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Best Drama

11+

An Outfit

The Shell

Watching Walter 

 

Best Comedy

Beethoven's Great Great Great Great Great Grandchild

Living With Grandma

Unexpecting

Waffles

 

Best Documentary

Coastal Consciousness: SD

Encounter at 30,000 Feet

Everforward

Second Chance

StreetVet

 

Best Animated

Father Brown Part 1

Pursuit

 

Best Action / Thriller

N/A

 

Best Sci-Fi / Fantasy

As Easy as Closing Your Eyes

The Lobbyists

Solar Y

 

Best Horror / Suspense

The Demon Car of Proctor Valley Road

To the End

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Best Musical

Julia’s Dance - A Bomba Flamenco Bedtime Tale 

The One

 

Best Experimental

A Device to Save the Planet

Ball Trip

Whispers

 

Best Foreign Language Film

3 Minutos

Farewellday

Fatih the Conqueror

Nothing Happens in Venice

 

Best Smartphone Film

A Device to Save the Planet

Ball Trip

Solar Y

 

Best Director

Parker Croft - As Easy as Closing Your Eyes

Farzad Ranjbar-Nazari - Farewellday 

Christopher Santiago - Julia’s Dance

Finise Avery - Living with Grandma

Thomas Pace - The Lobbyists

Mitch Yapko - Watching Walter

 

Best Actor in a Lead Role

Alexandra Grace - 3 Minutos

Laura Alemán - An Outfit

Laura Coover - As Easy as Closing Your Eyes

Dan Sauer - The Lobbyists

Stephen Tobolowsky - Watching Walter

​

Best Actor in Supporting Role

Sean Marquette - As Easy as Closing Your Eyes

Stephen Moscatello - Living with Grandma 

Jacki Hydock - The Lobbyists

Eric Petersen - Unexpecting

 

Best Actor in a Juvenile Role

Francis Millner - 11+

Walter Jones - A Device to Save the Planet

Dawson Sweeney - As Easy as Closing Your Eyes

Lucy Cuellar - Julia’s Dance

Solomon Fezer - The Things we Don’t Talk About

Benjamin Stockham - Watching Walter

 

Best Screenplay

Aaron Golden and Parker Croft - As Easy as Closing Your Eyes 

Thomas Pace - The Lobbyists 

Kate Easton & Ruying Sun - To the End 

Mark Dylan Brown - Watching Walter

 

Best Cinematography

Zakaree Sandberg - As Easy as Closing Your Eyes

Michael Tang - Julia’s Dance 

Mellony Ledo - The Things we Don’t talk About 

Bryon Evans - Watching Walter

 

Best Editing

Douglas Ryan - 3 Minutos

Parker Croft - As Easy as Closing Your Eyes 

Fernando Castillo - The Lobbyists 

Byron Evans - Watching Walter 

 

Best Hair & Makeup

Mary Carroll - An Outfit

Austyn Cuccia - As Easy as Closing Your Eyes 

Vanessa Cuellar & Tina Pershing - Julia’s Dance

Agnes Bla, Vera Stromsted - Living with Grandma

​

Best Costume Design

Liz M. Schroeder - An Outfit

Vanessa Cuellar - Julia’s Dance

AJ Singh - Nothing Happens in Venice

Catherine Carpenter - Watching Walter

 

Best SFX-VFX

Timothy Stevens-Eustace - As Easy As Closing Your Eyes

Monica Glover & Isabella Glover - Ball Trip

Stephen Siemens - Beethoven's Great Great Great Great Great Grandchild

Lauren Bennet - Demon Car of Proctor Valley Road

Burk Sauls - Watching Walter


Best Sound Design 

Julia’s Dance

The Lobbyists

The Shell

Watching Walter

 

Best Music / Score

Douglas Ryan - 3 Minutos

William Cepeda - Julia’s Dance

AJ Singh - Nothing happens in Venice 

The Things We Don’t Talk About - UNK

Gray Bashew - Watching Walter

 

Best Song

“Let Me in” - Laura Alemán & Mireya Valasquez - An Outfit

“Democracy is Dangerous” Thomas Pace - Lobbyists

“Pop Song” - Male Tears - Beethoven's Great Great Great Great Great Grandchild

 

Best Local Filmmaker(s)

Ball Trip

Coastal Consciousness: SD

The Demon Car of Proctor Valley Road

Encounter at 30,000 feet

Mourning’s Pulse

 

Best Student Filmmaker

Mellony Ledo - The Things We Don’t Talk About

India Mitchell - Second Chance

 

Best First Time Filmmaker

Ball Trip

Nothing Happens in Venice

To the End

Unexpecting

Waffles

You’re Cut

The NOMINEES
Summer Season / 2Q 2025

San Diego
Short Film Festival

Next Event:

January 2027

Quarterly Film Screening Festival

& Annual Film Festival

What

When

Where

San Diego

Short Film Festival

TBD, 2026

TBD, 2026

TBD, 2026

January 2027

Digital Gym Cinema

1100 Market St,

San Diego, CA 92101

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Contact Us

Become a friend of the festival!

To learn more, don’t hesitate to get in touch

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Please reach out to: contact@sdsff.org

Thanks for submitting!

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Digital Solutions by Neffinity 

Kirby's Own Films DBA San Diego Short Film Festival © 2025

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