2023 DENVER UNDERGROUND FILM FESTIVAL PROGRAM

BEST OF FEST
The Meeting
Directors: Kevin Hart, Steef Sealy. Highlands Ranch, CO.

FIRST FILM SUBMITTED AND FESTIVAL OPENING FILM
Enter the Room
Director: Harry Waldman. Chicago, IL.

BEST DIRECTOR

1. The Meeting
Directors: Kevin Hart, Steef Sealy. Highlands Ranch, CO.
2. The iTch
Director: Gordon Phillips. Palm Springs, CA.
3. Laffoon: Tales from the Quarter
Director: Jack Hutsey. New Orleans. LA.

BEST NARRATIVE SHORT

1. The iTch
Director: Gordon Phillips. Palm Springs, CA.
2. Couch
Director: Ross Chavez. Chicago, IL.
3. The Door Back
Director: Jillian W Fudali. Los Angeles, CA.

BEST EXPERIMENTAL SHORT

1. Oscillating Sporadically
Directors: Gabby Follett Sumney, Hogan Seidel. State College, PA.
2. A Mountain is Like a House.
Director: Stephan Hillerbrand, Mary Magsamen. Houston, TX.
3. Revelation to the Disembodied
Director: Andre Silva. Wilmington, NC.

BEST NARRATIVE EXPERIMENTAL SHORT

1. ZAKHME
Director: Soore Vahe. Iran.
2. Feedback Loop
Director: Thomas Nelsen. Denver, CO.
3. ithinkifigureditout
Director: Colleen Lee. Evergreen, CO.

BEST EXPERIMENTAL ANIMATION

1. Despite
Director: Kate Raney. Athens, OH.
2. Revelation to the Disembodied
Director: Andre Silva. Wilmington, NC.
3. Cry For Help
Director: Brandon Murphy, Devin Nutt. Stillwell, KS.

BEST NATURE EXPERIMENTAL SHORT

1. Tides
Director: Andre Silva. Wilmington, NC.
2. Another Rapid Event
Director: Daniel Murphy. Milwaukee, WI.
3. Silent Chirping of Invisible Digits (Das Feine Zirpen Einer Dunkelziffer)
Director: Vera Sebert. Austria/Germany.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

1. Laffoon: Tales from the Quarter
Director: Jack Hutsey. New Orleans. LA.
2. The Good, The Bad and The Bloodthirsty (EP1)
Director: John Kalning. USA.
3. Nerd
Director: Gustavo Andres Menese. Buenos Aires, Argentina.

BEST STOP MOTION ANIMATION

1. Ballad of a Bleeding Heart
Director: Fuzhi Zhao. Brooklyn, NY.
2. The Last Snow
Director: Shayan Naghibi. Iran.

BEST NARRATIVE ANIMATION IN A NEW MEDIUM
1. GOLDEN SEA
Director: Erik Sémashkin. Ukraine / France.
For utilizing fish as talent in a narrative short.

BEST AI GENERATED ANIMATION

1. The Good, The Bad and The Bloodthirsty (EP1)
Director: John Kalning. USA
2. Deep Time of Latent Space
Director: Eric Souther. Michigan.
3. Something I Do Not Want
Director: Vasco Diogo. Lisbon, Portugal.

BEST EXPERIMENTAL 3D ANIMATION

1. Effigy House
Director: Deb Ethier. Canada .

BEST DOCUMENTARY

1. Black Raven
Director: George Wyhinny. Ukraine / Los Angeles, CA.
2. The Wintering Grounds
Director: Jeff Springer. Columbus, GA / NYC.
3. Embroidered Whispers
Director: Rongyu Zhou. China.

BEST EXPERIMENTAL DOCUMENTARY

1. Eighteen Mill Street
Director: Josh Weissbach. East Haddam, CT / Sweden / Kherson, Ukraine.
2. SML
Director: Eleni Morchadze. Ilysa Spencer. Milwaukee, WI / Republic of Georgia / Ukraine.

BEST LGBTQ+ NARRATIVE SHORT

1. MASC
Director: Jason Eldredge. Los Angeles, CA.
2. Couch
Director: Ross Chavez. Chicago, IL.
3. A Careful Whisper
Director: Makayla Levy. Denver, CO.

BEST MUSIC VIDEO

1. Standing by a River
Artist: Carla Sciaky.
Director: Steef Sealy. Boulder, CO.

BEST NARRATIVE SHORT CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. The Meeting
Directors: Kevin Hart, Steef Sealy. Highlands Ranch, CO.
2. The iTch
Director: Gordon Phillips. Palm Springs, CA.
3. HOT SAMANTHA
Director: Frank Zanella. Brescia, Italy / Los Angeles, CA.

BEST FOUND FOOTAGE SHORT

1. Dear, When I Met You
Director: Craig Smith. Los Angeles, CA.
2. Comply
Director: Padrick Sean Ritch. Michigan, USA.
3. Pineapple Upside Down Cake
Director: Deven Verma. Boulder, CO

BEST USE OF FILM ON FILM

1. Oscillating Sporadically (35mm)
Directors: Gabby Follett Sumney, Hogan Seidel. State College, PA.
2. Image Dance (16mm)
Director: John Dawson. Boulder, CO. 2023.

BEST NARRATIVE SHORT SCREENPLAY

1. Inversion
Director: Xiaoki Peng. China.
2. Wellness Check
Director: Tyler Holme. Denver, CO.
3. Lurker
Director: Savanna Wrobel. USA.

COLORADO AWARDS

BEST COLORADO DIRECTOR

1. Black Metal
Director: Michael Hyon Johnson. Denver, CO.
2. The Judgment of Jonathan Crest
Director: Eddie Portoghese. Denver, CO.
3. Due Dilligence
Director: Peter Nepi. Denver, CO.

BEST COLORADO NARRATIVE SHORT

1. Black Metal
Director: Michael Hyon Johnson. Denver, CO.
2. The Muse & Her Author
Director: Jordan Spalding. Denver, CO.
3. Wellness Check
Director: Tyler Holme. Denver, CO.

BEST COLORADO NARRATIVE EXPERIMENTAL SHORT

1. ithinkijustfigureditout
Director: Colleen Lee. Evergreen, CO.
2. Feedback Loop
Director: Thomas Nelsen. Denver, CO.

BEST COLORADO SCREENPLAY

1. The Muse & Her Author
Director: Jordan Spalding. Denver, CO.
2. The Judgment of Jonathan Crest
Director: Eddie Portoghese. Denver, CO.
3. Due Dilligence
Director: Peter Nepi. Denver, CO.

BEST COLORADO CINEMATOGRAPHY

1. The Judgment of Jonathan Crest
Director: Eddie Portoghese. Denver, CO.
2. Black Metal
Director: Michael Hyon Johnson. Denver, CO.
3. Due Dilligence
Director: Peter Nepi. Denver, CO.

BEST COLORADO LGBTQ+ NARRATIVE SHORT

1. A Careful Whisper
Director: Makayla Levy. Denver, CO.

HONORABLE MENTIONS

Director: John Sylva. Los Angeles, CA.
For continuous excellence in narrative filmmaking.

Director: Vasco Diogo. Lisbon, Portugal.
For continuous excellence in experimental filmmaking.

Director: Camila Dron. Buenos Aires, Argentina.
For Pioneering Cyanotype Filmmaking.

Director: Brandon Murphy, Devin Nutt. Stillwell, KS.
For Excellence in Animation Screenwriting.

Director: Ed Mizner. Redondo Beach, CA.
For Continuous Excellence in Filmmaking.

Artist: Kozak Siromakha. Ukraine.
For representing the culture of Ukraine
through music and spoken word.

Clear
Director: Hogan Seidel. Boston, MA.
For bringing awareness of surveillance
on trans and gender-nonconforming bodies.

Director: Anne Ciecko. Amherst, PA.
For representing Ukrainian culture on film.

Director: William Briggs. Denver, CO.
For Continuous Excellence in Filmmaking in Colorado.

Director: Martin Del Carpio. Venezuela/NYC.
For Continuous Excellence in Experimental Filmmaking.

Artist: Tito Malaga.
For Excellence in Cinematography and a longstanding
musical career in Colorado.

Artist: Verena
For integrating hand painted animation
in the live action video Heartshine.

Director: Padrick Ritch.
For Continuous Excellence in Experimental Filmmaking.