pressure Play Emidio Lopes, Andrew Bee, Rachel Peters, Cameron Stewart, Quinn Bennett, Jolly Amoako, Bryan Piitz, Emily Kindred	Chateau Laurier – Season 2 Kate Ross Leckie, Luke Humphrey, Tymika Tafari, Fiona Reid, Emmanuel Kabongo, Kent Staines, Brittany Raymond, Fraser Elsdon, Jane Luk, Joel Oulette Six Feet of Separation Nina Yndis, Fayez Bakhsh Suzy Makes Cupcakes Allison Lynch, Duff Zayonce, Dallas Soonia, Shane Ghostkeeper, Owen Crow Show, Jayson Therrien, & Griffin Cork Wei-Lai Arthur Zhang, Benjamin Widner, Zhan Wang, Eon Song, Laura Chowenhill, Chris Devlin
Best Supporting Actor in a Short Film	THE VAN Raul Aranas	BOSS OF THE TOSS Jazz Securo Death by King Cake Kyle Craig Memory Lane Donald Watson The Flower That Never Wilts Michael Evans Behling
Best Supporting Actress in a Short Film	Death by King Cake Alaina Nunnally	A Couple Talks Kayla Perez-Ramsay Bamber Bridge Emma Rose Wagner BOSS OF THE TOSS Angela Cole DejaVu Olivia Whitney
Best Supporting Actress in a Feature Film	MANUELA Alma Farago	Above the Clouds Tiffany Chen Above the Clouds Sun Park Beyro Sahra Asadollahi
Best Supporting Actor in a Feature Film	Little Brother JK Simmons	Above the Clouds Matty Cardarople I Can Daniel Roebuck KARAOKE Lior Ashkenazi
Best Actor in a Short Film	THE VAN Eugene Cordero	Junior’s Giant Eric Peterson Kanashimi Austin Basis Six Feet of Separation Fayez Bakhsh The Impatient Man Who Made His Life Considerably Shorter James Hyland
Best Actress in a Short Film	The Ballerina Elzbieta Jarosik	Are You Awake? Ellyn Jameson Him & Her Gabrielle Rose Suzy Makes Cupcakes Allison Lynch The Best Time Anna Marie Sharpe
Best Actor in a Feature Film	Little Brother Philip Ettinger	Above the Clouds Chris Labadie ICON Parker Padgett KARAOKE Sasson Gabay Mutt Lío Mehiel
Best Actress in a Feature Film	MANUELA Bárbara Lombardo	Above the Clouds Kahyun Kim ICON Devon Hales KARAOKE Rita Shukrun Mutt MiMi Ryder TAPE Selena Lee
Best Documentary Short	POWERS Directed by Paige Morrow Kimball	Breaking Silence Directed by Amy Bench, Annie Silverstein Grounded Directed by Jordan Hoffmaster ifine Directed by Adisa Septuri, Ebony Gilbert NIGHT/LEYL Directed by Mehmet Tolga Eskiocak Shirampari: Legacies of the River Directed by Lucia Florez
Best Documentary Feature	Anxious Nation Directed by Vanessa Roth, Laura Morton	Dusty & Stones Directed by Jesse Rudoy JessZilla Directed by Emily Sheskin The Bough Breaks Directed and Produced by Caroline Strong & Danny Strong The Issue with Tissue – a boreal love story Directed by Michael Zelniker When Wire Was King: The Transformation of Telecommunications Directed by Jennifer A. Manner
Best Narrative Feature	Beyro Directed by Morteza Ali Abasmirzaei	Above the Clouds Directed by Jon Hill Produced by Sean Cook, Dan Riesser, Justin Oberman KARAOKE Directed by Moshe Rosenthal MANUELA Directed by Clara Cullen Produced by Helena Martel Seward Mutt Directed by Vuk Lungulov-Klotz Produced by Alexander Stegmaier
Best Narrative Short	Lollygag Directed by Tij D’oyen Produced by Cameron Morton	I N C O N D I C I O N A L Directed by Alex Meridy Lullaby Directed by Noah Kinsey Produced by Noah Kinsey & Spencer Rich Rest in piece Directed by Antoine Antabi The Ballerina Directed by Adam Hartwiński Unborn Biru Directed by Inga Elin Marakatt
Best Overall Film	Lollygag Directed by Tij D’oyen Produced by Cameron Morton	Anxious Nation Directed by Vanessa Roth, Laura Morton Beyro Directed by Morteza Ali Abasmirzaei POWERS Directed by Paige Morrow Kimball

The 2023 awards gala took place on October 29th at Loews Hotel in Hollywood, California.
All award winners and finalists were provided with a laurel which may be used for their own marketing and promotional materials.
In addition to industry recognition and rights to use the prestigious Next Generation Indie Film Awards laurel, winners also received a shiny gold statuette to commemorate their outstanding achievement in their respective independent short filmmaking category.