2025 AWARD NOMINEES
The following list are the nominees (not including secret nominees) for the 2025 FilmQuest Awards. The award winners, including the coveted FilmQuest Cthulhu Trophy winners, will be 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 Nominees are, as usual, filled with many more deserving films than can possibly win or be nominated. To the nominees, congratulations!
The following 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.
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
All 16 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: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
BEST HORROR SHORT
Death Red
Gimme
Grandma is Thirsty
Masks
Monster Medicine
Taga
The Last Draft
The Night Within
The Sequence
SECRET NOMINEE: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
BEST MINI SHORT (New Category!)
And They Shall Handle Serpents
Blindsided
Crowded Out
Eeothoh
Loud
Meat Crayon
One Second
Strip Mall
Tapestry
SECRET NOMINEE: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
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
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
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
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
Hacked – Chandler Riggs
I See the Demon – Dave Martinez
Influencers – Jonathan Whitesell
Orion – Andrew McCarthy
The Flesh Itself – Jorge Guerreiro
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – FEATURE
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
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
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
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: Announced Nov. 1st
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
Two People Exchanging Saliva – Alexandre Singh & Natalie Musteata
Very Prosperous Men – Josh Oakly & Josiah Walker
SECRET NOMINEE: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – SHORT
All Us Animals – Nick Puya
Bloodsport – Robert Bathurst
Chasers – Louie Chapman
Forever, Caroline – William Mann
Max Distance – Jon Daly
Self-Tape – Jonathan Dylan King
Soulmate – Joe Dempsie
The Other Girl – Chris Conner
The Sentry – Dara Phang
SECRET NOMINEE: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
BEST SOUND – SHORT
Blindsided
Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting
Gimme
Loud
Never Let You Go
No Trouble
The Conduit
Triangle
Undertone
SECRET NOMINEE: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st
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: Announced Nov. 1st