2005 Winners

BEST FEATURE FILM

1st Place: Beneath the Mask: Portrait of an American Ninja. Mark has just been fired because he lacks the skills to make a burrito. His girlfriend thinks he's a big time loser. Mark's father just wants him to be a successful air conditioner salesman. But Mark Rotane (Matt Wheeler) will let nothing stand in the way of his dream of becoming the world's greatest ninja. Told in a 'mockumentary' style, "Beneath the Mask" focuses on six weeks in Rotane's life as he enrolls and progresses through evening ninjutsu classes. This marks the first venture into filmmaking for Ben Sledge, a Lexington, Ky. Resident produced, directed and wrote the production. Click here for more details.

2nd Place: Rookie Bookie. Written, produced and directed by Kris Boyatt and Natalie Boyatt of Collierville, Tennessee, a young man plunges into a nightmare when he becomes involved with a group of gambling doctors and a corrupt hospital administrator. "Rookie Bookie" has been selected for the Tupelo film Festival. For more, click here.

3rd Place: Repetition. Set in Hollywood, the city of dreams and heartbreak, Dennis Burkley's film combines "American Idol" and "Fame." The story revolves around a class of young actors who pursue their dreams and each other. The production includes "cameo" appearances by F. Murray Abraham, Robert Englund, Mark Hammill, and Brian Kerwin. For more information, click here.

BEST DOCUMENTARY

1st Place: So Here I Am... This Master's thesis by Jean Andrews of Ohio University explores the Appalachian journey and history of the Wayne National Forest in Southern Ohio. Using historical footage and the first-hand account of 93-year-old journalist Ora Anderson, the director spins the story of this Depression-era landscape. For more information, visit the Web site, www.ohiolandscape.org.

2nd Place: Monster Road. Monster Road is a documentary exploration of Bruce Bickford's bizarre animated universe. Bickford created psychedelic clay animation for Frank Zappa's concert films of the 1970s, but he has labored in obscurity ever since. Monster Road unearths this legend and traces the animator's influences back to a troubled childhood in a competitive household during the Cold War. Click here for more information.

BEST SCREENPLAY

1st Place: "Averell and the Riders of the North Wind" by Nick Korolev. Click here for view the script (in .pdf format).

2nd Place: "The Treasure of Turtle Island" by John David Solomon

3rd Place: "Stolen" by Brad Campbell

BEST SHORT FILM

1st Place: The Empty Building. People will ultimately enter their inner self to relive a traumatic event and when the door to The Empty Building is passed through, the process will begin. Watch as these people regress in time through a bizarre and eerie world demonstrating a human's process of hope: the one and only acceptable behavior a person can ever reduce themselves to doing. Click here for more details.

2nd Place: Buoi Chieu (Afternoon). (shown at Slamdance, Cinequest, Seattle Int'l, LA Int'l, Jury Prize Florida Film Fest). Drawn by the grief of her husband and the desire to experience the vest gates of physical sensation, the spirit of the family matriarch arrives one rainy afternoon in this tale of love, loss and otherworldly experience. The film is the work of Huntington, Wv, native Kim Spurlock.

BEST YOUNG FILMMAKER

1st Place: On the River's Edge. Set in Huntington, WV, this is a compassionate depiction of the homeless' through the eyes of the homeless' living along the banks of the Ohio River and people in the community lending a helping hand. Producer/director Francesca Karle's idea for the film came from involvement in Christ Temple's monthly ministry of feeding the homeless on the riverbank a hot meal.

2nd Place: Winjaster Singh Hates Everything. On a quest to get off of his beloved smokes, University lecturer Winjaster Singh must lose his own identity and become everything he has always hated - a Frappuccino guzzling, pink sweater wearing wimp. The film was directed by Jamie Shenk and Daniel Strauss. Click here for more information.

Past Winners

Click here to see a report on the 2004 winners.