Festival Archive
2025 Festival Archive
2025 WMIFF Winners – World Music & Independent Film Festival
A look back
Featured Highlight
2025
15th Annual WMIFF — 2025 Winners (Partial List)
Best Actress in Feature Film — Patricia Bursiel, Angel’s Tide
Best Actor in Feature Film — Tony Bravado, Thicker Than Blood
Best Sup. Actor in Feature Film — Chris Corulla, The Last Vendetta
Best Sup. Actress in Feature Film — Christina Smith, Thicker Than Blood
Best Cinematography in Feature Film — Vlad The Time walker
Best Cinematography in Feature Film (DMV) — Jason Alexander, Human Supremacist
Best Screenplay in Feature Film — Zeph E. Daniels, Angels Tide
Best Actor in Short Film — Brandon Wilkerson, Somewhere in Brooklyn
Best Actress in Short Film — Cali Nebe, Under the Hawthorne Tree
Best Sup. Actress in Short Film — Vesta Millard, Life is Torture
Best Cinematography in Short Film — Ruthi Grumbine, Under The Hawthorne Tree
Best Actor in Feature Film (DMV) — Bruce Dawson, The Road to Absolution
Best Actress in Feature Film (DMV) — Vie Lowe, The Road to Absolution
Best Sup. Actor in Feature Film (DMV) — Victor Manuel, Double Blended
Best Sup. Actress in Feature Film (DMV) — Zoe Donmoyer, The Human Supramacist
Best Actress in Short Film (DMV) — Imelda Antoc Bosley, Aswang Part 2
Best Actor in Short Film (DMV) — W. Keith Scott, Dark Matters
Best Sup. Actor in Short Film (DMV) — Jason Brown, Aswang Part 2
Best Cinematography in Short Film (DMV) — Jasmine Deanne Andrews, Don’t Play with Demons
Best Screenplay in Feature Film (DMV) — Lynai Jordan, The Volunteer
Best Screenplay in Short Film (DMV) — Lawrence Whitener, Its All Good…not
Best Director in Feature Film (DMV) — Robert Brown Jr. / Ethan Evans / Raymond
Best Director in Short Film (DMV) — Ken Lasso / Donna Britton Bukevicz
Best Country Music Video — My Life Between The Reins
First Time Filmmaker — Connie Matinez, Dream Chaser: The Story of Martinez Family
Women Filmmakers — Marilyn Lee Swick
Best Director in Documentary — Nara Garber, Bankie Banx: King of the Dune
Best Documentary in Music — Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story
Best Feature Documentary — Letters from the Battlefield?
Best Feature Documentary in DMV — Rising Tide: BOOST Documentary
Best Original Sound-tract (DMV) — Jasmine Deanne Andrews, The Road to Absolution
Best Original Sound-Track — Return
Best Student Film — Somewhere in Brooklyn
Best South East Asia — Pangako, by John Rey Malto
Best Director in Feature Film — Ciprian Dumitrascu, Vlad The Time-walker
Best Script — Maya
First Director — Angela Andronache, Small Things
16th Annual WMIFF Nominees – 2025
Full nominee list, grouped by category.
Best Actress in Feature Film
- Giulia Anghelescu – Vlad The Timewalker
- Patricia Bursiel – Angel’s Tide
- Rheanna Trueman – A Van called Murial
Best Actor in Feature Film
- Filip Monteanu – Vlad The Timewalker
- Tony Bravado – Thicker Than Blood
- Larry Linville – Angel’s Tide
- Andre Joseph – The Last Vendetta
- Alexander Arnold – The Entertainer
Best Sup. Actress in Feature Film (Partial List)
- Patricia Place – Angel’s Tide
- Christina Smith – Thicker Than Blood
Best Sup. Actor in Feature Film
- Kevin Boles – Thicker Than Blood
- Larry Gelman – Angel’s Tide
- Costel Cascaval – Vlad The Timewalker
- George Burcea – Vlad The Timewalker
- Chris Corulla, Jr – The Last Vendetta
Best Director in Feature Film
- Anthony Williams – Thicker Than Blood
- Zeph E. Daniels – Angel’s Tide
- Ciprian Dumitrascu – Vlad The Timewalker
- Oscar Hewitt – A Van CAlled Muriel
- Cory Schwartz – The Psyhocdelics
- David Clay Diaz – The Entertainer
- Andre Joseph – The Last Vendetta
- Woody Keith
Best Screenplay in Feature Film
- Anthony Williams – Thicker Than Blood
- Zeph E Daniels – Angel’s Tide
- Alexandru Molico – Vlad The Timewalker
- Jesse Stewart – Chance Encounters
- Andre Joseph / Chris Corulla – The Last Vendetta
Best Cinematography in Feature Film
- David Trulli – Angel’s Tide
- Hasi Eldib – Chance Encounters
- Julian Krubasik – The Entertainer, Vlad The Timewalker
Best Experimental Film
- Breaking Out
- Freelm
- Chance Encounter
- Cronofios
- 3rd Eye
- Tage in Winter
Best Actress in Short Film
- Deb Jungin Kim – Lily
- Gracie Holland – Life is Torture
- Angie Doan – LINH 99
- Angelique Alita – Somewhere in Brooklyn
- Eren Stauraki – Lampros
- Hana Hemmati – Stop it
- Angela Andronache – Small Things
- Calli Nebe – Under the Hawthorn Tree
Best Actor in Short Film
- Aris Nikou – Lampros
- Brandon D. Wilkerson – Somewhere in Brooklyn
- Ryan Holcomb
- Ramesh Bajracharya – Kipa
- Roni Schamlian – A House Near the Sun
Best Sup. Actress in Short Film
- Vesta Millard – Life is Torture
- Casey Breneman – Under the Hawthorn Tree
Best Director in Short Film
- Tracy Jane – Life is Torture
- Brandon D. Wilkerson – Somewhere in Brooklyn
- Dion Sulerman – Amber Alert
- Ali Delgoshael – Stop it
- Tori Layne – Under the Hawthorn Tree
- Maryam Samadi – A House Near the Sun
- Sanish Maharjan – Kija Puja
Best Cinematography in Short Film
- Gregory Mohn – Life is Torture
- Adam Reign – Lily
- Mahmoud Kameli – Stop it
- Ruthie Grumbine – Under the Hawthorn Tree
- Maryam Samadi – A House Near the Sun
- Rojin Pathak – Kija Puja
- Michael Lines – Amber Alert
Best Screenplay in Short Film
- Tracy Jane
- Calli Nebe – Under the Hawthorn Tree
- Roni – A House Near the Sun
- Angela Andronache – Small Things
Women Filmmaker
- Carol J. Amore
- Trina Davenport
- Marilyn Lee Swick
- Maryam Samadi
First Time Filmmaker
- Cory Schwartz
- Connie Martinez
- George Vasilakopoulis
- Lin H 99
First Director
- Angela Andronache – Small Things
- Ashkan Sepehr – The Gray, the Black
Best Animation
- The Music Factory
- WTF is Love
- Cronopus
- The Splint
Best Feature Documentary
- I cross the Sea With You
- Persian Diary
- Letters from the Battlefield
- Rising Tides: The BOOST Legacy
- Bill Helman – The Woofdriver
Best Feature Documentary in Music
- Mimy & Tony: The Creation of a Dream
- I Dance But My Heart Is Crying
- Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story
- Bankie Banx: King of the Dune
- Music for Mushroom
Best Short Documentary
- French Camera
- The World of Rap
- Time is the thief off Memory
- Underground Sound
Best Director Documentary
- Alisson Duke – Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story
- Nara Garber – Bankie Banx: King of the Dune
- Christopher Weinert – I Dance but my heart is crying
- Rod Lopez – Bill Heman -The Woofdriver
- Carlo Grande – Persian Diary
- Kary Hyunjeong Rho – I Cross The Sea with You
- Tony Succar, Santiago Díaz – Mimy & Tony: The Creation of a Dream
Best Music Video
- My Face
- Mercy Me
- Mckenna Michels Monster
- Angelica Levoiser
- Black Magic Woman
- My Life Between The Reins
Best Director in Music Video
- Nicholas Nephi Peterson – Mckenna Michels Monster
- Egor Gavrilin – Angelica Levoiser — She walks in Beauty
- Jeff Hilliard – My Face
- Jay Ray Malto – Pangako
- Steve Schuster – Mercy Me
Best Director in DMV Films
- Jasmine Deanne Andrews
- Donnald Imm
- Trina Davenport
- Miguel Mas
- Rico Mickens
- Paulo Perez
- Robert Brown Jr. / Ethan Evans / Raymond
- Ken Lasso / Donna Britton Bukevicz
- Lynai Jordan
Best Screenplay in DMV Films
- Robert Brown Jr.
- Lawrence Whitener
- Will Ward
- Miguel Mas
- Paulo Perez
- Aaron Sampson
- Lynai Jordan
Best Actor in DMV Films (Short & Feature)
- Bruce Dawson – The Road to Absolution
- Lawrence Whitener – It’s All Good, Not
- Theophilus Knight – Bloody Addiction
- Darrelle Brown – Double Blended
- W. Keith Scott – Dark Matter
- Kyeon Boyd – The Disciples
- Robert Brown Jr. – Double Blended
- Jae Damuier – The Volunteer
- Sudaan Burton – The Disciples
- Mamza Elnaggar – The Disciples
Best Cinematograhy in DMV Films
- Dexter Brain – Night Haul
- Rico Mickens – Dark Matter
- Jacob Alexander – The Human Supremacist
- Javier Prato – Cronofios – Connected To Love
- Jason Jordan Sr. – The Volunteer
- Jasmine Deanne Andrew’s – Don’t Play with Demons
Best Sup. Actress in DMV Films (Short & Feature)
- Zoe Donmoyer – The Human Supremacist
- Amy Young – The Road to Absolution
- Annie Gill – The Human Supremacist
- Madelaines Shouse – Bloody Addiction
- Karen H. Brown – Double Blended
- Arlyne Spalla – The Road to Absolution
- Sharon Toliver – Dark Matter
- Joy Sarah Brewer – Double Blended
- Dedra Simons – The Disciples
- Sheila Miller – The Volunteer
- Darletta Perry – Double Blended
- Denise Lattimore – The Volunteer
- Elaina Braverman – The Road to Absolution
- Teri Ballou – The Disciples
- Savonna Champ – Aswang Part 2
Best Actress in DMV Films (Short & Feature)
- Connie Martinez – Dream-chaser
- Toiya Vernon – Dark Matter
- Cassandra Grant – The Road to Absolution
- Rachel Mackall – The Human Supremacist
- Kris Lloyd – Double Blended
- Vie Lowe – The Road to Absolution
- Brittany Langley – Dark Matter
- Imelda Antoc Bosley – Aswang Part 2
- Lyndell Banks – Double Blended
- Rachel Johnson – The Volunteer
Best Sup. Actor in DMV Films (Short & Feature)
- Nikolaus Booth – The Road to Absolution
- Brian Anthony Wilson – It’s All Good, Not
- Mel Thomas – Bloody Addiction
- Damien Lynch – The Road to Absolution
- David Vega – Bloody Addiction
- Jason Brown – Aswang Part 2
- W. Keith Scott – The Road to Absolution
- Victor Manuel – Double Blended
- Derek Quick – The Disciples
Best Script
- Heartstrings (Detailed Cover Page)
- Maya
Best Original Sound-tract
- Masked
- Music to die for
- A Gloucester Fisherman
- The Entertainer
- The Wedding Veil of the Proud Princess
- The Road to Absolution
- Return
- Off The Grid
Best Trailer
- Night Haul
- It’s Not You, It’s Me
- Trailer: Barriers in Bertie Documentary
Best South East Asia
- Pangako
- Zindagi Hai (USA)