AWARD ARCHIVES | ARLINGTON INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

2023 FILM AWARDS

• Audience Choice Award - Feature: PATRICK AND THE WHALE, Mark Fletcher, Austria

• Audience Choice Award - Short: SEEDS OF CHANGE, Maximilian Armstrong, USA

• Best of Festival: TO WHICH WE BELONG, Pamela Tanner Boll & Lindsay Richardson, USA

• Best Documentary Feature: THE PALMNICKEN TRAGEDY, Andrey Proskuryakov, Germany/Russia/Israel

• Best Experimental Short: NIGHT OWLS, Gabrielle Rosson, USA

• Best Narrative Short: ESTRELLAS DEL DESIERTO, Katherina Harder Sacre, Chile

• Best Narrative Feature: TWO LIVES IN PITTSBURGH, Brian Silverman, USA

• Best Short Documentary: RESISTANCE, ANCESTRAL SPIRIT, Juven Arcadio Piranga Valencia, Colombia

• Best Animation Short: DISCUSSIONS ANIMÉES ENTRE ENTENDEURS DE VOIX, Tristan Thil, France

• Outstanding MA Filmmaker Award: POWERING PUERTO RICO, Adam Fischer, USA

• Outstanding MA Filmmaker Award: (DE)VICE GRIP, Padric Sean Ritch, USA

• Outstanding MA Filmmaker Award: WAITING TO CONTINUE: THE VENEZUELAN ASYLUM SEEKERS ON MARTHA’S VINEYARD, Ollie Becker, Tom Ellis & Tim Persinko, USA

STUDENT FILMMAKERS

• Best of Festival: A LOST SENSE, Cole Paul, USA

• Best Animation: WATER LULLABY, Piotr Kazmierczak, Poland

• Best Documentary: CE MOMENT, Cecilia Liu, China

• Best Narrative: ALL THE TIME IN THE WORLD, Ava Shea Lorch, USA

HONORABLE MENTIONS

• HOW WAS YOUR SUMMER? Michael Francis Dailey, USA

• FITTING IN, Mark Leschinsky, USA

• A MAGICAL TASTE, Belén Moras, Uruguay

• THE NOTEBOOK, Esabella Strickland, Canada

• MY SUPERPOWER, Maxwell William Andrews, New Zealand

2022 FILM AWARDS

• Audience Choice Award - Feature: On This Happy Note, Tamar Tal Anati, Israel

• Audience Choice Award - Short: DOUBT, Gokce Pekhamarat, Turkey

• Best of Festival: NOT A TAME LION, Craig Bettendorf, U.S.A.

• Best Narrative Feature: KLONDIKE, Maryna Er Gorbach, Ukraine 

• Best Documentary Feature: HOW LONG MUST WE WAIT, Jaclyn O’Laughlin, U.S.A.

• Best Narrative Short: AN INSURED LIFE, Jesus Martinez ‘Nota’, Spain

• Best Documentary Short: BICENTENNIAL BONSAI: Emissaries of Peace, Paul Awad & Kathryn O’Sullivan, U.S.A.

• Best Animation Short: NAVOZANDE, THE MUSICIAN, Reza Riahi, France

• Best Experimental Short: HOW TO BE NOT PERFECT, David Sarkissian, Armenia

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT FILMMAKERS

• Best of Festival: I HAVE A DREAM, A MOVIE DREAM, ShiJie Weng, Spain

• Best Narrative: THE BARN & THE BIRDHOUSE, Casey Lockledge, Jack Malin, Murray Susen, Light House Studio, VA/U.S.A.

• Best Documentary: SHELVED, Max Mitchell, Steeltown Film Academy, PA/U.S.A.

• Best Historical Documentary: THE BRIDGE, Shreya Mehta & Calvin Clizer, CA/U.S.A.

• Best Animation: CACO, Alba Carrera Marcolin, Spain

• Best Experimental: INTERNET, Michael Cadena & Sophia Santamaria, FL/U.S.A.

• Best Horror/Comedy: STUFFED, Brendan Patrick Egan, MA/U.S.A.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

• Best Director: DISTRACTIONS, Maya Jai Pinson, MD/U.S.A.

• Best Cinematography: INNER WORKINGS, Cara Davidson, CA/U.S.A.

• Best Editing: INNER WORKINGS, Cara Davidson, CA/U.S.A.

• Best Script: RESPECTFUL VAMPIRES OF THE GREATER BOSTON AREA, Ari Klawans, MA/U.S.A.

• Best Sound: THE HOLE, Piotr Kazmierczak, Poland

2021 FILM AWARDS

• Audience Choice Award ENOUGH! Lebanon's Darkest Hour, Daizy Gedeon, Australia

• Best of Festival: I’M AN ELECTRIC LAMPSHADE, John Clayton Doyle, U.S.A.

• Best Narrative Feature: JACK LONDON’S MARTIN EDEN, Jay Craven, U.S.A. 

• Best Documentary Feature: LOS HERMANOS: The Brothers, Marcia Jarmel & Ken Schneider, U.S.A.

• Best Narrative Short: THE LAST JAM JAR, Arpan Bahl, India 

• Best Documentary Short: HUNGER WARD, Skye Fitzgerald, U.S.A./Yemen

• Best Animation Short: TIMES OF PLENTY, Claudio Costa, Italy

• Best Experimental Short: WOMAN, Lillian Carter, U.S.A.

High School Student Filmmakers

• Best of Festival: THE WALTZ OF TIME, Mario Martínez Sáenz, Spain

• Best Narrative: BRO, CRITICS, Nigeria

• Best Documentary: EVERY BODY’S BUSINESS, Amilieyon Pridgen, Jessica Torres, NY/U.S.A.

• Best Historical Documentary: TAKING A SEAT FOR JUSTICE: The 504 Sit-in, Thomas Huang, Allen Tang, Andrew Wang, Andrew Yu, Rohin Garg, MD/U.S.A.

• Best Animation: CLOUDY DREAM, Rayhaneh Einollahi and Bahareh Einollahi, Iran

• Best Experimental: ELYSIUM, Ariana Jones, Georgia/U.S.A. 

• Best Musical: SINCE THEN, BRJDC Residents, VA/U.S.A.

• Best Cinematography: KEEP YOUR HEAD UP, SWEET PEA, Sophie Meissner, U.S.A./Germany

• Best Editing: I AM KEREN, Keren Chen, Canada 

• Best Lighting: FROM WHAT YOU LEFT BEHIND, Jodhi Ramsden-Mavric, Australia

• Best Audio: COMA, Ruby Kim, CA/U.S.A.

• Honorable Mention: BEYOND THE MODEL, Jessica Lin, CA/U.S.A.

2020 FILM AWARDS

• Best of Festival: THE PLACE THAT MAKES US, Karla Murthy, U.S.A.

• Best Narrative Feature: OMAR AND US, Maryna Er Gorbach and Mehmet Bahadir Er, Turkey

• Best Documentary Feature: SOCKEYE SALMON. Red Fish, Dmitriy Shpilenok and Vladislav Grishin, Russian Federation

• Best Narrative Short: THE AMERICAN BULL, Fatemeh Tousi, Iran 

• Best Documentary Short: MARKED, Henry Ogunjimi, Nigeria

• Best Animation Short: MOTHER AND MILK, Ami Lindholm, Finland

• Best Experimental Short: FLOATING WORLD – LIFE 1.0, Dénes Ruzsa and Fruzsina Spitzer, Hungary

High School Student Filmmakers

• Best of Festival: SANCTUARY, L-J ShenFilerman, Arlington, MA/USA

• Best Narrative: RITA, Will Nordstrom, Pacific Palisades, CA/USA

• Best Documentary: THE MICHIGAN ARTIC GRAYLING INITIATIVE, Grace Bright and Grace Joo, Troy, Michigan/USA

• Best Animation: ZOE, Marta Krunić, Croatia

• Best Experimental: UNMASKED, Sophia Quigley, Raw Arts Works, Lynn, MA/USA

• Best Experimental: DIMITTO, Riley Foulk, Jago Gould, J Rea, Chloe Rodriguez, Gabriel Zakaib, Light House Studio, Charlottesville, VA/USA

• Special Mention: Best Script, A DAY WITH OFFICER SHAWNIE, Aidan Sevens, USA 

• Special Mention: Best Lighting: "HOLD ON", Blue Ridge Detention Center, Light House Studio, Charlottesville, VA/USA

• Special Mention: Best Audio: THE DREAM CAFÉ, Shuqian Lyu, Shanghai, China

• Special Mention: Creativity: LAC-NOTE INTOLERANT, Nathaniel Sackson, Ana Burman, Chantrea Anderson, Emma Kaufman-Horner, Mallory Greene, Max Mongosso, Omara English, Ian Phillips, Yutong Dai, Ouyang Xuanjie, Sarah Apple, Light House Studio, Charlottesville, VA/USA

2019 Film Awards

• The Audience Choice Awards for Best Feature: Danseur, Directed and Produced by Scott Gormley, New York City. USA

• Best of Festival: American Mirror: Intimations of Mortality, Directed by Arthur Balder. USA

• Best Narrative Feature: Thicker than Blood, Directed by Anthony L. Williams. USA, New England Premier

• Best Documentary Feature: The Last American Colony, Directed by award-winning director Bestor Cram and Mike Majoros. USA

• Best of Festival Short : Lifeboat, Nominated for the Oscar for Best Short Documentary. Directed by Skye Fitzgerald. Germany

• Best Narrative Short : Facing Mecca, Directed by Jan-Eric Mack. Switzerland. Boston Premiere

• Best Documentary Short : Imagining Future Cities, Directed by Shugi Wang. USA Premiere

• Best Animation Short : Los Emigrantes, Directed by Andrés Llugany. Argentina. USA Premiere

• Best Experimental Short : Wamin (The Apple), Directed by Katherine Nequado. Canada. USA Premiere

  Special Recognition to:

• High Output Award to Local Filmmaker: Path of the Daff, Feature documentary by Michael Piscitelli. USA/Netherland. Boston Premiere

• Rule Boston Camera Award to Local Filmmaker: Class Of 84, Short animation by Alex Salsberg & Joe Andrade. USA.

• Talamas Boston Award to Local Filmmaker: Artes Liberales, Feature documentary by Dr. Chen Cheng. USA. Canada Premiere.

  STUDENTS DIVISION AWARDS:

• Best of Festival Short : Social Cinema by Carolina Sánchez. Spain USA Premiere

• Best Narrative Short : A Wake-Up Call By Alex Dekelbaum. Dallas New England Premiere

• Best Documentary Short : Changing the narrative By Christian Means, Deonte Johnson, JaQuavion Gaines, Juliani Robinson. Light House Studio. Charlottesville. VA. Boston Premiere

• Best Animation Short : Margo By Amelia Maxham, Libby Slaughter, Ben Clark, Summers Worthington, Johnny Krosby-Groner, Jhael J. Rasheed, Victoria Stiefvater, Conrad Heins, Nicholas Tennery, Jago Gould. Light House Studio, Charlottesville, VA. Boston Premiere

• Best Experimental Short : Discoveries: Awakening By Noah Semeria. Chicago, Illinois. New England Premiere

  
  

• Special Recognition Documentary Short:

• A Journey to Acceptance by Sami Dowd. Swampscott, MA. Boston Premiere

• Shrink by Kayla Jorgensen. Hyannis, MA. Boston Premiere

 2018 Film Awards

• BEST OF FESTIVAL FEATURE - SKIDROW MARATHON, Mark Hayes & Gabrielle Hayes | USA

• BEST OF FESTIVAL DOCUMENTARY SHORT - ARE YOU VOLLEYBALL?, Mohammad Bakhshi | Iran

• BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY - WHIRLWIND, Samantha Smith | USA

• BEST FEATURE NARRATIVE - DIE BEST E ALLER WELTEN (The Best of All Worlds), Adrian Goiginger | Austria

• BEST SHORT NARRATIVE - VIOLIN, Konstantin Fam | Russia

• BEST SHORT ANIMATION -  GOOD BOY, Rachel Beltran | USA

• BEST HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY - CROWS OF THE DESERT – A Hero’s Journey through the Armenian Genocide, Marta Houske | USA

   

  High School Student Filmmakers

• BEST OF FESTIVAL | VIOLENCE IN BALTIMORE | Brooke Anderson, William Coles, Katia Crawford, Marc Cruise, Jayla Elliott, Joelle Faison, Kailah Hall, Michelle Hill, Eric Hunter, William Mitchell, Sama Muhammad, Ade Ogunshina, Eva Ojekwe, Brian Thompson, Ayanna White | Baltimore MD | Doc | Wide Angle Youth Media.

• BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT | NEEDLES AND THREATS | Alyssa Abreu, Moises Vargas & Anisa Hamilton NYC | Doc | Maysles Documentary Center

• BEST EXPERIMENTAL SHORT | IRONY | Radheya Jegatheva | Australia  

•  BEST ANIMATION SHORT| TREJUR | Thomas Kim | Concord MA

• NEXT GENERATION OF FILMMAKERS AWARDS

• RULE Boston Camera - SPEAK TO ME | Nicolas Thilo-McGovern 

• TALAMAS Boston - AWAKEN THE DRAGON TOGETHER | Shuyi Wang

• HIGH OUTPUT - YIN YU TANG | Vivianna Yan | Photos in your email 

• Special recognition to

• MICROSOFT | THE ART COLLECTOR | Saoirse Loftus-Reid | Lexington MA | Doc

• MICROSOFT | UNDOCUMENTARY | Karla Cortes | Somerville MA | Doc | SCATV YOUTH PROGRAM | WORLD PREMIERE

"Many Faces.. Many Cultures"

Gifted to AIFF by Boston based Mexican-American sculptor, Rafael Ramirez

2017 Film Awards

• BEST OF FESTIVAL - CHASING TRANE, John Scheinfeld, Director | USA

• BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE - A COURTSHIP, Amy Khon, Director | USA

• BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT - PHIL’S CAMINO, Annie O'Neil, Director | USA

• BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE - YOU HAVE A NICE FLIGHT, Jimmy Dinh, Director | USA

• BEST NARRATIVE SHORT - FIST OF PEOPLE, Dong-ki An, Director | South Korea

• BEST OF FESTIVAL SHORT - SISAK, Faraz Ansari, Director | 2017 | India |

• BEST ANIMATION - AU REVOIR BALTHAZAR, Rafael Sommerhalder | Switzerland

• High School Student Filmmakers

• BEST OF FESTIVAL | Roll Call | Ben Reingold | Sharon, MA

• BEST NARRATIVE SHORT | Rosa | Roni Polsgrove | ICA | Boston, MA

• BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT | After Freddie Gray: What Now? | Victor Able, Trayvon Cole, Katia Crawford, William Mitchell, Niajea Randolph, and Kailah Hall, Directors | Wide Angle Youth Media | Baltimore, MD

• BEST NARRATIVE SHORT | Loop | Stephen Gentry, Ryan Beard & Eli Hall | Light House Studio | Charlottesville, VA

• BEST ANIMATION SHORT | Washed Away | Madysen Yamamoto and Marina Kyle | Bay Area Video Coalition | San Francisco, CA

• SPECIAL RECOGNITION | #WhatPianoDistrict | Annmarie Soba | Maysles Doc Center | NYC

2016 Film Awards

• Best of Festival | East L.A Interchange | Betsy Kalin | USA

• Best Narrative Feature | Climas | Enrica Perez | Peru | S.A

• Best Narrative Short | Eden Hostel | Gonzaga Manso | Spain

• Best Documentary | Jiáolián {Coach} | Esteban Arguello | USA

• Best Documentary Short | The Time of The Luthiers | Jorge Guerrero Sotano | Spain

• Best Animation Short | The Day of the Bleeding Gums |Dimitar Dimitrov-Animiter| Bulgaria

• High School Student Filmmakers

• Best of Festival | Attached At The Soul | William Leon | C.A

• Best Short Documentary |Todo Tiene Su Tiempo/ Everything Has Its Time | Marylys Merida | USA/MA

• Best Short Experimental | I Don't Need U | Alyssa Peguero | USA/MA

• Best Short Narrative | Teach Me Fish | Asa Minter | USA/MA

2015 Film Awards

• Best of Festival | Gabo: The Creation of Garcia Marquez | Justin Webster | France | 2015

• Best Narrative Feature |How not to Disappear Completely | Stuart J. Parkins| U.K. | 2015

• Best Narrative Short | KRESNIK: The Lore of Fire | David Sipos | Slovenia | 2014

• Best Documentary Short | A Chance to Dress | Alice Dungan Bouvrie| Arlington, MA | 2015

• Best Documentary Short |TASHI & THE MONK | Andrew Hinton & Johnny Burke | MA, USA | 2014

• Best Animation | BENDITO MACHINE |Jossie Malis| Spain | 2014

• High School Student Filmmakers

• Best of Festival | JORDAN | Katie Russel, Director | Raw Art Works | Lynn, MA

• Best Narrative | QUEEN |Arvonne Patterson, Director| Dorchester, MA

• Best Documentary | PICKING UP THE PIECES | Joshua Tebeau, Director | Poland

• Best Animation | LUMINOSITY | Alexia Salingaros, Director | San Antonio, Texas

• Best Experimental | INHABITED |Alexia Salingaros, Director |San Antonio, Texas

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2014 Film Awards

• Best of Festival |ELENA | Petra Costa |Brazil | 2012

• Best Narrative Feature | THE FORGOTTEN KINGDOM | Andrew Mudge | USA/South Africa | 2013

• Best Documentary Feature| BOTSO: The Teacher from Tbilisi |Tom Walters | USA/Republic of Georgia

• Best Narrative Short | THE MAN WHO FED HIS SHADOW | Mario Garefo |Greece | 2012

• Best Documentary Short | NOT ANYMORE: A Story of Revolution | Matthew Van Dyke | Syria |2013

• High School Student Filmmakers

• Best of Festival | RAINBOW | Marina Solovyova| Russia

• Best Narrative | TIMOTHY | Marc Martínez Jordán | Spain

• Best Animation | MEE | Letty Felgendreher | Germany

2013 Film Awards

• Best Narrative Feature | CLANDESTINE CHILDHOOD | Benjamín Ávila | Argentina/Spain/Brazil | 2011

• Best Documentary Feature | THE IRAN JOB | Till Schauder | Germany/Iran | 2012

• Best Short | BAGHDAD MESSI | Sahim Omar Kalifa | Belgium | 2013

• High School Student Filmmakers

• Best Narrative | THE SHINGLES | Malcolm DC | Boston, MA

• Best Documentary | LA LUCHA | Tessa Tracy & Sophia Santos | Cambridge, MA

• Honorable Mention | ELIZA |Jasper Hamilton | Nar | Arlington, MA

• Honorable Mention | MY PHOENIX | Diana Julien | Doc | Roxbury, MA

• Honorable Mention | BRAND NEW | Henry Nineberg |Exp | Cambridge, MA

2012 Film Awards

• Best of Festival | ALL ME: The Life and Times of Winfred Rembert | Vivian Ducat | USA | 2011

• Best Narrative Feature | CONCENT | Ron Farrar Brown | USA | 2012

• Best Documentary Feature | RACING THE RES | Brian Truglio | USA | 2012

• Best Narrative Short | CASUS BELLI| Yorgos Zois | Greece | 2010

• Best Documentary Short | RISE…Everything is Incredible |Tim Skousen|USA/Honduras | 2012

• Best Animation Short | KAHANIKAR (The Storyteller) | Nandita Jain | UK | 2011

• High School Student Filmmakers

• Best of Festival | LA JOIVE DE VIRE| Jeremy Vassiliou | Montreal, Canada

• Best Narrative | MOLINEUX | Jacob Sussman | Wayland, MA

• Best Documentary | LA JOIVE DE VIRE | Jeremy Vassiliou | Montreal, Canada

• Best Animation | IN YOUR HEART | Raymond Caplin | Montreal, Canada

• Best Experimental | THE CROWN OF LIFE | Real Junior Leblanc | Montreal, Canada

• Honorable Mention | CHERRY VANILLA |Lydia Mullan | Nar | Winchester, MA

• Honorable Mention | ATIUN (Traditions) | Kevin Bellefleur | Doc | Montreal, Canada

2011 Film Awards

• Best of Festival | ZERO PERCENT | Tim Skousen | USA | 2011

• Best Narrative Feature | FUERTEVENTURA | Mattias Sandstrom | Sweden | 2010

• Best Documentary Feature | WE STILL LIVE HERE - Âs Nutayuneân | Anne Makepeace | USA | 2010

• High School Student Filmmakers

• 1st Place | NOWHERE NOW HERE | Gaby Bruce | Nar | Lincoln, MA

• 2nd Place | NOTES OF LIFE | Alex VanThong | Nar | Arlington, MA

• 3rd Place | THE BIRD | Jasper Hamilton | Claymation | Arlington, MA

• Honorable Mention | CARTHAGE | Montgomery Alcott | Nar | Boston, MA

• Honorable Mention | IDEA EXPLOSION | Tuyen Nguyen | Exp | Boston, MA

• Honorable Mention | MONOMYTH | Jacob Sussman | Doc | Wayland, MA