Florida Film Fest ’25 announces awards

Exclusive to MeierMovies, April 20, 2025

The 2025 Florida Film Festival announced its awards last night at Enzian Theater. The Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature went to Sisters, directed by Susie Yankou, while I’m Your Venus, directed by Kimberly Reed, took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature.

It Ends, directed by Alexander Ullom, received the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature, and Fatherless No More, directed by Kayla Johnson, won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Judges also gave two special awards to feature films. Burt, written and directed by Joe Burke, won the Special Jury Award for Best Screenplay, and No One Died: The Wing Bowl Story, directed by Pat Taggart, received the Special Jury Award for Editing of a Documentary Feature.

Though features usually get more attention, it’s the awards for short films that really matter at this event. Because the festival is Oscar-accredited, the three short films honored by the judges are now Oscar-eligible. Those films are The Truck, directed by Elizabeth Rao, which won the Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short; Bad Hostage, directed by Mimi Wilcox, which took home the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Short; and Voyage of the Red Rabbit, directed by Sam Gualtieri, which got the Grand Jury Award for Best Animated Short.

Judges gave the Special Jury Award for Courageous Voice to the short film After What Happened at the Library, directed by Syra McCarthy.

Snow Bear, directed by Aaron Blaise, received the Matthew Curtis Audience Award for Best Short Film.

Voting continues on other audience awards. Those winners will be announced following the festival, which continues today at Maitland, Florida’s Enzian Theater and Regal Winter Park Village.

Go here for my previous coverage of the festival and here for film reviews.

© 2025 MeierMovies, LLC