2025 AWARD WINNERS
The following list are the winners and full list of nominees (including secret nominees) for the 2025 FilmQuest Awards. The award winners, including the coveted FilmQuest Cthulhu Trophy winners, were announced in full at the Closing Night Awards Ceremony on November 1st, 2025 at Velour Live Music Gallery in Downtown Provo, Utah. The 2025 FilmQuest Winners are, as usual, filled with many more deserving films than can possibly win or be nominated. To the nominees, congratulations!
The following winners and nominees were culled from a process that began with a record breaking 2,325 submissions for the 2025 festival. Each Feature Film category, unless otherwise noted, has 6 to 8 nominees. Each Short Film & Other category, unless otherwise noted, has 10 nominees. A “secret” nominee in all short film categories (unless otherwise indicated) will be announced at the Awards Ceremony, however there are no secret nominees for feature films this year. These “secret nominees” often became the winner of their categories, and is our patented twist on the awards process, a unique and fun activity that many have come to enjoy. All “Virtual Exclusive” films are also eligible for awards, and several winners have emerged from this group as well. For this year, all Feature Films are eligible for “Best Feature Film” and as such no specific nomination will be announced at this time for the feature film.
Winners & Nomination laurels for the 2025 season can be found on our site here and via FilmFreeway here.
Congratulations to all the 2025 Award Nominees, and start spreading the word today! Use hashtags #filmquest #prepareforfantastic #filmquest2025 #thebestofthebest #filmquestawards #filmquestwinner #filmquestnominee as you promote online!
BEST FEATURE FILM
Buffet Libre
GRAND PRIZE BEST SHORT FILM
The Singers
BEST COMEDY SHORT
The Sentry
BEST FANTASTIC & BEYOND SHORT
The Singers
BEST FANTASY SHORT
Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting
BEST FOREIGN SHORT
Two People Exchanging Saliva
BEST HORROR SHORT
Gimme
BEST MICRO SHORT
Milk
BEST MINI SHORT
Loud
BEST MIDNIGHT SHORT
Red Ribbons in the House of Stained Glass
BEST SCI-FI SHORT
The Lord of All Future Space & Time
BEST STUDENT SHORT
The Demon Core
BEST UTAH SHORT
I Hid My Heart Inside My Head
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Dreamwalker
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
Chokin’ (Kai Straw)
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Rat Rod
BEST FOUND FOOTAGE FEATURE
Frogman Returns
BEST FOUND FOOTAGE SHORT
Devil’s Prism
THE MINERVA AWARD
Jill Sachs for “Taga”
BEST DIRECTOR – FEATURE
The Flesh Itself – Ian SBF
BEST SCREENPLAY – FEATURE
Bugget Libre – Zoe Berriatúa
BEST ACTOR – FEATURE (TIE)
Orion – Drew Van Acker
Peeping Todd – Chris Alan Evans
BEST ACTRESS – FEATURE
Buffet Libre – Yan Huang
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – FEATURE
Bad Haircut – Frankie Ray
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – FEATURE
Influencers – Emily Tennant
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST – FEATURE
Damned If You Do
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – FEATURE
Influencers
BEST EDITING – FEATURE
Appofeniacs
BEST SOUND – FEATURE
Influencers
BEST SCORE – FEATURE
Peeping Todd
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN/ART DIRECTION – FEATURE
The Flesh Itself
BEST COSTUMES – FEATURE
The Flesh Itself
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS – FEATURE
Orion
BEST MAKEUP – FEATURE
Jump Scare
BEST DIRECTOR – SHORT
Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting – Alexander Thompson
BEST SCREENPLAY – SHORT
The Lord of All Future Space & Time – Chris Paul Russell
BEST ACTOR – SHORT (TIE)
Inheritance – Anthony Misiano
The Demon Core – Connor Paolo
BEST ACTRESS – SHORT
The Other Girl – Madeleine Coghlan
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – SHORT
Chasers – Louie Chapman
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – SHORT
Nightfall – Teri Hatcher
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST – SHORT
The Singers
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – SHORT
The Companions
BEST EDITING – SHORT
Rough Cut
BEST SOUND – SHORT
Blindsided
BEST SCORE – SHORT
Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting**
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN/ART DIRECTION – SHORT
Jacques the Giant Slayer
BEST COSTUMES – SHORT
Margaret the Brave
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS – SHORT
Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting
BEST MAKEUP – SHORT
Frankenbabes from Beyond the Grave!
BEST UN-PRODUCED SCREENPLAY – FEATURE
1st Place – The Re-Education of Jane Brown by MK McGehee
2nd Place – The Experience by Anna Kathryn Long & Olivia Haller
3rd Place – Beneath the Undercurrent by Helen Alexis Yonov
BEST UN-PRODUCED SCREENPLAY – SHORT
1st Place – Meeting Your Maker by Gregory JM Kasunich
2nd Place – Eval by Katherine LaVictoire
3rd Place – The Bonding by Vincente DiSanti
BEST UN-PRODUCED SCREENPLAY – LONG PILOT
1st Place – The Spirit Photographer by Joey Scoma
BEST UN-PRODUCED SCREENPLAY – SHORT PILOT
1st Place – Buried by the Dark by Joe Mitchell
BEST UN-PRODUCED SCREENPLAY – FEATURE – TOP 20
Beast with Two Backs by Amanda Jane Stern
Beneath the Undercurrent by Helen Alexis Yonov
Bitter Harvest by Jack Warner
Brick Fist by Rob Neilson & Colin Ochs
Carnal by Taylor Olson
Charades by Avishai Weinberger & Ari Marmell
Ecclesia: Cold Sun by J. Patrick Nunn
Gains by James Tison
Necrotica by Wesley Drent
Oar River by Jody McNicholas
Residue by Matilda Szydagis
Respirar by August Joaquim Soto
The Crude by Zach Green
The Experience by Anna Kathryn Long & Olivia Haller
The Farm by Craig Urquhart
The Nightchaser by Edward Balli
The Night Mother by David Todd Ocvirk
The Re-Education of Jane Brown by MK McGehee
The Sacrament by Brianna de Silva
Violent Delights by Jack Warren
What’s Wrong, Wendy by Spooky Madison
BEST UN-PRODUCED SCREENPLAY – SHORT – TOP 10
Cyclical by Kaitlin N. Larson
Doomsday for Dodos by Miguel Vega
Eval by Katherine LaVictoire
Eve by Kirsten Spalding
Fetch by Patrick Curran
Frankie by Rachel Thomas Medwid
Meeting Your Maker by Gregory JM Kasunich
The Bonding by Vincent DiSanti
The Menacing Orb by Patrick Curran
The Thompson Girls by William Vincent
BEST UN-PRODUCED SCREENPLAY – PILOT LONG FORM – TOP 3
Gilgul by Adam Shiri
Monarch by Mauricio Herrera Manzur
The Spirit Photographer by Joey Scoma
BEST UN-PRODUCED SCREENPLAY – PILOT SHORT FORM – TOP 3
Buried by the Dark by Joe Mitchell
Pearly Gate Estates by James Crisp
Power Couple by Ari Donnelly
All Un-produced Screenplay Competition judging was done by a group of third party professional judges.
**Indicates winner was a secret nominee
Live Awards Show Stream (Part 1) – courtesy of Social House Films
Live Awards Show Stream (Part 2) – courtesy of Social House Films
2025 NOMINEES (COMPLETE LIST)
BEST FEATURE FILM
All 17 Features in Competition
BEST FOUND FOOTAGE FEATURE
Frogman Returns
We Put the World to Sleep
BEST COMEDY SHORT
Alpaca
Beauty Sleep
Butter Knife
Five Star
Guardian Asshole
Max Distance
The Man That I Wave At
The Quackening
The Sentry
SECRET NOMINEE: Supper
BEST FANTASTIC & BEYOND SHORT
Are you F*cking Kidding Me
Chasers
Don’t Watch This
Foxbody
Long’s Long Lost & Mini Mart
Stroke of Genius
The Ride
The Singers
Very Prosperous Men
SECRET NOMINEE: Would You Rather
BEST FANTASY SHORT
Bluebird
Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting
Iurima: A Tale of Three Fisherman
Jacques the Giant Slayer
Man & Mattress
Margaret The Brave
Pearls
Teddy
The Pearl Comb
SECRET NOMINEE: Triptych
BEST FOREIGN SHORT
Hard Cash (Germany)
Last Night Together (S. Korea)
Once Upon a Time in the Apocalypse (Portugal)
Pasung (Indonesia)
The Cauldron (Slovenia)
The Companions (Spain)
The Leader Will Come (Belgium)
Two People Exchanging Saliva (France)
Yathoom (United Arab Emirates)
SECRET NOMINEE: The Rat Among Us (Sweden)
BEST HORROR SHORT
Death Red
Gimme
Grandma is Thirsty
Masks
Monster Medicine
Taga
The Last Draft
The Night Within
The Sequence
SECRET NOMINEE: The Conduit
BEST MIDNIGHT SHORT
Balls
Bidet
Frankenbabes from Beyond the Grave!
Grunge
Open Wide
Red Ribbons in the House of Stained Glass
Rough Cut
Scissor Sleepover
Wall Udder
SECRET NOMINEE: Sewing Machine
BEST MICRO SHORT
A World of Ashes
Chips or Crackers
Is That a Mime?
Metanoia
Milk
My Left Hand is a Part of Me
Skeeter
The Nightwalker
Treasure Imagination
SECRET NOMINEE: Tacocunr
BEST MINI SHORT
And They Shall Handle Serpents
Blindsided
Crowded Out
Eeothoh
Loud
Meat Crayon
One Second
Strip Mall
Tapestry
SECRET NOMINEE: Daddy is a Hunter
BEST SCI-FI SHORT
Amira
Bot or Not
Dual
Houston, We Have a Crush
Neuro
Sim
The Camcorder
The Lord of All Future Space & Time
The Traveler
SECRET NOMINEE: Triangle
BEST STUDENT SHORT
A Brighter Summer Day for the Lady Avengers
Dissent
Ever After
Pulpitum
Strawberry Shortcake
Take Two
The Demon Core
The King in Yellow
Under the Ice
SECRET NOMINEE: Glory Hole
BEST UTAH SHORT
A Ghosted Heart
Be Not Afraid
Cyranø
Dead Pen Tracks
I Hid My Heart Inside My Head
The Falling
The Father/The Son
The Relic
The Split
SECRET NOMINEE: Radio Silence
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
*No Secret Nominee
A World with No Fences
Breaking the Line: The Peta Searl Story
Rat Rod
This Werewolf Complex
Visible Woman
BEST FOUND FOOTAGE SHORT
*No Secret Nominee
Devil’s Prism
Follow You
New Followers
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Animal Math
Dagon
Dreamwalker
Flocky
Help Me Tom
In Half
Love & Gold
Next Show in 90 Minutes
Shrine of Abominations
SECRET NOMINEE: The Ottoman
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
Born at Night – Pile
Chokin’ – Kai Straw
Dear Sara – Lola Blanc
Embalmed – Die Shiny
Good Life – Jeff Hilliard
IRL – Lowswimmer
Lamento – Gaby Moreno
Loser – Elli Moore
W.H.W.D. – Timothy Hautekiet
SECRET NOMINEE: Dark Things – Starset
THE MINERVA AWARD
(Awarded to a short film female identifying filmmaker/duo/group whose work embodies the advancement of the voice and empowerment of the female filmmaker in genre cinema today. Must have been a film directed, written, and/or produced by the same female filmmaker.) (*No Secret Nominee)
Alexah Acuña – Thump
Alexandre Singh & Natalie Musteata – Two People Exchanging Saliva
Brittany Ashley – Take Care
Erin Brown Thomas – Chasers / Tacocunr
Faith Liu – Sundowning
Iris Dukat – Long Pork
Jill Sachs – Taga
Kika Magalhães – Devil’s Prism
Lucía Forner Segarra – Berta
Madeleine Coghlan – The Other Girl
Meredith Berg – Tether
Nee Kirschman – Scissor Sleepover
Sylvia Caminer – Alpaca
Veronica Felicity Johnson – Monster Medicine
Wendy Wang – The Man Upstairs
BEST DIRECTOR – FEATURE
Appofeniacs – Chris Marrs Piliero
Buffet Libre – Zoe Berriatúa
Hacked – Shane Brady
Influencers – Kurtis David Harder
Labyrinth – Ryuhei Kitamura
Orion – Jaco Bouwer
Syphon – Tom Botchii
The Flesh Itself – Ian Sbf
BEST SCREENPLAY – FEATURE
Buffet Libre – Zoe Berriatúa
Damned If You Do – Eric Gilde & Ellen Adair
Hacked – Shane Brady
Influencers – Kurtis David Harder
Kombucha – Geoff Bakken & Jake Myers
Orion – Anne Vithayathil
Peeping Todd – Chris Alan Evans & Josh Munds
The Cramps – Brooke H. Cellars
The Flesh Itself – Deive Pazos, Alexandre Ottoni and Ian Sbf
BEST ACTOR – FEATURE
Bad Haircut – Spencer Harrison Levin
Buffet Libre – Carlos Wu
Kombucha – Terrence Carey
Orion – Drew Van Acker
Peeping Todd – Chris Alan Evans
Syphon – Jeffrey Decker
Syphon – Shuhei Kinoshita
The Flesh Itself – Luiz Carlos Persy
BEST ACTRESS – FEATURE
Buffet Libre – Yan Huang
Damned If You Do – Kate Siegal
I See the Demon – Alexis Zollicoffer
Influencers – Cassandra Naud
Labyrinth – Alexxis Lemire
Peeping Todd – Mabel Thomas
We Put to the World to Sleep – Duru Yücel
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – FEATURE
Appofeniacs – Sean Gunn
Bad Haircut – Frankie Ray
Damned If You Do – Harvey Guillén
Hacked – Chandler Riggs
I See the Demon – Dave Martinez
Influencers – Jonathan Whitesell
Orion – Andrew McCarthy
The Flesh Itself – Jorge Guerreiro
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – FEATURE
Damned If You Do – Beth Dover
Hacked – Katelyn Nacon
Influencers – Emily Tennant
Influencers – Georgina Campbell
Jump Scare – Natasha Estrada
Kombucha – Claire McFadden
Orion – Debby Ryan
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST – FEATURE
Appofeniacs
Bad Haircut
Damned If You Do
I See the Demon
Influencers
Labyrinth
Peeping Todd
The Cramps
The Flesh Itself
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – FEATURE
Appofeniacs
Bad Haircut
Buffet Libre
Influencers
Jump Scare
Orion
Syphon
The Cramps
BEST EDITING – FEATURE
Appofeniacs
Damned If You Do
Frogman Returns
Hacked
I See the Demon
Syphon
We Put the World to Sleep
BEST SOUND – FEATURE
Appofeniacs
Hacked
Influencers
Jump Scare
Orion
The Flesh Itself
BEST SCORE – FEATURE
Damned If You Do
Hacked
I See the Demon
Jump Scare
Peeping Todd
The Cramps
The Flesh Itself
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN / ART DIRECTION – FEATURE
Bad Haircut
Jump Scare
Labyrinth
Orion
The Cramps
The Flesh Itself
BEST COSTUMES – FEATURE
Jump Scare
Orion
The Cramps
The Flesh Itself
BEST VISUAL FX – FEATURE
Frogman Returns
I See the Demon
Jump Scare
Kombucha
Labyrinth
Orion
BEST MAKEUP FX – FEATURE
Buffet Libre
Frogman Returns
Jump Scare
Kombucha
Labyrinth
The Cramps
BEST DIRECTOR – SHORT
Chasers – Erin Brown Thomas
Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting – Alexander Thompson
Foxbody – Cameron Monaghan
Gimme – Steven Schloss
Margaret the Brave – Danny Chandia
The Lord of All Future Space & Time – Chris Paul Russell
The Sentry – Jake Wachtel
The Singers – Sam Davis
Very Prosperous Men – Josiah Walker
SECRET NOMINEE: Long’s Long Lost & Mini Mart – Julian Doan
BEST SCREENPLAY – SHORT
Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting – Alexander Thompson
Margaret the Brave – Danny Chandia
Supper – Joshua Ryan Dietz
The Conduit – Conor Soucy & Zack Kampf
The Lord of All Future Space & Time – Chris Paul Russell
The Pearl Comb – Ali Cook
The Ride – Grigory Borodavkin & Slava Denisov
Two People Exchanging Saliva – Alexandre Singh & Natalie Musteata
Very Prosperous Men – Josh Oakly & Josiah Walker
SECRET NOMINEE: Stroke of Genius – Charlie Brafman
BEST ACTRESS – SHORT
Chasers – Ciarra Krohne
Don’t Watch This – Natalie Pollison
Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting – Milly Shapiro
Foxbody – Kelli Berglund
Long Pork – Lena Headey
Maraschino – Lacey Claire Rogers
Solipsis – Jennifer-Lynn Christie
Take Care – Courtney Pauroso
The Other Girl – Madeleine Coghlan
SECRET NOMINEE: The Traveler – Natalie Knepp
BEST ACTOR – SHORT
Inheritance – Anthony Misiano
Jacques the Giant Slayer – Aaron Moorhead
Margaret the Brave – Roberto Raad
Nightfall – Guy Hershler
Self-Tape – Nick Samson
Stroke of Genius – Maxim Baldry
The Demon Core – Connor Paolo
The Waking Call – Michael Maggi
Tusky – Phil Davis
SECRET NOMINEE: The Sentry – Daniel Raymont
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – SHORT
Belly Belly – Katie Lynn Stoddard
Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting – Pollyanna McIntosh
Forever, Caroline – Sierra Harper
Guardian Asshole – Constance Zimmer
Long’s Long Lost & Mini Mart – Hồng Đào
Margaret the Brave – Veronica Mitsuk
Nightfall – Teri Hatcher
Take Care – Stephanie Courtney
The Mortician’s Daughter – Bonnie Aarons
SECRET NOMINEE: The Pearl Comb – Beatie Edney
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – SHORT
All Us Animals – Nick Puya
Bloodsport – Robert Bathurst
Chasers – Louie Chapman
Forever, Caroline – William Mann
Max Distance – David Brown
Max Distance – Jon Daly
Self-Tape – Jonathan Dylan King
Soulmate – Joe Dempsie
The Other Girl – Chris Conner
The Sentry – Dara Phang
SECRET NOMINEE: The Demon Core – Sam Jacobs
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST – SHORT
*No Secret Nominee
Agonist
Bot or Not
Chasers
Dadda
Fireflies in the Dusk
Last Night Together
My Dead Dad’s Funeral
Pocket Change
Slush
Supper
The Demon Core
The Leader Will Come
The Singers
Unalived
Very Prosperous Men
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – SHORT
Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting
Gimme
Metanoia
Neuro
The Companions
The Lord of All Future Space & Time
The Singers
Under the Ice
Yathoom
SECRET NOMINEE: Jacques the Giant Slayer
BEST EDITING – SHORT
A Brighter Summer Day for the Lady Avengers
Belly Belly
Dunwich
Margaret the Brave
Rough Cut
The Conduit
The Lord of All Future Space & Time
Undertone
You Have Her Eyes
SECRET NOMINEE: Gimme
BEST SOUND – SHORT
Blindsided
Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting
Gimme
Loud
Never Let You Go
No Trouble
The Conduit
Triangle
Undertone
SECRET NOMINEE: The Lord of All Future Space & Time
BEST SCORE – SHORT
A World with No Fences
Animal Math
Gimme
Margaret the Brave
Plastic Surgery
Red Ribbons in the House of Stained Glass
Tasteless
The Lord of All Future Space & Time
The Specter of Christmas
SECRET NOMINEE: Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN / ART DIRECTION – SHORT
Cavewoman
Gimme
Jacques the Giant Slayer
Margaret the Brave
Starfisher
The Demon Core
The Pearl Comb
The Specter of Christmas
Triangle
SECRET NOMINEE: Neuro
BEST COSTUMES – SHORT
Bluebird
Frankenbabes from Beyond the Grave
Kukeri
Margaret the Brave
Neuro
The Golem
The Lord of All Future Space & Time
The Pearl Comb
The Specter of Christmas
SECRET NOMINEE: Amira
BEST VISUAL FX – SHORT
Drifters
Dual
Dunwich
Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting
Guardian Asshole
Margaret the Brave
The Lord of All Future Space & Time
The Saint Antoine
Wizdom
SECRET NOMINEE: The Quackening
BEST MAKEUP FX – SHORT
Frankenbabes from Beyond the Grave
Grandma is Thirsty
Inheritance
Jacques the Giant Slayer
Monster Medicine
Pearls
Plastic Surgery
VÄSEN
Where the Shadows Feast
SECRET NOMINEE: Houston, We Have a Crush