California Film Awards
The California Film Awards is a film awards ceremony that offers awards in the categories of Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Cinematography, Directing, First-Time Directors, Editing, Screenplay, Animation, Art Design, Music Videos, Short Films, Experimental Films, Student Films, California Films, Foreign Films, Documentaries and Feature Narratives.Only independent films are eligible.
Award winners
2010 winners
Grand winners- Grand Jury Award: Exodus Fall - Ankush Kohli and Chad Waterhouse
- Special Jury Prize: The Taste of Relation - Mukesh Asopa
- Special Jury Prize: Homeless in Los Angeles - Brandon James Miller
- Special Jury Prize: The Darkroom - Z. Eric Yang
- Special Jury Prize: Mind Games - Daniel Deason
- Special Jury Prize: Darkmoon - Alexander G. Seyum
- Special Jury Prize: The Gypsy - Jon Navarro
- Best Narrative Film: Mud - Karlos Alastruey
- Best Feature Film: The Story - Steve Bellamy
- Best Documentary Film: The Lost JFK Tapes: The Assassination - Tom Jennings
- Best Narrative Short: Running Away With Blackie - Lucas Garcia
- Best Dramatic Short: Liminal - Stephen Keep Mills
- Best Foreign Film: Little Perfect Girls - Clement Schneider
- Best Foreign Short: Toby's Odyssey - Steven Forrester
- Best Student Film: Year of the Faun - Chloe Chevalier
- Best Student Short: Grandfather - Hanjin Park
- Best Animated Film: Little Gobie - Tony Tang
- Best Animated Short: A Noiseless Patient Spider - Nancy Rodwan
- Best Director: Atroz - Francisco Alvarez
- Best First-Time Director: Awakening Arthur - Courtney Dixon
- Best Screenplay: A Cigar At The Beach - Stephen Keep Mills
- Best Actor: Friends and Lovers - Ron Pike
- Best Actress: Anne Jennings - Lauren Montgomery
- Best Comedy: The Other Cheek - Ivonne Contreras
- Best Family Film: My Little Princess - Enzo Zelocchi
- Best Drama: Behind the Eight Ball - Mike Graveline
- Best First-Time Documentary: Whats Up? - Kim Sheridan
- Best California Film: The Drummond Will - Alan Butterworth
- Best California Short: Two Hours In The Dark - Chip Hackler
- Best Experimental Film: The Nature of Cities - Chuck Davis & Timothy Beatley
- Best Music Video: Kill For You' - Dawn Cobalt
- Best Television Pilot: 4 Track: Sketch Comedy TV - Nicholas Morrison
- 1st: I'll Die Tomorrow written by John Maffucci
- 2nd: San Andreas written by Joshua Rutherford
- 3rd: Winless Winner written by Randy Hatch
- 4th: Tales of the Arranged Marriage written by Harrish Mandyam
- 5th: Death and Forgiveness'' written by Joe Barton
2011 winners
- Grand Jury Award: The Italian Key - Rosa Karo
- Special Jury Prize: Boxed Up - Sean McCarthy
- Special Jury Prize: Flat Tire - Machua Koinange
- Special Jury Prize: Marathon Boy - Gemma Atwal
- Special Jury Prize: Compulsion - Jon Myers
- Best Animated Film: Dead Technology - Adam Tinius
- Best California Film: Stage Left: A Story of Theater in San Francisco - Austin Forbord
- Best California Short: The Glitter Emergency - Paul Festa & Kevin Clarke
- Best Comedy: MILF Money - Aaron
- Best Commercial: Poker Face - Marc Morgenstern
- Best Director: Menschenliebe - Alexander Tuschinski
- Best Action Sports Film: Winter - Steve Bellamy
- Best Documentary Film: Women in the Dirt: Landscape Architects Shaping Our World - Carolann Stoney
- Best Drama: Jalopy - Libby Blood
- Best Dramatic Short: Kissed by the Devil - M. Legend Brown
- Best Experimental Film: 6 for 7 - Michel Massicotte
- Best Family Film: Smartie Pants - Michael Kontaxis
- Best First-Time Director: Zombie - Thomas Caruso
- Best First-Time Documentary: Nefarious: Merchant of Souls - Benjamin Nolot
- Best Foreign Film: Meherjaan - Rubaiyat Hossain
- Best Foreign Short: Common Ground - Hollie Fifer
- Best Humanitarian Film: National AIDS Memorial Grove Tribute - Andrew Ehrenfeld
- Best Music Video: Oh Luv - Magz Magda Sztompka
- Best Narrative Film: Teenagers - Paul Verhoeven
- Best Narrative Short: Half Empty - Jessica Manherz
- Best Screenplay: The Diner - Adam Smith
- Best Student Film: The King's Garden - Phoebe Fronista
- Best Television Pilot: Stardust and the Bandit - Sarah Sher & Dick Fisher
- 1st Place: Jupiter written by Richard Moon
- 2nd Place: Select Society written by Barbara Nicolosi
- 3rd Place: The Watermelon Project written by Jennifer Bouani
- 4th Place: Burning Ice written by N.A. Bevins
- 5th Place: Pot Shop written by Judah Ray Neiditch
Animated film competition
- 5 Minutes Each - Vojin Vasovic
- 8 Second Dance - Trey Moya & Howard Cook
- Heart - Erick Oh
- Day Zero: Episode 1x1 - "Lethal" - Cal Nguyen
- Assisted Fishing - Joe Crouch
- Paper Drama - Steven M. Hirohama
- Nerf Nuke - Victor Masters
- Beaverbrook - Matthew Callahan
- Ciao Cirella - Berthaud Christophe
- Haterolgy - Danny Singleton
- Living River - Vinit Parmar
- Simurgh - Ruhi Karadag
- Anutha Time - David Padadac
- Don't Wake Me Up - Lydia Galeno
- H2O - Jean-Marie Marbach
- Hunger - Daniel Chisholm
- Mutant Calculator - Alexander Tuschinski
- 40 West - Dana Packard
- Beach Spike - Tony Tang
- Hamesima X - Yuval Ovadia & Or Yashar
- Princess - Shane Rodgers
2012 winners
- Grand Jury Award: Wampler's Ascent - Elizabeth Wampler
- Special Jury Prize: Uprising - Fredrik Stanton
- Special Jury Prize: Eternity - Alex Galvin
- Special Jury Prize: End of the Road: How Money Became Worthless - Tim Delmastro
- Special Jury Prize: Dance of Love - Wilco de Groot
- Special Jury Prize: Afflictions: Culture and Mental Illness in Indonesia - Robert Lemelson
- Best Narrative Feature : 180º - Fernando Kalife
- Best Documentary Feature: American Songwriter - Michael Altman
- Best Narrative Short: Fight Night Legacy - Hisonni Johnson and Michael Sarnoski
- Best Documentary Short: Beyond Superman - Alexander Hadden
- Best Foreign Feature: Siberia, Monamour - Slava Ross
- Best Foreign Short: Passage 2011 - Sisy Boat, Thomas Huber, Wolfgang Aichner, & Matthias Fuchs
- Best Student Feature: Life Without - Franz Erian
- Best Student Short: Ave Rats Lost Downtown - Christopher Schlumpf
- Best Animation: Trid an Stoirm - Fred Burdy
- Best Animated Short: Vengeance + Vengeance - Mark Chavez
- Best Director: Mossadegh - Roozbeh Dadvand
- Best Screenplay: 35 South - John Morton
- Best Actor: Dio Johnson of Fight Night Legacy - Hisonni Johnson and Michael Sarnoski
- Best Actress: Amber Kent in CiviliTEA - Johnnie Hector
- Best Supporting Actor: Tomas Boykin of Elegy for a Revolutionary - Paul van Zyl
- Best Supporting Actress: Bari Hyman of Damaged Goods - Michael Miceli
- Best California Feature: Bank Roll - Doug Maguire
- Best California Short: The Body Bag - Dean Whitney
- Best Experimental Film: Counterfeiters - Bryce Hirschberg
- Best Music Video: Super Bass Man - Greg Zajac and Simon L. Baker
- Best Television Pilot: Mevuasim - Asaf Yecheskel
- Best Comedy: Spaghetti Fur Zwei - Matthias Rosenberger
- Best Family Film: Small Market, Big Heart - Tobin Halsey
- Best First-time Director: RGB - Kailas Prasannan
- Best First-time Documentary: American Autumn: an Occudoc - Dennie Trainor Jr.
- Best Dramatic Film: A Drop of Love - Golam Mustofa
- Best Television Commercial: LAZR - Xiao Zheng
- 1st: Pearl written by Lyvia A. Martinez
- 2nd: Squiddy, Sedona, and Me written by Steven M. Hirohama
- 3rd: How I Became a Hot Chick With Average Breast Size written by Dong Won Kang
- 4th: Marriagehood written by John Harris
- 5th: Worm written by Keir Burrows
2013 winners
- Grand Jury Award: The K Effect. Stalin's Editor directed by Valenti Figueres '
- Special Jury Prize: Agnus Dei directed by Agim Sopi
- Special Jury Prize: Out Smart directed by Dawn Cobalt
- Special Jury Prize: My Sundance Obsession directed by Rod Lopez
- Special Jury Prize: Honor Diaries directed by Dana Wilsey
- Special Jury Prize: Dance of the Books directed by Lorena Fernández Carrillo
- Best Narrative Feature: The Immortal Edward Lumley directed by William Wall
- Best Narrative Short: Greedy Girl directed by Megan Anderson and Isabelle Gander
- Best Foreign Film: Una Larme De Plus directed by Paul Verhoeven
- Best Musical: Beauty and the Beat directed by Yann Le Quellec
- Best Student Short: Thin Air directed by Natalie Nalesnyik
- Best Animation: The Symphony of Our Life directed by Paul Verhoeven
- Best Director: Swalk directed by Dawn Cobalt
- Best Actor: McKinley Freeman, Greencard Warriors directed by Miriam Kruishoop
- Best Screenplay: Fetiche written by Candace Infuso
- Best Actress: Marta Gastini for Tanith directed by Germano Boldornini
- Best California Film: Joshua directed by Sungjin Ahn
- Best California Short: Ocean directed by Tory Nelson
- Best Music Video: Phoenix Song directed by Kate Marzullo
- Best Television Pilot: Johnny directed by Roberto D'Antona
- Best Comedy: Love in the Time of Advertising directed by Matt Berenty & David Bokser
- Best Family Film: Zombeo & Juliecula directed by Stev Elam
- Best First-time Director: Awake directed by Connie Lisogar-Cocchia
- Best Dramatic Film: Mind Trip directed by Eros D'Antona
- Best Thriller: Blur directed by Jazz Virk
- 1st:
2014 winners
Grand winners- Grand Jury Award: Reflections of Maya Rose directed by Alexandra Wedenig
- Special Jury Prize: One Small Hitch directed by John Burgess
- Special Jury Prize: If The Trees Could Talk directed by Michael Weinstein
- Best Narrative Feature: Indigo directed by John Smith
- Best Documentary Feature: Well Now You're Here, There's No Way Back directed by Regina Russell
- Best Narrative Short: Wake Up, Samantha Evans directed by Haley Doyle
- Best Documentary Short: Not Anymore: A Story of Revolution directed by Matthew VanDyke
- Best Foreign Feature: The Boss Wants a Happy Ending directed by Kivanc Baruonu
- Best Foreign Short: I Remember The Future directed by Klayton Stainer
- Best Student Short: Two and a Quarter Minutes directed by Joshua Ovalle
- Best Animation: I Need My Monster directed by Howard Cook
- Best Director: Blue Chameleon directed by Teresa Carante
- Best Screenplay: The Niece written by Martin Ponferrada
- Best California Feature: Waiting In The Wings: The Musical directed by Jeffrey A. Johns
- Best California Short: Slushamed directed by Anne McGrath
- Best Music Video: Away directed by Rodney Daughtrey
- Best Television Pilot: Todd and Anne: Water in the Pot Jeffrey Engelson
- 1st: The Family written by Steven Shepherd
- 2nd: Soul to Soul written by Michael Sieve and John Harris
- 3rd: And On The Seventh Day written by Phillip Hardy
- 4th: Dead Men Will Rise written by Connor Twigg
- 5th: Forgive Me Father written by Jose Olivier
- Gen RX directed by John B. Taschner
2015 winners
- Grand Jury Award: The Parting Shot directed by Anirban Roy
- Special Jury Prize: Dirty War directed by Daniel
- Special Jury Prize: Alegria - A Humanitarian Expedition directed by Christoph von Toggenburg
- Best Narrative Feature: Voiceless directed by Pat Necerato
- Best Documentary Feature: The Rainforests Are Under Threat directed by Jerome Dolbert
- Best Narrative Short: Mirror directed by Nick Coppola
- Best Documentary Short: Ron Taylor: Dr. Baseball directed by Drew Taylor, Matthew Taylor
- Best Foreign Feature: On The Horizon directed by Pascal Payant
- Best Foreign Short: Another Love directed by Victor Perez
- Best Student Short: The Wedding Crasher directed by Derek Wayne Aiello
- Best Animation: Switch Man directed by Hsun-Chun Chuang, Shao-Kuei Tong
- Best Animated Short: The Looking Planet directed by Eric Law Anderson
- Best Director: Sangria Lift directed by Melanie Star Scote
- Best Screenplay: Eva's Diamond written by Ice Neal
- Best California Feature: Billy Mitchell: Rebel General directed by Ronald Dietel
- Best California Short: From the Cliff directed by Mary Piller
- Best Experimental Film: Coven directed by Saray Blades
- Best Music Video: Destiny Arises directed by Michael Addison
- Best Television Pilot: Todd and Anne: Water in the Pot Jeffrey Engelson
- Best Comedy: My First Love directed by Mylissa Fitzsimmons
- Best Dramatic Film: Intersection directed by Tim French
- 1st: Derek Dickens & The Dream written by Phil Valentine
- 2nd: Walking Point written by RJ Nevens, Jr.
- 3rd: Rum House written by Michael Sieve
- 4th: Valley of Spirits written by Warren R Hull
- 5th: The Way Back Home written by Jonathan LaPoma