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Writer's pictureTop Shorts Team

9th Annual Top Shorts 2023 Nominations Announced

The nominations for the 9th Annual Top Shorts 2023 have been announced!


In the Valley of the Moon (dir. Luca Massimiliano Pizzoleo) and More Than Meets The Eye (dir. David Samson) earn most nominations this year. Congratulations to all the nominees!



Best of Fest

Black Tie Optional - Shuban Krishnan

OPIA - Edward Mines

In the Valley of the Moon - Luca Massimiliano Pizzoleo

Judas by the Sea - Hao Wu

My Girlfriend's Family - Kimberly Schäfer, Riccarda Richter

Torn Souls (Les Mains Vides) - Arthur Dupont



Best Narrative Film

Black Tie Optional - Shuban Krishnan

In the Valley of the Moon - Luca Massimiliano Pizzoleo

Judas by the Sea - Hao Wu

Premonition - Nick Marchuk

Torn Souls (Les Mains Vides) - Arthur Dupont

Why Me!? - Delores M Flynn



Best Indie Film

How To Con A Con - Jonathan Waide

A Bedtime Story - Petr Melnikov

Luminous - Joseph Anthony Marcello

Goggles - Brenda Laidman, Anna Nadtotchii

Anniversary - Ali Schmahl, Stefanie Schmahl

Safe Harbor - Daniel Ståhl



Best Drama

Embers - Benjamin Ross Johnson

Invisible Flags - Meitar Paz

No Good Deed - Sotiris Demba

Be Well - Thomas Quinn

Peace in Patience - Sanmi Oguntunde, Timi Oyelude

Premonition - Nick Marchuk



Best Comedy

Boss of the Toss - Chris Harboldt

Gone Missin' - Josh Morton

Aping Edwin Porter - James O'Donnell

I Mustache You - Shara Ashley Zeiger

First Day - Ellis Flurry

Perspectives - Veronica Nichols



Best Thriller

MADMA!D - Yunyi Zhu

More Than Meets The Eye - David Samson

The Washer - Xiao Chen

A Deadly Conversation - David Pratt, Vincent Edwards

Ticking - Joey R Marino

Bereft - Rhea Dudani



Best Horror

Faithful Witness: In the Middle - NaKeyah Dae

Cycle - Nazar Balanov, Yuri Nikolaichuk

Scratch - Michael Trainotti

E P - Nathan Alan Thomas

Chimera Road - Gregory Da Silva

Hellscape - Sam Sorenson



Best Sci-Fi

CORE - Soo-min Song, Young-chan Kim, Do-hun Lee

OPIA - Edward Mines

Ship of Theseus - Yiqing Gu

CRISPR - David Edwards

tRuth - Sylvie Zaidman, Nic Shake

Future Dictator - Lucas Shim, Brad Tryon



Best Experimental Film

A Feast That Never Comes - Maria Juranic, Sven Britt

Push - Jasmine Quiñones

Temporary Contemporary - Oliver David Brand

ADULTS - Alberto Martín-Aragón

Reflection - Lex Harold

Tenderness - Adam William Wilson



Best Inspirational Film

Elizabeth Evelyn Wright: Her Legacy of Land, Labor & Learning - Marti Chitwood Covington

Down The Line - Oliver Hamilton

The Beach - Caitlin Patricia Weiler, Peter Soby, Matthew S. Robinson

Weightless - Dominik Rüedi

The Uncommon Garden - Olympia Stone

Osmosis - Thereza Helena



Best Fantasy Film

Any Witch Way - Vesta Millard, Athena Raphael

Ship of Theseus - Yiqing Gu

The Washer - Xiao Chen

Snap - Aramayis Hayrapetyan

In the Middle of God - Part II - Jorge Ospina



Best Dark Comedy

Just The Hits - Christopher Vernale, Andy Karl, Dominic Scaglione Jr.

Awkward Endeavors - Derek Frey

Beep - Allan Plenderleith

Call of the Clown Horn - Mike Stutz

Porky - Samuel Paul Tricomo

Big Foot In Love - Clint J Green



Best Crime Film

Judge - Nicolo' Pozzali

In the Valley of the Moon - Luca Massimiliano Pizzoleo

No Pain No Amor - Daniel Locicero

The Adventures of Firebolt - Felicia Gonzalez Brown

Dusters - Noel Vinson

Warren's Gold - Nick Swezey



Best LGBTQ Film

Unbarred - Melissa Davidson

The Really Rude Stinkbug - Jacquelyn Fiorillo

Folded Whispers - Mark Anthony Thomas

My Girlfriend's Family - Kimberly Schäfer, Riccarda Richter

Dear Sister - Amy Catherine Welch

PSEUDEA - Ani Stein



Best Musical/Dance Film

Between Here and Gone - Iván Gisbert, Sadie Duarte

Temporary Contemporary - Oliver David Brand

Pigments : Down By The Bayou - Dawn Richard

Bring it Back - John D Cranman

A Feast That Never Comes - Maria Juranic, Sven Britt

Genius Moves The World - Carlo Guttadauro



Best Web/TV Pilot

Journalism 101 - Michael Lopez

What Sadie Saw - Christopher Villiers, Georgia Slowe, Alistair Barrie

Future Dictator - Lucas Shim, Brad Tryon

LionHeart - Joi-Noelle Worley

Lizzy's Plan: 3 Peas in a Podcast - Mia Rivera

Night Visit - Abdul Stone Jackson, Khalil S Zanika



Best Web Series

Axmo Deus - Noel Vinson, Abel Robinson, Luke Agius

Outdates - Mariya Ranieli

Night Visit - Abdul Stone Jackson, Khalil S Zanika

Bless Your Heart - Bri Kaisen, Matthew Humphrey, Mary McKeon

The Black Man's Guide To World Travel - Medellin Colombia - Marques Wilson



Best Documentary

Changing Lives (The Save) - Dale Fabrigar, Suzanne DeLaurentiis, Toby Thomas

A Smallholder's Voice - Clara Wetzel

Repeat - Thomas Greenaway

The Missing Weeks - Ali Ahmad Diab

Only Human - Katerina Giannakopoulou

Hi, Dad - Stephanie Tonneson



Best Animation

Unsaid Words - Stark Zhao

MOLOKA - Hsun-Chun Chuang

Fugitive - Adis Kutkut

Tippy Topper - Isis Rubio, Paige Thorsen

JOY - Chongjia Zhang, Yining Dang, Shan Dora Huang

Sleepless Beauty - Gog Mkrtchyan



Best Music Video

Bring it Back - John D Cranman

Rosa Linn - Snap - Aramayis Hayrapetyan

Övergivenheten - Hanna Oldenburg, Johan Kuurne

Ghost - Boo Riley, Charles Billot

Elvis Presley - Unchained Melody - Gabriel Tick, Alexander Pellerano

Unsteady - Mike Cerisano, Arielle Murphy



Best Student Film

Waiting - Pere Lee

Jimmy Boden - Christopher Pickering

PSEUDEA - Ani Stein

On Another Note - Brandon Hill

Wild Rose - Hannsue

All Right - Noah Collins



Best Microfilm

The Five Stages of Grief - Adler James Tuck

Shine - Theodore Daley

Remote Workers | Visit Cascais - António Aleixo

Sleepless Beauty - Gog Mkrtchyan

Stronger than you think - Laurent Stine

Tenderness - Adam William Wilson



Best Director

Dusters - Noel Vinson

Butterfly Boxing - Joslyn Rose Lyons

In the Valley of the Moon - Luca Massimiliano Pizzoleo

Terra Sancta - Andreas Heinrich

One Day Back Home - Ruijing Chen

My Girlfriend's Family - Kimberly Schäfer



Best First Time Director

Fish - Lesette Maxwell

More Than Meets The Eye - David Samson

Aping Edwin Porter - James O'Donnell

Guan C·X8129 - Yizhi Lin

Seashell - Dannon Wu

Judge - Nicolo' Pozzali



Best Indie Filmmaker

Doll Factory - Junyoung Park

An Interview with the Times - Marc Cunningham

The Call - Tom Balsamides

The Canary - Emilie Lowe

In the Spotlight - Jessica Qinyue Luo

Well Past Midnight - Lucas Teichman Dudley



Best Young Filmmaker

Dreamless - Isaiah Harris

Porky - Samuel Paul Tricomo

All The Little Impossibles - Zan Miray Lapp

Mirage - Caleb Reese Paul

Doubt the Stars are Fire - Jaemin Feldman

All Right - Noah Collins




Best Actor

A Bedtime Story - Elijah Khodyrev

More Than Meets The Eye - David Samson

The Cruelty Of Nature - Eoin Bourke

A Deadly Conversation - Dylan Hughes

Scratch - Brian Palatucci

In the Valley of the Moon - Raz Fritz



Best Actress

Black Tie Optional - Eliza Allen

More Than Meets The Eye - Anna Vanston

Ship of Theseus - Wenjun Cai

In The Between - Gina Vitori

E P - Jaclene London

My Girlfriend's Family - Riccarda Richter



Best Young Actor

Invisible Flags - Ryan Jason Sittun

Nest - Sean Hoover

Fish - Nolan Almeida

Sweet Bear O’ Mine - John Gialitis

OPIA - Evan Hasler

Goggles - Cole Robertshaw



Best Young Actress

Invisible Flags - Mia Sandler

No Last Words - Thalia Anne Oliver

All The Little Impossibles - Fiona Larsen-Teskey

Plunderers of Rodentia - Raley Parker

Nest - Nicole Braeger

Doubt the Stars are Fire - Eva LaFond





Best Duo

Unbarred - Sarah Moon & Melissa Davidson

Invisible Flags - Michael Welch & Meitar Paz

ALMOST Home Alone - Mike Alves & Tim Eager

Dave & Alice Want to Have Sex - Mark St. Cyr & Alli Brown

Safe Harbor - Mimmi Kandler & Johanna Smitz

Blueberry - Sofia D'Marco & Andrew McIntyre



Best Ensemble

Awkward Endeavors - Gil Damon, Kathleen Kozak, David Amadio, Steve Kuzmick, Desmond Frey

Premonition - Bohn Connor, Ashley Escoto, Kot Takahashi, Austin Schmidt, Aaron Pina, Bryan A. Mackenzie

Call of the Clown Horn - PJ Sosko, Jeanine Serralles, Kevin Bernard, Kevin Weisman, Marco Sanchez, Elizabeth Tobias, Ruthy Otero

In the Valley of the Moon - Raz Fritz, Ryan Emilio Molina, Marco Giuliano, Landon Moss, Ashley Murray, Sebastien Basset

OPIA - Jake Shannon, Will Ennis, Brittany Howatt, Evan Hasler, Duncan McLellan

My Girlfriend's Family - Anja Lukassek, Riccarda Richter, Florian Peter Stübchen, Maria Einfeldt, Johannes Stelzhammer, Julia Schmitt



Best Cinematography

Life Drawing - Marianne Williams

Ship of Theseus - WenJun Pan

Butterfly Boxing - Nick Mahar

Goggles - Kaleb Laidman

Jimmy Boden - Christopher Pickering

Voler - Vedant Chavan



Best Editing

Seashell - Kyle Altus

More Than Meets The Eye - Carlos Berber

The Washer - Xiao Chen

Butterfly Boxing - Brandon Rowe

Osmosis - Stacy Peterson

OPIA - Edward Mines



Best Score

Saturday Afternoon - Aki Cao

More Than Meets The Eye - Bobby Brader

Tippy Topper - Dane Bryant Frazier

Seashell - Pierre Gildenhuys

Electric Eyes - Zofia Hame, Homayoon Marcus Hame

The Really Rude Stinkbug - John DeSentis



Best Commercial/Promotional Video

ALMOST Home Alone - Lisa Marie Tedesco, Johnny Kraszewski

Remote Workers | Visit Cascais - António Aleixo

Fire on Tire - Royal Ismayilov

Genius Moves The World - Carlo Guttadauro

Mazda CX-60 The power of Authenticity - Theodore Tzartos

Stuck On A Frown - Tim Moldenhauer



Best Original Story

Black Tie Optional - Shuban Krishnan

Peace in Patience - Sanmi Oguntunde

PSEUDEA - Chelsea Columbus

Sugar - Evan Galiffa, Travis Huhn

In The Between - Dublin Wahlberg

In the Valley of the Moon - Luca Massimiliano Pizzoleo



Best Screenplay

South for Winter - Jill Ferrari

Happy Life - Kelly Jean Karam

Scratch Off - Gary Giudice

Burned - Loren Davis

The Collectors - Mark Higgins

The Favela Kid - Alex Martins



Best Television Script

Axmo Deus - Noel Vinson, Abel Robinson, Luke Agius

Praetorian - Dan Padbury

WENCH - Aaveen Marandi, Tommy Miller

The Private Sector - Benjamin King

New Olympus - Matthew Nicholson

Even Keel - Jeff Gendelman



Special Jury Award

Silent Sirens - Neil Sandhoefner

Left Behind - Matthew R Ford

Dance for Me - Robin Hofmann

Luminous - Joseph Anthony Marcello

Mirror Me - Elena Sakuda

Uprooted: An Afghan Evacuee Story - Samaritan's Purse



Breakthrough Filmmaker of the Year

More Than Meets The Eye - David Samson

Torn Souls (Les Mains Vides) - Arthur Dupont

Black Tie Optional - Shuban Krishnan

Mom & Dad Are Okay - Lucas Monteiro

Jimmy Boden - Christopher Pickering

Bereft - Rhea Dudani



Breakthrough Screenwriter of the Year

The Deulsional PA - Frank Mancuso

Debt Apocalypse - Phillip Alan Bowen, Chad Alan Rohn

The Blossom - Shahnaz Mahmud

CandyByte - Diana Foronda

Table - Marelize Roets

The Private Sector - Benjamin King



Submissions now open for the 10th Annual Top Shorts! Submit your film/screenplay: www.filmfreeway.com/ts









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