2025 IIFC Winners
BEST ANIMATION
Vanguard Award - Mello’s Funk
Winner - The Escort
MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS
Most Original Music Video - Misty Mountains - Manifesting With Music
Best Song Music Video - Never Too Late
Best Director Music Video - Never Too Late
Best Music Video - Love Birds
SOUND DESIGN
Vanguard Short - Escape
Winner - 1 In The Chamber
Vanguard Featurette - Scarlet
Winner Featurette - Sueno
Vanguard Feature Film - Day of a Lion
Winner Feature Film - Straight On Till Morning
COSTUME DESIGN
Short Film
Vanguard - Galactic Fantastic!
Winner - Stone Garden
Featurette
Vanguard - Homeward Dawn
Winner - Thank You Sade
Feature Film
Vanguard - Stampila
Winner - Day of a Lion
BEST EDITING
Short
Vanguard - (some)day
Winner - Sedona
Featurette
Vanguard - Rock N' Rolled
Winner - Scarlet
Feature Film
Vanguard - Stephanie Stevens
Winner - In Between The Mountains And The Ocean
ROGER TAYLOR AWARD - BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Short Film
Vanguard - Number Neighbor
Winner - Stone Garden
Featurette
Vanguard - Yesteryear Once More
Winner - Rock N' Rolled
Feature Film
Vanguard - Staycation
Winner - Straight On Till Morning
JUAN RUIZ ANCHIA AWARD - BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Short Film
Vanguard Award - Ripple
Winner - Grey
Featurette
Vanguard - Darcine’s Day
Winner - Sueno
Feature Film
Vanguard - BitterSweet
Winner - In Between The Mountains and The Ocean
JOHN MILLIUS AWARD - BEST SCREENPLAY
Short Film
Vanguard - Stone Garden
Winner - Sedona
Featurette
Vanguard - Motel Room
Winner - Khadda
Feature Film
Vanguard - Invisible
Winner - Day of a Lion
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST
Short Film
Vanguard - Hitman EX
Winners - Stone Garden
Galactic Fantastic!
Featurette
Vanguard - Homeward Dawn
Winners - Sueno
Feature Film
Vanguard - Carbon Men Salvation: The Senator's Dilemma
Winner - In Between the Mountains and the Ocean
ACTING AWARDS
Best Child Actor
Stone Garden
Best Supporting Actor
Vanguard Award - Robert Sebastian Web - The Swan Way
Winner - William Baldwin - BitterSweet
Best Supporting Actress
Vanguard - Marie Olsen - Straight on Till Morning
Winner - Dilara Foscht - Day of a Lion
Best Actor
Short Film
Vanguard - Skylor Okerstrom-Lang - The World's Shortest War
Winner - Kelly Perine - Day 474, and the Lingerings Thereafter
Featurette
Vanguard - Nitin Guleria - Khadda
Winner - Jason Kelley - Homeward Dawn
Feature Film
Vanguard - Seth Summers - 10 Swords & The Moon
Winner - Simone Neviani - Day of A Lion
Best Actress
Short Film
Vanguard - Lauren Haran- Ripple
Winner - Noelle Kayser - Death in The Desert
Featurette
Vanguard - Hannah McCloud - And Yet They Speak
Winner - Mack Ogden - I’m Different Now
Feature Film
Vanguard - Bianca Foscht - Day of a Lion
Winner - Abbey Howe - In Between the Mountains and the Ocean
DIRECTOR AWARDS
Best Director Documentary
Vanguard - Paul Sutton & Lori Sutton - From Pen to Paper
Winner - Angie Ruiz - Wonders Of The Wolf
Short Film
Vanguard -Russell Emanuel - Quarantine
Winner - Alysha Haren - Stone Garden
Featurette
Vanguard - Rushan Yasytali Jesani - Khadda
Winner - John Fahy - Rock N' Rolled
Feature Film
Vanguard - Serinna Covarubias & Richard Martinez- In Between the Mountains and the Ocean
Winner - Steven Martini - BitterSweet
Doug Austin Humanitarian Award Documentary
Warren Farrell Interrupted: The Boy Crisis
Doug Austin Humanitarian Award Narrative
Serina Covarubias & Richard Martinez
Vanguard Award Best International Short Film
Manic Pixie Dream Girl Syndrome
Best International Short Film
Sedona
Vanguard Award Best International Featurette
Scarlet
Best International Featurette
Dragon Boy
Vanguard Award Best International Feature Film
10 Swords & The Moon
Best International Feature Film
Day of a Lion
Best Documentary
Wonders Of The Wolf
Vanguard Award Best Short Film
Day 474, And the Lingerings Thereafter
Best Short Film
Stone Garden
Vanguard Award Best Featurette
Yesteryear Once More
Best Featurette
Rock N' Rolled
Vanguard Award Best Feature Film
Invisible
Best Feature Film
In Between the Mountains and the Ocean
Festival Ambassadors' Choice Award
Grey
The Rustic Theatre Owners Choice Award
Haiku For the Dead
Festival Producers Choice Award
The Sound of Innocence
Festival Directors Choice Award
Sedona
Audience Choice Award
Sanguine Deposit
Grand Jury Award
In Between the Mountains and the Ocean
The Archer Award Best of Festival
Stone Garden
Indie Spirit Awards
Amor Manet (Love Endures)
All the Men I Met But Never Dated
Athenia’s Last Voyage
Aunt Cindy and The Alchemist
Awake and Dreaming
Because I Love You
Butts
Consequence
Death Valley: Land of the Extremes
Disability in Focus
Discount Dog
Doppelgänger
Every Day’s A Bonus
Good_Machine
Goons, Guns and the Gumshoe
Grave Expectations
Haunted
Hollywood Jay’s Fishing Adventures
I’m Different Now
Martin the Magnificent
Millicent & Me and The Apple Tree
Milwaukee
Narcissus
Pieces of Two
Plastics
Silent Cycle
Staycation
The Advanced Class
The Man in the Blue Suit
Turkey Medicine
Unbridled
You and What Army
