The awards are presented to filmmakers of the highest-scoring films in the

Narrative Feature Film
Presented to the filmmaker of the Festival audience’s choice of best non-documentary feature (60 min or more) of the entire Official Selection.

Short Film Audience Award
Presented to the filmmaker(s) of the Festival audience’s choice of best non-documentary short (30 min or less) of the entire Official Selection.

The final score is calculated by averaging audience ratings and multiplying by the fractional voting participation (that is, the number of people who choose to vote out of the total attendance at each screening). In the event of a close score ie. 1/10 of a percentage point, a tie is declared. Ratings and scores are entered on numeric scale via paper ballots and remain confidential.

2024 Recipients

Audience Feature Film Award: The Shadow of the Sun directed by Miguel Angel Ferrer

First runner-up: The Performance directed by Shira Piven

Second Runner-Up: Los Frikis directed by Tyler Nilson & Michael Schwartz

Audience Documentary Film Award: Skywalkers: A Love Story, directed by Jeff Zimbalist & Maria Bukhonina

First Runner-Up: Stories from the Lighthouse directed by Deborah Dickson

Second Runner-Up: Women of Iran directed by a group of filmmakers inside and outside of Iran 

Short Film Audience Award: Objects of Desire directed by Alejandro Renteria

First Runner-Up: Not Rod directed by Becca Greene & Alex Pollack

Second Runner-Up: Yuck! directed by Loic Espuche

Past Recipients