Award winners and secret nominees for the coveted FilmQuest Cthulhu Trophy were announced at the Closing Night Awards Ceremony September 14th, 2019 at Velour Live Music Gallery in Provo, Utah. The 2019 FilmQuest Awards are, as usual, filled with many more deserving films than can possibly win or be nominated. To the winners and nominees, congratulations!

The following nominees were culled from a process that began with over 1,120 submissions to the 2019 festival. Each Feature Film category, unless otherwise noted, has 6 – 8 nominees. Each Short Film & Other category, unless otherwise noted, has 10 nominees. Every category, unless otherwise noted (there will be no * with extra information included at the bottom of each list), has a secret nominee that is announced at the Awards Ceremony.

Congratulations to all the 2019 Award Winners and Nominees! Stay tuned for our reviews from the festival in the coming weeks!

*Indicates awards is a plaque’d award.
** Indicates the winner was a secret nominee.

2019 WINNERS

BEST FEATURE FILM
Daniel Isn’t Real

BEST COMEDY SHORT
My Dinner with Werner

BEST FANTASTIC SHORT
Attrition

BEST FANTASY SHORT
The Seahorse Trainer

BEST FOREIGN SHORT
Rubbish Robbers (Norway)

BEST HORROR SHORT
We Die Alone

BEST SCI-FI SHORT
Hashtag

BEST STUDENT SHORT
Progeny**

BEST UTAH PRODUCTION*
The Wreath

BEST ANIMATED FILM*
Widdershins

BEST FILMQUEST EXPRESS FILM*
Not for Distribution

BEST MUSIC VIDEO*
Withorwithout

BEST WEB SERIES*
My Helpful Ghost Ancestor Roommate

BEST YOUTH FILM*
Me & Michael

THE MINERVA AWARD*
Rakefet Abergel – Boo

BEST DIRECTOR – FEATURE
The Sonata – Andrew Desmond

BEST SCREENPLAY – FEATURE
To Your Last Death – Jim Cirile & Tanya C. Klein

BEST ACTOR – FEATURE
The Black String – Frankie Muniz

BEST ACTRESS – FEATURE
Swing Low – Annabelle Dexter-Jones

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – FEATURE
Daniel Isn’t Real – Patrick Schwarzenegger

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – FEATURE
Blood Vessel – Alyssa Sutherland

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST – FEATURE*
Villains

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – FEATURE*
Daniel Isn’t Real – Lyle Vincent

BEST SCORE – FEATURE*
The Sonata

BEST SOUND – FEATURE*
To Your Last Death

BEST EDITING – FEATURE*
Volition

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN/ART DIRECTION – FEATURE*
Blood Vessel

BEST COSTUMES – FEATURE*
Blood Vessel

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS – FEATURE*
Lake Michigan Monster

BEST MAKEUP – FEATURE*
Wild Boar

BEST DIRECTOR – SHORT
Supine – Nicole Goode

BEST SCREENPLAY – SHORT
(TIE) A Purgatory Story – Tom Albanese & Joey Long
(TIE) O.I. – N’cee van Heerden

BEST ACTOR – SHORT
Exhibit Man – Troy Mundle

BEST ACTRESS – SHORT
Lili – Lisa Smit

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – SHORT
The Hanged Man – Gordon Peaston

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – SHORT
We Die Alone – Ashley Jones

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST – SHORT*
Balloon

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – SHORT*
Alaraph – Ton Vorselaars

BEST SCORE – SHORT*
Virtually**

BEST SOUND – SHORT*
The Automaton

BEST EDITING – SHORT*
We Got a Monkey’s Paw

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN/ART DIRECTION – SHORT*
Doffice

BEST COSTUMES – SHORT*
The Reckoning of Darkness

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS – SHORT*
The Beacon

BEST MAKEUP – SHORT*
Starcadian: Freak Night

HONORABLE MENTIONS*
Burning Kentucky – Bethany Brooke Anderson, Overall Cinematic Achievement
Here & Beyond – Grey Lucey, Best Actor
The Fare – Overall Concept & Execution

FILMQUEST EXPRESS COMPETITION
Runner-Up – Money Man
Best Director – Money Man
Best Cinematography – Money Man
Best Writing – Not for Distribution
Best Editing – Not for Distribution
Best Acting – William and Theodore Part VI
Best Sound – William and Theodore Part VI
Best VFX – William and Theodore Part VI
Best Costumes – Hammer of Fate
Best Makeup – Hammer of Fate
Best Use of Elements – Money Man

BEST UNPRODUCED SCREENPLAY – FEATURE
1st Place (TIE)* – Roman Candle by Derek Abbott
1st Place (TIE)* – Sick by Sylvia Batey Alcalá
2nd Place (TIE)* – Land Lord by Remington Smith
2nd Place (TIE)* – The Suburban Kaleidoscope by Samuel R. Peirce
3rd Place* – Third Date by Avishai Weinberger

BEST UNPRODUCED SCREENPLAY – SHORT
1st Place* –  The Squirrels in the Attic by Rachel Thomas-Medwid
2nd Place* – Plaything by Samantha Kolesnik & Jason Tostevin
3rd Place* – Boos Up by Marion McDowell

BEST UNPRODUCED SCREENPLAY – FEATURE – TOP 15 FINALISTS
…a Chance of Rain by Alan C. Beard & Patrick Green
6 Feet Above by Summer Moore
Land Lord by Remington Smith
M – Demon Killer by Mark Hammond
Persona by Jeffrey Howe
Roman Candle by Derek Abbott
Rust by Guy Pooles
Sick by Sylvia Batey Alcalá
Sol by James Fox
The Housesitter by David Palamaro
The Quicksilver Pleasure Club by Matt Pacini
The Suburban Kaleidoscope by Samuel R. Peirce
Third Date by Avishai Weinberger
Until Death… by Kevin Sluder
Werewolves from Outer Space by Justin Nosler

BEST UNPRODUCED SCREENPLAY – SHORT – TOP 10 FINALISTS
Bitch Revolution by Zeus Kontoyannis
Boos Up by Marion McDowell
Legends by Kevin Brennan
Life on the Farm by Laurel Vail
Pieces of Me by Gus Eid
Plaything by Samantha Kolesnik & Jason Tostevin
Sweet Pea by Neil McLarty
The Errant Signal by Nik Theorin
The Flavor of Fury by James Lee
The Squirrels in the Atttic by Rachel Thomas-Medwid

All Unproduced Screenplay Competition judging was done by a group of third party professional judges.

Please make sure to check out the full list of nominees for this year’s FilmQuest Festival here.