Ask any aspiring screenwriter or up and coming creative what particular festival they’d love to attend or be featured at, or win a contest they host, and in their list, they’ll mention the Austin Film Festival and with good reason. After all, the AFF is one of the biggest festivals around, and their screenwriting competition is heralded often by writers. For they offer amazing notes and give writers a real chance to launch their careers if they place in the competition. Not to mention, it’s a well-known fact that they celebrate storytelling and want powerful stories for their screening lineup, so having one’s visual story accepted into the AFF, is quite the accomplishment to say the least.
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If anything, it really is a destination festival for creative minds and well, in the weeks following the festival, one that we here at NTG were honored to cover, people have asked this reporter, if it is indeed as epic as advertised. And well… what better place to answer that question than through a full-on recap of the festival itself, to provide you all with a resounding yes. Because this simply was, an incredible experience through and through, and one of the most creatively fulfilling ones I’ve ever taken part in. Partly because… this festival is as epic as they come. After all, it’s a full week of film premieres and panels, from every genre one can imagine, and that alone is indeed worth the price of admission.   

But the wonder of this festival goes so much deeper than Ubering about the city and moving from downtown theater to downtown theater to enjoy some amazing movies. This is also a festival, where you get a lot of face time with creative individuals. Since they too are out and about, and eager to take in this showing or that and that brings about all kinds of delightful conversations with people that love the visual medium, that are eager to hear your feedback about their creation and that… is quite amazing. Because it just allows for one to immerse themselves in creativity, and while I was able to get a little more in depth in my conversations through interviews, the fact that writers and directors, and actors were so accessible, period, was just amazing and inspiring really. 

Because those kinds of conversations really do light a spark in anyone that’s eager to break into the industry and it only excites an audience further and really… that’s the number one thing I took away from this festival. In that, it just exudes creative energy, and that creates an incredible and inviting vibe for anyone in attendance. The kind that is infectious, and really perhaps the best way to describe that vibe… is that the Austin Film Festival is akin to lining up for a movie that you’ve been waiting to see for ages. But that anticipation and that excitement lasts over the course the time you’re there, and every single person you meet has it in their veins as well. Which really does make this a true celebration of storytelling, one that is backed up… by some amazing movies.

For I watched a good double digits worth of films for this festival, some in person, some in advance because of the nature of entertainment journalism, but regardless of where I watched it, what I was privy to, was incredible. For every single film, short or series I enjoyed, was made with incredible passion, and that translated into honest and raw stories, and amazing comedies and dramas that were moving and powerful. Giving rise to a festival that truly features some of the best up and comers out there and movies that bring the best out of stars and veterans we know and love and well, in the end… this is simply an amazing festival. One that really has tapped into something special for cinephiles, and television fans and fans of popular culture, and it is one that I now highly recommend and cannot wait to attend again, in 2024.

This piece was written during the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. Without the labor of the actors currently on strike, the movies being covered here wouldn’t exist.
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Anyone who had the distinct honor of attending the 30th Austin Film Festival, is undoubtedly still reeling from the experience. After all, it was a week filled to the brim with incredible premieres, and moving features, and of course… so many attendees made new friends and new connections and left with their hearts full of what the love the most, great storytelling.

For there were just some incredible stories on display, the kind that were indeed up for awards and now… a few days after the festival, the time has come to announce the winners. For the 2023 Jury and Audience Award Winners are in and well… since you’re undoubtedly curious as to who went home with great honors, here are those selections to close out one incredible celebration of storytelling.

‘Going on 30 years, Austin Film Festival (AFF) is the premier Festival to recognize the writer’s contribution to film, television, theatre, and new media, is thrilled to announce the 2023 Film Competition Jury and Audience Award winners alongside the Screenplay Competition winners. This year, there were 11 Jury Award winners, 11 Audience Award winners, and 17 Script Competition winners. The competitions received over 6,000 film submissions and over 11,500 script submissions.  

THE FOLLOWING FILM JURY AWARDS WERE SELECTED BY CATEGORY 
 
Narrative Feature - Sunlight, written by Ailbhe Keogan, directed by Claire Dix 

Documentary Feature - First We Bombed New Mexico, written by Lois Lipman and Joel Marcus, directed by Lois Lipman 

Comedy Vanguard Feature - Egghead & Twinkie, written/directed by Sarah Kambe Holland 
 
Dark Matters Feature presented by Vertigo Entertainment - Inhabitants, written/directed by Matt McClung 
 
Narrative Short - Arman & Elisa, written/directed by Kiyan Agadjani  
 
Student Short - Seraphim, written by Joanna Fernandez, directed by Oscar Ramos 
 
Documentary Short - Safe Place, directed by Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian 
 
Animated Short – Curiosa, written by Matthew Dicky and TessaMoult-Milewska, directed by Tessa Moult-Milewska 

Produced Digital Series - Thanatos, written/directed by Andrew C. Fisher 

Enderby Entertainment Filmmaking Fellowship Award - English Tutor, written/directed by Jaho Koo
 
Texas Short Filmmaker Award presented by Aduro Studios and Film - 40Hands, written/directed by Craig Robert Elrod 
 
Film Jury winners were selected by jurors including Roy Lee (Barbarian, It, The Ring),Katie Silberman (Booksmart, Set It Up), Ashley Lyle (Yellowjackets), Jade-Addon Hall (20th Century), Carly Wray (Watchmen) and Kemp Powers (Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse). 
 
Following each screening, audience members cast their votes for the Audience Awards, recognizing the audience’s Festival favorites among the 2023 film slate. 
 
THE FOLLOWING FILM AUDIENCE AWARDS WERE SELECTED BY CATEGORY 
 
Marquee Film: American Fiction, written/directed by Cord Jefferson 
 
Narrative Feature: Autumn, written/directed by António Sequeira 
 
Documentary Feature: Born To Fly, directed by Brennan Robideaux 
 
Dark Matters Feature: Wild Eyed and Wicked, written/directed by Gordon Shoemaker Foxwood 
 
Comedy Vanguard Feature: For When You Get Lost, written by Jennifer Sorenson, directed by Michelle Steffes 
 
Texas Independent Feature: I’ll Be There, written by Cindy McCreery, directed by Andrew Shea 
 
Narrative Short: Barely Breathing, written by Neal Reddy, directed by Derek Evans 
 
Narrative Student Short: A Conspiracy Man, written by Valerio Ferrara, Alessandro Logli, Matteo Petecca, directed by Valerio Ferrara 
 
Documentary Short: Safe Place, directed by Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian 
 
Animated Short: Starling, written/directed by Mitra Shahidi 
 
Produced Digital Series:
Restorage, created by Caleb Davis, E’an Verdugo, directed by E’an Verdugo 
 
 
The 2023 Script Competition winners were chosen from a record field of 11,500 scripts entered in the Screenplay, Digital Series, Playwriting, and Fiction Podcast Competitions. The winners were selected by a distinguished panel of industry judges including, Tatiana Suarez-Pico (Hunters, Penny Dreadful, Iron Fist, Snowfall), Christina Hodson (Bumblebee, Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, The Flash), Tripper Clancy (Stuber, I Am Not Okay With This, Die Hart), & Herschel Weingrod (Trading Places, Kindergarten Cop). 
 
THE FOLLOWING SCREENPLAY AWARDS WERE SELECTED BY CATEGORY 
 
Drama Feature Screenplay Award presented by The Writers Guild of America, East -  
T-Minus Zero by Troy Anthony Miller and J.R Smith 
 
Drama Teleplay Pilot Award - State of the Art by Austin Elliott 
 
Drama Teleplay Spec Award - The Great: “Death Becomes Him” by Marguerite Spellman 
 
Comedy Feature Screenplay Award - A Forest Through The Trees By Ryan Ederer 
 
Comedy Teleplay Pilot Award - Arthur and Lancelot by Victoria Zeutzius 
 
Comedy Teleplay Spec Award - What We Do in the Shadows: “The Chupacabra” by Jordan Obey 
 
Scripted Digital Series Award - Psychic by Aiden Moretti 
 
Fiction Podcast Award  - The Crime at Camp Ashwood by Laura Hunter Drago 
 
Short Screenplay Award - Good Evening, Marshall (Good Evening, Geraldine) by Jessica Mosher 
 
Playwriting Award - The Housing Situation on Neptune by Nijae Draine 
 
Horror Screenplay Award presented by Vertigo Entertainment - Paradise by Daniel Byers 
 
Sci-Fi Screenplay Award - ROY G. BIV by Sebastian Davis 
 
Rooster Teeth Fellowship Awards, BIPOC category - Turn the Heat Up by Helen K Thomas  

Rooster Teeth Fellowship Awards, Women & Animation category - Ulster by Allison Mick 
 
Enderby Entertainment Award - Black Mouth Cur by Kai Kido 
 
AMC One-Hour Pilot Award - Blind Mice by Aaron Milus 
 
Josephson Entertainment Screenwriting Fellowships - Black Waters by Kate Imy (Feature Film) and The Hellmouth by Francesco Staluppi (TV) 
 
The Austin Film Festival ran from October 26 to November 2, 2023 offering Film Festival and Writers Conference programming in-person at various venues around Austin. Next year’s Austin Film Festival and Writers Conference will be held from October 24 to 31, 2024.  For more information about the Austin Film Festival and its programming, please visit www.austinfilmfestival.com. 
 
ABOUT AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL & WRITERS CONFERENCE: 
 
Now in its thirtieth year, Austin Film Festival & Writers Conference is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering the art, craft and business of writers and filmmakers and recognizing their contributions to film, television, theater, and new media. AFF champions the work of aspiring and established storytellers by providing unique cultural events and services, enhancing public awareness and participation, and encouraging dynamic and long-lasting community partnerships. AFF is supported in part by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department and the Texas Commission on the Arts.’