The following projects—including short films, television and web series, and screenplays—have been selected as finalists for the Summer 2025 quarter, competing across 22 genre-specific categories, as well as technical categories.
These finalists were shortlisted from an official selection pool with an acceptance rate of 51.7%, drawn from submissions representing 9 countries. The total runtime is 10:12:15, in addition to the short scripts.
Nominees represent the top 34.1% of all submissions for the season.
Categories not listed did not receive submissions that met the minimum qualifying score.
TBA categories include two or fewer qualifying entries; award winners in these categories will be announced alongside the winners of all other categories.
Summer 2025 Nominations – Technical Competitions
Best Narrative Short (Grand Jury Prize)
TBA
Best Documentary Short
TBA
Best Comedy Short
Hard to Say by Haojie Yan (China)
Sunday League by Jamie Bourne (UK)
The Self Starter by Ben Heller and Daniel Calcagne (USA)
Best Crime Short
TBA
Best Sci-Fi Short
TBA
Best Children Short
TBA
Best Women Short
Evelyn by Laurel Eisenmann (USA)
Inflection Points by Riley Bathauer (USA)
Nabra’s Anklet by Nabra Nelson (USA)
Best LGBTQ Short
TBA
Best Student Short
Foil by Sue Suhy (USA)
Hopeless Romantic by Spencer Ostrowski (USA)
There Goes Stacy by Gabriel Del Rosario (USA)
Best Experimental Short
TBA
Best Microfilm
TBA
Best Web Series/TV Pilot
TBA
Best Music Video
TBA
Best Short Script
Delvin by Terry Luke Podnar (USA)
It’s Open by Doug Maguire (USA)
Local Tour Guide by Corey Hood (USA)
Summer 2025 Nominations – Technical Competitions
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