3rd Place - Judges Choice, Best Thriller

There is a fifth grade girl named Jiang Ling in a village in northern China. Not long ago, a boy named Lin Jiang was transferred to her class. Jiang Ling accidentally found that there were many paper houses in Lin Jiang's home and they were exactly the same as the houses in her village in appearance and quantity. She also found that there seemed to be some terrible connection between these paper houses and the real houses.Jiang Ling was determined to find out the secrets of these paper houses·

1st Place - Judges Choice

The last 11 minutes in the life of a workplace shooter. Told by the director's own suicide note, used as the script for the film.

2nd Place - Judges Choice, Best Animation

From independent director and animator, Josh Funk, comes 3 KEYS - a fantasy/thriller short film set in the world of one woman's nightmares. In the office of a psychiatrist (Robert Donnelly), a patient (Brigette Funk) explains her reoccurring nightmares that always begin with a mysterious door and three different skeleton keys that unlock it. Accompanied by stop-motion puppets, marionettes, and miniatures, each nightmare is packed with practical effects.

3rd Place - Audience Choice

A woman goes on a blind date with a charming gent, but there may be more to this suiter than meets the eye...

1st Place - Audience Choice

The mind is its own place, and in itself can make a heaven of hell, A Hell of Heaven.

1st Place - Audience Choice

The final 24 hours in the life of a Piñata, as told from the Piñata's perspective.

1st Place - Judges Choice, 1st Place - Audience Choice

England, 1596. The Brotherhood of St. George uses William Shakespeare to trap the Faerie Court within an enchanted book, sparking a secret war with the pagan Feyists. 250 years later the book is opened and the magical beings are freed in a California forest.

2nd Place - Judges Choice

A meditation on the nature of fear, cause and effect as seen through the eyes of a child.

2nd Place - Judges Choice

Far east in the Himalayan border of India and China, lives the tribal Adi people, by the river Siang. The Adi culture is beautiful and unique with shamanic chants of their mythologies of origin, animistic rituals around nature and amicable resolution of disputes in their traditional courts.  With the memories of 1962 Indo-China war still fresh, China now reasserts its territorial claim of the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, the land of the Adis.  This conflict is also extended to the water, and is becoming a great Dam war. On both sides of the border mega dams are being built on the elegant Siang that originates in Tibet, turns sharp through the Himalayas and flows down through the Adi villages to join the mighty river Brahmaputra in the valley of North East India.  Will peace return to the borders? Will the Adis stay Indian? Will the megadams have a catastrophic effect on the rivers - both Siang and the Brahmaputra downstream? Will this tribal culture and language survive - orally, without a script?  Will India and China get into a dialogue? Through a series of encounters with the Adis by the Siang, near the old town of Pasighat in Arunachal Pradesh, this journey probes for answers and portrays their inspiring resilience and hope.

1st Place - Judges Choice, Best Drama

Ainhoa is 9 years old and she has left home, bringing only her school bag and a Playmobil.
"Ainhoa is a story that, instead of trying to put children to sleep, tries to wake up the adults."

3rd Place - Audience Choice

Calvin Rhodes pulls up to the local ‘Dirt Cheap Liquor & Grocery.’ On the radio is a news report about increasing crime rates, as well as a recent string of kidnappings. Calvin’s son, Angelo (nicknamed ‘Tig’, short for tiger), calls. Tig wants milk for his cereal, but Calvin doesn’t have the cash to get anything extra. After a hostile exchange with Tig’s mom, Calvin resolves to find a way to get his son some milk. Searching for money, he comes up short. Calvin spots Tig’s toy gun, and gets a bad idea. He colors the orange tip black. He tears holes in his cap, making a mask. A few practice threats in the mirror, and Calvin is halfway to a new life as a criminal. A few steps shy of armed robbery, Calvin hears a lady in distress. Some would-be kidnappers try to force her into a van! Calvin’s conscience takes control, and before he knows it he’s waving a plastic gun at a violent kidnapper. After some choice words, the driver notices Calvin’s gun is fake, and all hell breaks loose! By sheer luck and fast reflexes, Calvin prevails, killing the kidnappers and saving the day. Unfortunately, all the woman sees is a scary guy in a mask, so she tries to shoot Calvin with her taser! Her shot is ironically deflected by the milk that Calvin is graciously returning, and that’s the final straw. Calvin decides to collect payment for his services in the form of the lady’s taser and purse, and “Anti-Hero” Enterprises has its first, satisfied customer. News reports go on to detail more adventures of “Anti-Hero."

1st Place Brief

Everyone has that one neighbor. That neighbor that is always borrowing something and never bringing it back. This neighbor takes it to a whole new level.

3rd Place - Audience Choice, Best Documentary

A resilient 92-year-old widow reflects on the struggles and wisdom that comes with aging while living alone in Chico, California.

Judges Choice Brief

Serial killer Benji recalls a disturbing moment from his childhood. A prelude to the film "Dolly Deadly".

Best Brief - Audience Choice

The differences between raising boys and raising girls.

1st Place - Audience Choice

"Buster Jones: The Movie" details the adventures of an African-American minor league basketball star that is also trained in the martial arts. After his cousin Bootsy is murdered by weapons dealers from Asia, Buster finds himself thrown into a turbulent battle with an organized terrorist ring. These pursuits lead Buster to the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles where he finds himself plunged into the ultimate fight to save the fate of the free world.

1st Place - Audience Choice, 3rd Place - Judges Choice

Maria and Lea are young actors & best friends in Munich, Germany in the 30ties. With the rising power of the Nazis Maria’s husband Hans goes from being a young adventurer to a high ranking SS officer and gradually divides Maria and her Jewish friend Lea, finally insisting to forget her. But on that infamous first day of the Jewish deportation in Munich, Maria comes to a momentous decision which proves what friendship really means to her. She takes on Lea’s child Charlotte to save her from being deported to the concentration camp, thereby risking her own life and ultimately losing Hans. Maria’s story shows that, in the end, friendship can triumph over terror and death. Inspired by the childhood of Charlotte Knobloch, Vice President of the World Jewish Congress.

3rd Place - Audience Choice

"Cold Spring" is a short narrative film portrays a transnational Chinese father who left his family over 20 years ago. One day he suddenly finds out his daughter is getting married. He wrestles with his emotions as he realizes she wasn't going to tell him. To save face, he quickly tries to reconnect with his unfamiliar daughter, and at the same time, has to learn how to take care of his 12 year old son. Our film explores a father's emotional reactions and struggles as a consequence to decades of absence in his children's lives.

3rd Place - Judges Choice

A quirky dramady that finds Alice and other well know fairy tale characters living in a mundane world where dreams and imagination are outlawed.

2nd Place - Judges Choice, 2nd Place - Audience Choice

When his high school sweetheart sends him an epic break-up letter and moves out of state for a job, a heartbroken gamer decides to face his fears to get her back. He sets off on a cross country trip filled with a TSA shakedown, Acapella group, bad decisions and a "borrowed" chicken costume - all for love!

Best Action

Dennis, an aging hitman, contemplates whether or not he can do a job for a power hungry client.

Judges Choice Brief

A bird creature travels to the desert in his wagon to bury his heart.

2nd Place - Audience Choice

A pleasant dinner leads to a budding friendship between new neighbors.

Best Comedy

In an effort to avoid doing their chores, three sisters decide to duplicate themselves.

2nd Place - Audience Choice

An unusual character forms an extreme attachment to a total stranger he follows online.

2nd Place - Judges Choice

In a world where we are all looking for love and connection people can surprise us and go the extra mile. What would you do for love?

Best Action

A homeless drifter with traces of pure gold in his blood, accidentally unleashes his secret while experimenting with extraction methods and everyone wants in on the fortune.

1st Place - Judges Choice, Best Drama

Irene is eight and she just woke up from a horrible dream.

Best Sci-Fi

In a seemingly utopian future, an elderly woman struggles to accept that it seems like it's her turn to die. 

2nd Place - Audience Choice

"In the Bag" is a fast paced comedy about Dan, a likeable and well intentioned guy, who gets caught up in a whirlwind of panic and deceit after an accidental murder. Flight always wins over fight as Dan tears through the night hiding evidence from the victim's wife, Julie. Julie meanwhile, has other intentions for her night as she seeks sensual comfort from the hysterical Dan.

Best Brief - Audience Choice

When Peyton's juice box goes missing, it gets ugly.

1st Place - Judges Choice

Several people with different needs and values are chained together in a series of events. The central figure is Bobby, a father who`s child is terminally ill. He has to find a way to pay for his child`s surgery, because the time is running out.

Best Horror

In a house in the middle of nowhere, Jason made the discovery of a cookbook hidden in his attic. Later, when he decided to prepare a delicious meal for his wife Marie, things do not go as planned ... A ghost took possession.

1st Place - Audience Choice, 3rd Place - Judges Choice

A lady confronts her own inter-dimensional sink goblin.

Best Brief - Judges Choice, Best Brief - Audience Choice

Lost in Light, a short film on how light pollution affects the view of the night skies. Shot mostly in California, the movie shows how the view gets progressively better as you move away from the lights. Finding locations to shoot at every level of light pollution was a challenge and getting to the darkest skies with no light pollution was a journey in itself. Here’s why I think we should care more.

The night skies remind us of our place in the Universe. Imagine if we lived under skies full of stars. That reminder we are a tiny part of this cosmos, the awe and a special connection with this remarkable world would make us much better beings - more thoughtful, inquisitive, empathetic, kind and caring. Imagine kids growing up passionate about astronomy looking for answers and how advanced humankind would be, how connected and caring we’d feel with one another, how noble and adventurous we’d be. How compassionate with fellow species on Earth and how one with Nature we’d feel. Imagine a world where happiness of the soul is more beautiful. Ah, I feel so close to inner peace. I can only wonder how my and millions of other lives would have changed.

But in reality, most of us live under heavily light polluted skies and some have never even seen the Milky Way. We take the skies for granted and are rather lost in our busy lives without much care for the view of the stars.

How does light pollution affect the night skies and quite possibly our lives?

Best Brief - Judges Choice, Best Brief - Audience Choice

A man taking his dog for morning walk finds himself running for his life....in bunny slippers.

Best Brief - Judges Choice

This is a short film about making a short film about making a short film about making a short film about making a short film about making a short film about...

3rd Place - Judges Choice

Moth is a dark comedy about Elmer, who doesn't feel at ease in modern society; he lives secluded from other people in a remote house. When everyone goes to sleep, Elmer wakes up and goes to his job: cleaning in the hospital. He prefers to avoid his colleagues. One night, he discovers a terminally ill female drug addict. Judging from her bone structure it is clear that she once was beautiful, now however, due to the scarring and the pallor, she makes a sad appearance. When she is dead, Elmer decides to bring deepest fantasie to reality. This however, comes at a price.

2nd Place - Judges Choice, Best Horror

On a cold winter night, Laura reads his brother David the story of a strange creature that attacks children. Suddenly, a shiver runs Laura's body, feeling a strange presence in the house. It’s him.

2nd Place - Audience Choice, Best Comedy

A lonely guy finds a friend in the "ghost" living in his apartment.

Best Animation

An animated, musical, not-so-meditative meditation on the nature of personal space...

Best Documentary

Travel film about exploring swimming holes and cliff jumping spots in Northern California.

2nd Place - Audience Choice

Why did Kathy Knapp, a Dallas businesswoman, leave her charmed life to bake pie in a dusty town with no traffic light, no gas station and sketchy utilities? Pie Town came upon its name honestly in the 1920s when a cattle rancher sold pie to supplement his income. The area is teeming with Old West history and hardy characters. The film is about resolve, heartache, healing, and pie as a vehicle for peace. You’ll see an alien, a dummy, feel connections to deep space, and hear some finger-snapping tunes. You will want pie, and probably more than one slice. Welcome to Pie Town, New Mexico. The name is no joke.

Best Action

In a modern day megalopolis, Christopher Wyatt's life has been transformed.

3rd Place - Audience Choice

Sean is taken to a motel and is given a prostitute for his 18th birthday by his father. He must sleep with her to "fix" his questionable homosexuality. Aside from acceptance, "Pretty Boy" is about confidence, finding an inner strength, and being who you are meant to be.

Best Brief - Audience Choice

Rev. Jimmy Snow, a 1950s preacher who spoke out against the evils of Rock & Roll music, tries to deliver his sermon, but is interrupted by numerous falling block letters.

3rd Place - Judges Choice

Dawns . A baby breaks the silence .

1st Place - Judges Choice, 1st Place - Audience Choice

A little girl, still dealing with her mother's death, comes across a seemingly destitute man who bears a striking resemblance to Santa Claus, and despite his protestations, takes comfort in helping him.

Best Brief - Judges Choice, Best Brief - Audience Choice

Assisted nursing communities are full of residents who are often ignored and forgotten. Facilities in Chico aim to shift this mindset by leading a movement of change.

1st Place - Audience Choice

And you thought your job sucked.