‘Frankenstein,’ ‘No Other Choice’ Top Audience Awards at 2025 SCAD Savannah Film Festival

The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) today announced the award winners for the 28th-annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival. A key stop on the festival circuit leading up to the Academy Awards, the 2025 SCAD Savannah Film Festival screened 167 films, including 56 narrative feature films, 16 documentary feature films, 96 short films, and seven world premieres and three U.S. premieres.

Frankenstein was this year’s Audience Award Winner, as selected by festival attendees. Actor Oscar Issac was in attendance for the sold-out screening, where he was feted with the Icon Award. Rental Family was the runner-up, with Brendan Fraser, director Hikari, and composer Alex Somers in attendance. Brendan Fraser was honored with the Outstanding Achievement in Cinema Award at the screening. Additionally, No Other Choice was this year’s International Audience Award Winner. Director Park Chan-wook was in attendance for the screening, where he received the Auteur Award.

Out of over 2,500 submissions, 24 awards were announced from the 102 films chosen to compete in competition categories, which included Narrative Features, Documentary Features, Professional Shorts, Animated Shorts, Student Shorts, Shorts Spotlight, and the Global Shorts Forum.

Best Professional Short—Rise, dir. Jessica J. Rowlands

Best Narrative Feature—Charliebird, dir. Libby Ewing

Best Documentary Feature—Yanuni, Richard Ladkani

Best Director—Richard Ladkani, Yanuni

Best Cinematography—The Singers, dir. Sam Davis

Jury Award for Social Impact—All the Empty Rooms, dir. Joshua Seftel

Jury Award for Ensemble Acting—Beyond Silence (cast members Henrianne Jansen, Sigrid ten Napel, and Tamar van den Dop)

This year’s Best Professional Short (Rise), Narrative Feature (Charliebird), and Documentary Feature (Yanuni) will each receive a $500 cash prize sponsored by Frankfurt Kurnit. The film awarded Best Cinematography (The Singers) will receive a $1,000 cash prize sponsored by ShotDeck. 

The 2025 festival’s professional jury members included Alex Barasch (journalist, The New Yorker), Clifton Collins, Jr. (actor), Leslye Headland (director, writer), Richard Lawson (critic), and Mary Neely (actor, producer, writer).

Katie Spikes Legacy Award Scholarship 

Katie Spikes was a senior story editor for CBS 60 Minutes and a beloved friend of the SCAD Savannah Film Festival for many years. After her passing in 2023 the Katie Spikes Legacy Scholarship was created to honor excellence in filmmaking by a SCAD student.

Award Winner—DRAG ME TO CHURCH, dir. Isabella Sullivan (B.F.A., Film/Cinema/Video Studies, 2025)

This year’s winner will receive a $7,500 cash prize. The 2025 festival’s Katie Spikes Legacy jury members include June Dowad (partner, Worldwide Production Agency), Amy Grey (president, Dish Communications), Lynn Hirshfield (producer), Alison Owen (film and television producer), Myra Scheer (creative consultant and SiriusXM co-host), Juliet Blake (Producer, TED), Andy Cohen (Producer, Grade A Entertainment).Student and Animated Shorts

Best Professional Animation—Murmuration, dir. Janneke Swinkels and Tim Frijsinger

Jury Award for Environmental Impact—Snow Bear, dir. Aaron Blaise

Best Student Animation—Dragfox, dir. Lisa Ott

Best Student Short—Breastmilk, dir. Ifeyinwa Arinze

This year’s Best Professional Animation (Murmuration) will receive a cash prize of $500 and the Best Student Animation (Dragfox) and Student Short (Breastmilk) will receive a cash prize of $250 each, sponsored by Frankfurt Kurnit.

The 2025 festival’s Short Spotlight jury members included Josh Beveridge (Animation Supervisor, Sony Pictures Imageworks), Rob Dressel (Director of Cinematography & Layout, Disney), Abby Rider Fortson (Actress), Daria Khil (Story Artist, Dreamworks), Mandy Tankerson (SVP, Head of Production Sony Pictures Imageworks), and Daniel Talbott (Writer, director, and producer).

Global Shorts Forum

Best Global Short—The Return, dir. Jeremy S. Levine

Best Global Short: “For the Love of Sport”—Hoops, Hopes, & Dreams, dir. Glenn Kaino

Best Global Short: “Portraits of Perseverance”—The Return, dir. Jeremy S. Levine

Best Global Short: “A Place in This World”—Largo, dir. Salvatore Scarpa and Max Burgoyne

Jury Award – Savannah Spotlight—Art with Every Breath, dir. Caroline Josey Karoki

Jury Award – Humanitarian Spirit Award—Inside the Valley Sings, dir. Nathan Fagan

Jury Award – Excellence in Acting—Bonnie Hellman, Susana, dir. Gerardo Coello Escalante

The 2025 festival’s Global Shorts jury members included Chet Mehta (PR Department), Blake Pickens (Impact Guild), and Jenelle Riley (Variety).

Shorts Spotlight

Best Shorts Spotlight—Two People Exchanging Saliva, dir. Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata

Best Shorts Spotlight: “Dearest Daughter”—Miriam dir. Josie Andrews

Best Shorts Spotlight: “Reality Askew in Black & White”—Two People Exchanging Saliva, dir. Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata

Best Shorts Spotlight: “Sweetness in the Bitter”—The Second Time Around, dir. Jack Howard

Best After Dark Short: “The Horror Within”—The Pearl Comb, dir. Ali Cook

Special Jury Award for Excellence in Animation—Playing God, dir. Matteo Burani

Special Jury Award for Excellence in Acting—Pearl Scarlett Gold, Miriam dir. Josie Andrews

Human Spirit Jury Award—Inside, The Valley Sings, dir. Nathan Fagan

The 2025 festival’s Short Spotlight jury members included Shane Marshall Brown (The Press Room), Elizabeth Kizer (Editor, Mad Law Media), and Sam Lansky (freelance writer).

This year, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival honored Dakota Fanning (Outstanding Achievement in Television Award), Spike Lee (Legend of Cinema Award), Sydney Sweeney (Spotlight Award), Brendan Fraser (Outstanding Achievement in Cinema Award), Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Discovery Award), Craig Brewer (Spotlight Director), Miles Teller (Distinguished Performance Award), Rose Byrne (Luminary Award), Cassandra Kulukundis (Outstanding Achievement in Casting Award), Park Chan-wook ( Auteur Award), Mark Hamill (Lifetime Achievement Award), Benny Safdie (Maverick Award), Zoey Deutch (Breakthrough Performance Award), Miles Caton (Rising Star Award), Rian Johnson (Outstanding Achievement in Directing Award), Oscar Isaac (Icon Award), Dylan O’Brien (Lumiere Award), Will Arnett (Luminary Award), Jon M. Chu (Vanguard Director Award), Regina Hall (Gold Derby Spotlight Award), Amanda Seyfried (Vanguard Award), Joel Edgerton (Vanguard Award), Kristen Stewart (Rising Star Director Award), and Tessa Thompson (Distinguished Performance Award).

Variety in partnership with the SCAD Savannah Film Festival feted Hannah Beachler with the Variety Creative Impact Award in Production Award at a screening of Sinners. Entertainment Weekly also announced their Breaking Big honorees for 2025, which included Julia Butters, Tati Gabrielle, Tonatiuh, Grace Van Patten and Tyriq Withers.