The Garden State Film Festival Awards

Monmouth County Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone, GSFF Vice Chair Heather Brittain, Mathew Abraham, NJEDA, Mrs. Ceppi, Armand Assante, Paul Ceppi, NJEDA, Matthew Modine, Executive Director Lauren Concar, Christine Giordano Hanlon, Esq. Monmouth County Clerk, Assemblywoman Luanne M. Peterpaul Esq. (D),  GSFF Founder Diane Raver & Workhouse Adam Nelson.

Photos: Andrei Jackamets

Asbury Park and Cranford provided the perfect backdrop for the Garden State Film Festival, with their rich cultural heritage, scenic beauty, and vibrant arts scenes adding to the festival's charm and allure.

The Garden State Film Festival extends its heartfelt gratitude to its sponsors, partners, volunteers, and attendees for their unwavering support. Plans are already underway for the 23rd annual event, promising another magical celebration of cinema in 2025 running March 27 - 30. Submissions open May 1st via Filmfreeway.

Lauren Concar, Garden State Film Festival Executive Director, said, “Each year our attendees and fans love exploring the numerous shops, restaurants, and other locations all over the city by the sea in Asbury Park and in downtown Cranford.  Union and Monmouth County are always a fun time, with so much to do, and so many places to go with family and friends, adding the Garden State Film Festival is a busy and beneficial time of year for restaurants, businesses, hotels, and more. We are very proud to provide arts education as well as being a catalyst on economic development.”

For more information about the Garden State Film Festival, including highlights from this year's event and updates on future editions, please visit www.gsff.org.

Founded in 2002, the Garden State Film Festival is New Jersey's premier independent film festival, dedicated to showcasing the best in independent cinema from around the world. Each year, the festival attracts filmmakers, industry professionals, and film enthusiasts to New Jersey for a vibrant celebration of storytelling and creativity.

2024 PROGRAM BOOK

The Garden State Film Festival
Honorees

Honorary Chair
Janice Kovach

MVP
Tom Zapcic

Rising Star
Sophia Lucia Parola

The Garden State Film Festival

2024 Winners

“I Think I'm Sick”
Jonathan Applebaum, Andrew Bilindabagabo, Carley Bilindabagabo,
Tyler Wells, Matti Haapoja - Producers
Danny Gevirtz - Director

“The Martini Shot”
Susan Ilott - Producer
Stephen Wallis - Director

“A Town Called Purgatory”
Ken Arnold,Dan De Luca - Producers
Matt Servitto - Director

“The Nanny”
Morgan A. MacDouglas, Kimberly Connolly - Producers
Brian Reynolds - Director

Line Sander Egede - Producers 
Ariane Louis-Seize - Director

M. Carroll Raver Award for Cinematography
“Karma Is A Hitch”
Ben Blaskovic, Claude Koenig - Producers
Oliver Kahl - Director

Live Action Short Film
“The Fuse”
Youmi Haefelin-Roch - Producer
Kevin Haefelin - Director

Short Horror/Thriller
“CHOMP”
Suki-Rose, Cricket Arrison - Director
Michael Scott, Josh Ascalon, Steve Smith, Meg Murnane - Producer

(Russian Federation)
“Future Ads”
Nikolay Renard - Director
Churilin Maxim - Producer

“Skunk Bite”
Mickel Cannon - Producer
Kelly Quinn, Grace Pomilla - Director
   

(Turkey)
“Game, Interrupted”
Fehmi Ozturk, Nefes Polat, Tolga Karacelik - Producers
Ilayda Iseri - Director

(Netherlands)
“LOS”
Ferdi Çelik - Producer
Karlijn Koel - Director

Emanuel “Manny” Berlingo Award for Best Feature Length Documentary
“Journey to the UFC: Joe Pyfer”

Alex Davis, Chandler Henry - Producers

Chandler Henry - Director

“American Royalty”
John Daniel Fisher, Stephen Andrew Fisher, Jay Pitts - Producers
John Daniel Fisher, Stephen Andrew Fisher - Directors

“The Film - Make - Her, The Lisa Azuelos Story”
David Serero - Director/Producer

Documentary Short Film
“Translators”
Rudy Valdez - Director
Andrea Cordoba, Megan Schale - Producer

(Turkey)
“The Syrian Cosmonaut”
Enis Ozkul - Producer
Charles Emir Richards – Director

“a tree once grew here”
Dara Semerad - Producer
Johnnie Semerad - Director

Animation Short - College
“Lost and Found“
Adin Brian Duncan – Director

Drama Short - High School

“The Last Liftoff”

(Oaks Christian High School in California)

Collin Nelson - Director

 Comedy Short - High School

“Late Night Edit”

(Huntsville High School)

Kyle M. Wegler - Director

International Short - High School

“Supernova”

(Emerging Limerick Filmmakers)

Niamh Collins - Director

International Web Series/New Media

(Russian Federation)
“About People and About War”
Dmitrij Pasichnyuk, Anna Chizhova - Producers
Andrej Krasavin - Director

Narrative Short Documentary – College
“The Beatles And Beyond: A Lasting Legacy”
Mimi Freund - Producer
Clara McCourt - Director

Narrative Short - College/Graduate School
“Slobopoly”
Jennifer Baker, Kaan Berkant - Producers
Yinghui Li - Director

  International Animation Short - High School
(Taiwan)
“1 2 3 Red Light, Green Light”
Liangyu Chen - Director/Producer
   

Voices of Neurodiversity in Cinema
“How to Survive Film Class”
Jackson Conroy - Director

Music Video
“The Ballad Of Jim Cramer”
Philip Curcuru - Director/Producer

TV Pilot
“East”
Jolie Curtsinger, Dana Marisa Schoenfeld - Producers
Dana Marisa Schoenfeld – Director

Broader Vision Award
“Be Not Afraid”
Chris Carden - Director/Producer

The Garden State Film Festival would like to recognize films shot in the State of New Jersey  with the following winners in the
“Home Grown Award” categories:

Home Grown Feature 
“Jersey Bred”
Greg Russo - Director/Producer

“Toothache: The Painful Truth”
Dr. Nicole McGrath - Barnes, Dr. Michal Herman, Andrea Wiley - Producers
Dr. Nicole McGrath - Barnes - Director

“The Handyman”
Adam Worth - Director

Home Grown Short Horror
“Hide Your Crazy”
Irina Slepneva – Producer
Austin Kase - Director

“Phoenix”
Kevin Miller, Matthew Santonocito - Producers
Shannon Miller - Director

“Truth to Transformation”
Christine Norbut Beyer, Benita Miller - Producers
Cheryl Miller Houser - Director

“This is Why We Train - The Sea Girt Beach Patrol”
Sean Bell, Kevin R. Nulty - Producers
Kevin R.Nulty - Director

Home Grown Student Short College
“Portrait of Two Steelers Fans”
Alexander Pasquale- Directorsteeler

Wesley Wang – Director
Scott Aharoni - Producer

Home Grown PSA
“Monmouth County Celebrates America's 250th Anniversary”
Adam Worth - Director
Chrstine Giordano Hanlon, Ted Maturo  - Producers

Home Grown Music Video
“Honey”
Brian Brodeur - Producer/Director

Oscar Schofield-Producer
Angela Catt, Micah Seidel, Natalie Radu-Directors

Home Grown PSA - High School

“Sexual Harassment PSA”

(Donald M. Payne Sr. School of Technology)

Luisa Santos - Director

Home Grown Drama - High School

“Train Wreck”

(Middletown High School South)

Luke Roberts - Director

Home Grown Narrative - High School

“Panic”

(Middletown High School South)

Maura Catherine Collins, Mia Dimitry - Directors

Home Grown Short - High School
Sponsored by UArts

“Watch Your Back”

(River Dell Regional High School)

Ashley Chang - Director

Home Grown Animation - High School
Sponsored by UArts

“Tellurium vs Gold”

Josias Ortiz - Director

New Jersey Hometown Documentary Short - High School
Sponsored by NJSBA

 Winner: “The Challenge”

 (Franklin High School)

Aryan Patel - Director

1st Runner Up: “Generations of Homemade Happiness”

(Westwood Regional High School)

Emma Lagatol - Director

The Garden State Film Festival Movie Music Competition Winners

                                       Best Pop Song
                                     Ballad of Jim Cramer
                                      Composer: Philip Curcuru
                              Performed by: The Atomik Age Project
 

Best Song from a Short Film
Millie’s Carefree Day
Composer: Kevin Stahl & Spencer Camacho
Produced by: Kevin Stahl

Best Student Orchestral Score
Prey
Composer: Yi-Fan Chen

Best Song in a Short Drama
Mercy
Composers: Michael Gladstone & Rob Smith
Performed by: Junkyardfieldtrip

Best Score from an International Film
Force of Nature
Composer: Fadi Khoury
Performed by: Fadi Khoury, Cello Pierce Constanti

Best Score from a Feature Thriller
Mastermind
Composer: Jeff Tinsley
Performed by: Budapest Scoring Orchestra

Best Score from a Short Documentary
Messages To Self
Composer: Jarrod J. Radnich
Performed by: Jarrod J. Radnich

*****      

Feature Screenplay Winner
The Dude Is Legit!
Written by Dan Clemens and Laurie Clemens - Maier

Short Screenplay Winner
BTB
Written by Colin..