ATLANTA, GA (May 12, 2023) — The 47th annual Atlanta Film Festival + Creative Conference (ATLFF) is proud to announce the award winners for the 2023 festival, which took place from Thursday, April 20 through Sunday, April 30, 2023. 

Today’s announcement recognizes filmmakers in 12 categories for their achievements and cinematic excellence. Winners of the Narrative Short, Animated Short and Documentary Short Jury Awards not only proudly took home their awards, but now also qualify for the 2023 Academy Awards®. ATLFF is one of less than twenty U.S. film festivals that is Academy Award®-qualifying in all three shorts categories: Narrative Short, Documentary Short, and Animated Short. 

Most award winners were chosen by distinguished jurors from all backgrounds across the film industry. They include sibling filmmaker duo Soda Jerk for “Hello Dankness” which premiered at this year’s Berlin Film Festival; Chaconne Martin-Berkowicz for “Scotty’s Vag.” Caconne is a writer on Amazon Freevee’s 'Cruel Intentions', and previously wrote for Amazon’s 'I Know What You Did Last Summer.' Cinematographer Petter Ringbom for “The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster,” who’s films have screened at SXSW, Tribeca, IDFA, and Hot Docs; among over a dozen other winners. The Audience Awards were determined by both virtual and in-person attendees. 

2023 ATLANTA FILM FESTIVAL AWARD WINNERS

Best Documentary Feature:

Winner: DUSTY & STONES, Jesse Rudoy

Jury Special Mention: JESSZILLA, Emily Sheskin

Best Narrative Feature:

Winner: HELLO DANKNESS, Soda Jerk

Jury Special Mention: THE ANGRY BLACK GIRL AND HER MONSTER, Bomani J. Story

Best Animated Short:

Winner: REST IN PIECE, Antoine Antabi

Jury Special Mention: ROSEMARY, A.D. (AFTER DAD), Ethan Barrett

Best Documentary Short:

Winner: BREAKING SILENCE, Amy Bench & Annie Silverstein

Best Narrative Short:

Winner: SCOTTY’S VAG, Chaconne Martin-Berkowicz 

Jury Special Mention: NO OTHER GODS BUT ME, Alex Spott

Best Cinematography (Presented by Panavision and Light Iron):

Winner: THIS WORLD IS NOT MY OWN, Petter Ringbom

Jury Special Mention: RED EARTH, Georg Koszulinski & Kate E. Hinshaw

Georgia Feature Film Award:

Winner: FENOM, Kayla Johnson

Jury Special Mention: THE ONLY DOCTOR, Matthew Hashiguchi

Georgia Short Film Award:

Winner: YOUNG KINGS, Jonathan Banks

Jury Special Mention: CONTENT: THE LO-FI MAN, Brian Lonano & Blake Myers

Audience Award Winners:

Feature Winner: LITTLE BROTHERS, Sheridan O'Donnell

Short Winner: SOUND TO SEA, Ryan Craver 

Previously announced winners of the 2023 Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition are below. The following 5 Winning Scripts were chosen from 1,921 total submissions. 

Feature Screenplay Winners:

CHANCE BY UNFATHOMABLE FATE by Dmani Williams

FREAKNIK by Jon Vaude

THE SHIMMERS by Brendan Vogel & Ruth Sabin

Pilot Screenplay Winner:

THE SPACE SUITS by Landon Ashworth

Short Screenplay Winner:

I SEE YOU by Faith Dismuke

From a record-breaking nearly 10,000 submissions, ATLFF selected 155 works, a mix of narrative and documentary feature-length films, short films and creative media, for the 2023 festival. Of the selected works,  49% are directed by filmmakers who identify as female or non-binary, and 47% are Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC). In addition to the selected programming, ATLFF held 17 Marquee screenings and 24 Creative Conference events.

Continuing with a hybrid model of in-person screenings and digital screenings, the 2023 event drew in approximately 20,000 total attendees. Over 12,000 people attended 137 indoor screenings, panels, and events held at The Plaza Theatre, Tara Theatre, Rialto, Dad’s Garage, and other venues during the 10-day festival. An additional 8,000 people streamed screenings from ATLFF’s virtual catalog of over 150 films and 9 Creative Conference workshops, panels, or Masterclasses. 

With many of the in-person screenings selling out, the virtual presentation of the film catalog also proved to be a success. More than three months’ worth of content was streamed during the festival, with viewers in 41 U.S. states, and 27 countries across six inhabited continents. 

This year marks a considerable increase in both in-person attendance & the reach of virtual content, with more than double the in-person attendance and nearly double the number of countries that had people viewing virtual content from 2022.

A full list of jury members with brief biographies is included below, as well as film information for all award winners and honorable mentions. 

The 47th annual Atlanta Film Festival + Creative Conference took place from April 25 - April 28, 2023. ATLFF is currently accepting submissions for the 2024 festival, which is confirmed to take place April 25 - May 5, 2024. More information can be found at https://www.atlantafilmfestival.com/submit.