LAMA Fall 2025 Winners & Selections
Best Narrative Short
Best Narrative Feature
Best Documentary Short
“ Love Letters “
Dir. by Niglmoro Okuk
1st Place Winners
“ Vlad The Timewalker “
Dir. by Ciprian Dumitrascu
“ Two Step Forward, On Step Back “
Dir. by Cici Liu
On the evening of his birthday, Vlad (10 years old) arrives at the history museum where his mother Raluca (35 years old) has to decipher the mystery of a Roman artifact, discovered in Dobrogea. Waiting for the cake and hoping that he will get an extraordinary birthday present, Vlad wanders around his favorite place in the museum, the Immersive Gallery of Heroes.
Narrative short directed by Cici Liu
Audience Award
TBD
When paved over communities resist with art and color the state calls it “violence against property”. At 20, graffiti writer Sight, faced 100+ felony charges and 34-years in prison for his art. Sight was able to reduce his sentence by fighting California wildfires but since his release his wages continue to be garnished for $70,000 in restitution. Sight refuses to give up his lifelong love affair with graffiti and today he wants the world to see graffiti as "the sigils and voice of the people," challenging a society that values property over human life.
Best Documentary Feature
Best Animation
Best International Film
“ Vlad The Timewalker “
Dir. by Ciprian Dumitrascu
“ Fluff & Furious “
Dir. by Chieh-Chih Liao
“ Dream A World “
Dir. by Barry Rosenthal, Christo Tsiaras
A fluffy pup, inspired by its wild relative, sets out to prove it’s more than just a soft fur ball.
This film explores the state of the foster care system in Los Angeles and one organization that is helping foster youth find a path to careers in storytelling and filmmaking.
On the evening of his birthday, Vlad (10 years old) arrives at the history museum where his mother Raluca (35 years old) has to decipher the mystery of a Roman artifact, discovered in Dobrogea. Waiting for the cake and hoping that he will get an extraordinary birthday present, Vlad wanders around his favorite place in the museum, the Immersive Gallery of Heroes.
Best Experimental
Best Student Film
“ Deepfake “
Dir. by ZiQian Yao
“ Wonderland “
Dir. by Xiaochen Zheng, Yadan Tan, Xinyao Yan
A boy in the school who had been secretly taking photos of girls and making them into nude photos. The heroine suspects her boyfriend who loves taking photography did it. After some testing and arguments, the truth comes to light.
A short 3D animation that starts on a playground where a boy is ostracized by a group of youngsters. So he sets off to find a special place where he can feel accepted and safe - a security zone. Every option on his fantastical quest looks more attractive than the last: a carnival, a magical train, an underwater palace... But which is the right choice? Where will he finally feel accepted? For we all make choices when searching for a place to belong - or a way to belong.
Best Music Video
Best Script
“ A Seeping Wound “
by Darryl Wimberley
“ Topanga Canyon “
Dir. by Nikki Lorenzo, Lauren Withrow
Martha LongFoot, enslaved since childhood in Henry Riggs' notorious turpentine camp in northern Florida, must decide whether to risk a tenuous reprieve from beatings and depredation to engineer an escape for a newly imprisoned couple with whom she has no bond or sympathy.
An echo of desire in Topanga Canyon gives way to a Baroque-inspired dreamscape.
Best Director
“ Vlad The Timewalker “
Dir. by Ciprian Dumitrascu
Best Actor
Kory Getman
“ Pulse ”
Best Actress
Holly Long
“ Virginia in the Woods ”
Best Cinematography
Kristen Gao
“ Two Step Forward, One Step Back ”
Best Costume Design
“ Vlad The Timewalker “
Dir. by Ciprian Dumitrascu
Best Editing
“ Vlad The Timewalker “
Dir. by Ciprian Dumitrascu
Best Original Score
“ Vlad The Timewalker “
Dir. by Ciprian Dumitrascu
Best Production Design
“ Vlad The Timewalker “
Dir. by Ciprian Dumitrascu
Official Selections, Category “Best” and Honorable Mention Winners
“ Barbrix! Or How to Maybe Capture a Psychic Hominid “
Dir. by Dylan Dugas
“ CRADLE “
Dir. by Mark Orlov
“ Eat Prey... Love “
Dir. by Ben Kuker
“ Good Boy “
Dir. by Brett Robert Culbert
“ Jade Earrings of the
Last Empress “
Dir. by Lin Zuo, Marlin Darrah
“ New Horizons “
Dir. by Jared Fassbender, Easton Tabin
“ Partners “
Dir. by Miles Clark
“ PULSE “
Dir. by Kory Getman
“ The Comedian “
Dir. by Zhen Zhang
“ Virginia in the Woods “
Dir. by Charlie Chappell
“ What We Choose Not To See “
Dir. by Meilin Shen, Dylan Han
“ Wonderland “
Dir. by Xiaochen Zheng, Yadan Tan, Xinyao Yan
______________________
“ Harley “
by Alexandru Bitz
“ Kill Me Softly “
by Rodrigo Brand
“ Legacy of the Eclipsed “
by Shashank Upadhye
“ Nobody’s Horses “
by Courtney Nicole Graham
“ Shalom Kolontarov The Hero “
by Shalom Kolontarov
“ The Ghost of Di An [Zee Ahn] “
by Taylor Hunt
“ The Spectrum “
by Paul David Hilburger
_____________________
Honorable Mention Finalist
“ At The Edge “
Dir. by Keun-joon Kim
“ At The Mercy Of Faith “
Dir. by Andrew Arguello
“ Broad Minded City “
Dir. by Quirino de la Cuesta
“ Miorita. From the Beginning. “
Dir. by CALIN COMAN
“ Mirage “
Dir. by Kayshawn Wallace
“ Still She Rides “
Dir. by Anya Ramani, Anya Kothari
“ Swallowtail and Dragonfly “
Dir. by Julia Pierrepont
“ The Girl at the Fruit Stand “
Dir. by Jose Luis Ruiz
“ The Holiday of Bactrian Camels “
Dir. by Namuunsarn Ganchuluun
“ The Laundress “
Dir. by Wayne Watkins
Category Winners
Honorable Mention
“C.T.R.L”
Dir. by Mariana Conde & Mariana Conde
“Caught Inside”
Dir. by Dwight Thompson
“Chuck Ransom”
Dir. by Arian Harandi
“Daddy Come Home”
Dir. by Mendel Katz & Yisrael Dubov
“FELONY”
Dir. by Thanos Kermitsis
“Jaysin Voxx 'Hands on Me'”
Dir. by Carlos Hurtado
“Mateo”
Dir. by Nancy C. Mejia
“The Courier”
Dir. by J.Mackye Gruber
“The Equation of Life”
Dir. by Gerry Orz
“The Stop”
Dir. by Marc Ruiz
“Two and a Quarter Minutes”
Dir. by Joshua Ovalle
Official Selections
