Congratulations to the Winners of our 14th Annual Film Festival! The 2025 Oceanside International Film Festival Award Ceremony took place at The Brooks Theatre on Saturday, February 22nd, 2025. All winners of OIFF 2025 were selected by the festival’s Grand Jury in a private and non-congregational voting process. We thank you for joining us in celebrating the spirit of independent cinema at the conclusion of our 2025 Festival.
Best Art Direction (Short or Feature)
“Ambush At St.Mary’s”
“An Exam’s Journey”
“Keep” – Winner
“Let It Kill You”
“Milimo”
Best Soundtrack (Short or Feature)
“Amazigh” – Winner
“Beethoven’s Great Great Great Great Great Grandchild”
“Canta Santiago”
“The Cigarette Surfboard”
“Creatures of Habit”
Best Original Score (Short or Feature)
David Cornue – “Let it Kill You”
Jackson Steele – “Mutual Tides”
Gregory Rogrove – “Return to Zero”
Linus Kallberg – “An Exam’s Journey” – Winner
Michael J. Gonzales – “Foxtrot: Operation Reunification”
Best Editing in a Short
Anthony Parisi – “Ambush At St. Mary’s”
Carl Bengtsson – “An Exam’s Journey” – Winner
Corey Cho – “Return To Zero”
Daniel Maggio – “Beethoven’s Great Great Great Great Great Grandchild”
Kate Linhardt – “Mother”
Best Editing in a Feature
“The Shape of Things: The Dick Brewer Story”
Ben Judkins – “The Cigarette Surfboard” – Winner
Deanna Howard – “Foxtrot: Operation Reunification”
John Squire – “Thirty On”
Nina Schwanse – “Call Me Mule”
Best Screenplay (Feature)
Daniel Maggio – “Beethoven’s Great Great Great Great Great Grandchild”
Harry Holland & Will South – “Last Call”
Lewis Rose – “Keep” – Winner
Luka Lara Steffen – “Piecht”
Omri Dayan & Caryl Churchill – “Seven Jewish Children”
Robert King – “Unsaid”
Best Cinematography in a Short
Amado Stachenfeld – “Return To Zero”
Ayoub Abouizza – “Amazigh”
Emma Langguth – “Keep”
Nate Allen Laverty – “Creatures of Habit” – Winner
Tom Vetterl – “Wild Sea”
Best Cinematography in a Feature
Ben Judkins – “The Cigarette Surfboard” – Winner
John McDonald – “Call Me Mule”
Johnathan Suarez & Nate Didomizio – “Thirty On”
Best Supporting Actress
Corinna Nilsson as Ursula Pfeffer in “Piecht”
Dionne Gipson as Capt. Gina Anderson in “Let it Kill You”
Kate Hackett as Hannah in “Ambush at St. Mary’s” – Winner
Kinga Károly as Anna in “Metronome”
Lizzy Kircher as Bubbles in “Eat Hot Chip & Lie”
Best Supporting Actor
Adam Bucci as Rahotep in “Let it Kill You”
Richard Riehle as Father Jacob in “Ambush at St. Mary’s”
Robert John Burke as Everette Beck in “The Last Take” – Winner
Simon Kirsch as Anders Baldur in “Piecht”
Weyal Bariz as Musa in “Keep”
Best Actress in a Lead Role
Alida Stricker as Johanna Pfeffer in “Piecht”
Alise Morales as Pepper in “Eat Hot Chip & Lie”
Audrey Corsa as Coles in “Solid” – Winner
Hunter Hawkins as Gx5 in “Beethoven’s Great Great Great Great Great Grandchild”
Lindsay Duncan as Kate in “Last Call”
Best Actor in a Lead Role
Adam Huss as Sgt. Aidan West in “Let it Kill You”
Brian Foyster – as William in “The Last Take”
Phil Davies as Gordon in “Keep”
Robert King as Nate Porter in “Unsaid”
Tom Holland as Charlie in “Last Call” – Thinner
Best Direction in a Short
Ben Herrgott – “A Letter From Antarctica”
Grace Gregory – “Solid”
Harry Holland – “Last Call” – Winner
Nate Allen Laverty – “Creatures of Habit”
Péter Lehr Juhász – “Metronome”
Best Direction in a Feature
Ben Judkins – “The Cigarette Surfboard” – Winner
Bob Campi – “The Shape of Things: The Dick Brewer Story”
John McDonald – “Call Me Mule”
Best Student Film (Short or Feature)
“The Act of Crying”
“Canta Santiago” – Winner
“Intermission”
“Moving in Perfect Harmony”
“¿Qué Es Un Niño?” (What is a Boy?)
Best Animation (Short or Feature)
“Jasmine”
“Milimo”
“Mutual Tides” – Winner
“Reboot”
Best Short Documentary
“A Letter from Antarctica” – Winner
“Ocean State of Mind”
“Return to Zero”
“Wild Sea”
“Year of Bees”
Best Feature Documentary
“Call Me Mule” – Winner
“The Cigarette Surfboard”
“Foxtrot: Operation Reunification
“The Shape of Things: The Dick Brewer Story”
“Thirty On”
Best Narrative Short
“An Exam’s Journey”
“Beethoven’s Great Great Great Great Great Grandchild”
“Keep”
“Last Call” – Winner
“Piecht”
Best Picture of OIFF 2025 (Short or Feature)
“Call Me Mule”
“The Cigarette Surfboard” – Winner
“Creatures of Habit”
“Keep”
“Last Call”
“Wild Sea”
2025 HONORARY AWARDS
2025 ARTIST SPOTLIGHT AWARD
“Surfer on the Jetty” by Tom Smith
The 2025 Artist Spotlight Award is a Juried Award giving to a winning artist participating in the OIFF 2025 Art Gallery Hosted in the Brooks Theater Lobby. OIFF thanks the artists for their involvement in this year’s event & look forward to seeing them return to our 2025 Award Show.
2025 EMERGING FILMMAKER AWARD
James Valdez – “Canta Santiago”
The Emerging Filmmaker Award celebrates the creative vision and exceptional talent of a rising star in the world of filmmaking. This prestigious accolade is designed to honor and recognize the innovative storytelling, technical prowess, and or artistic courage demonstrated by new and upcoming filmmakers. Specifically, this award is presented to an emerging student filmmaker chosen from the regional talent who have screened their work at the present year’s Oceanside International Film Festival. In addition to the accolade, the awarded filmmaker will be presented with a cash award to help further their aspirations by contributing to future filmmaking endeavors or education in the art of filmmaking. By shining a spotlight on these emerging young artists, the festival aims to encourage and support the next generation of storytellers who are pushing boundaries, inspiring communities and shaping the future of cinema.
This year’s Emerging Filmmaker cash award is funded by the Oceanside Cultural Arts Foundation (OCAF). OCAF the original founder of the film festival in 2009 is pleased to support student filmmakers with a cash grant to help offset current or future filmmaking efforts.
2025 OCEANSIDE IMPACT AWARD
“Taylor Lane” – Designer of the Cigarette Surfboard
