2024
Held at Grace Church School.
Title | Director(s) | School | Award |
Animation | |||
Mixed and Matched | Rania Awad | Packer | Silver |
Rock Paper Fighter! | Kalina Sabala Montes | Trevor | Gold |
Comedy | |||
A Fresh Start | Sebastian Mateo Irausquin-Petit | Riverdale | Bronze |
Gatsby's Always Lucky | Sophie Basner | ECFS | Gold |
Nick's Misfortune | Film Team | RCDS | Silver |
Documentary | |||
Beneath the Brine | Caroline Rose Zaikowski | CGPS | Bronze |
Going to Antarctica | Grant Bennett | ECFS | Silver |
Plucked | Clara Tripp | ECFS | Gold |
Drama | |||
Mine Forever | Uma Couchman, Rachel Shames | ECFS | Bronze |
Seventeen | Alexa Nanes | ECFS | Silver |
Sons Of War | Cyrus Force Mailer | GCS | Gold |
Experimental | |||
Bunny's Home | Diana Horbatiuk | Ross | Gold |
Too Low for Old Hands to Harvest | Astrid Aggour | Packer | Silver |
Where The Wild Things Are | Giulia Souza Biglia | Ross | Bronze |
Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy | |||
Fallow | Quinn Victor | Woodstock | Gold |
Sheep | Cyrus Force Mailer | GCS | Bronze |
The Night Before Christmas | Christian Martins da Silva | ECFS | Silver |
Mixed Genre | |||
Dinner Time | Audrey Hoffman | Horace Mann | Bronze |
Do Street Dogs Dream of Home? | Astrid Aggour | Packer | Gold |
Nairobian Sacrifice | Marlin Leighton Lofaro | Woodstock | Silver |
Music Video | |||
Life in Focus | Zoe Williams | ECFS | Gold |
Special Awards | |||
Dinner Time | Audrey Hoffman | Horace Mann | Special - Best Acting |
Man's Best Friend | Miles Braunstein | ECFS | Special - Best Cinematography |
Too Low for Old Hands to Harvest | Astrid Aggour | Packer | Special - Best Female Filmmaker |
Fallow | Quinn Victor | Woodstock | Special - Best in Show |
Girlhood | Isabella Ruiz | Hewitt | Special - Best Latine Filmmaker |
Splintered | Adelaide Gorton | ECFS | Special - Best Writing |
Vape | Madisen Kim & Ainsley Walters | Horace Mann | Special - Social Justice |
2023
Held at Packer Collegiate Institute.
Documentary | |||
Roadside Assistance | Will Tarica | Masters School | Gold |
The Hidden Talent of Gilbert Gottfried | Lily Gottfried | Ethical Culture Fieldston School | Silver |
She Kills Monsters | Lucas Yang | LREI | Bronze |
Drama | |||
The Mirror of Her | David Lilien | Packer Collegiate Institute | Gold |
A Sunday Afternoon | Mila Ansorge | Ethical Culture Fieldston School | Silver |
Barbie Doll | Lara Berliner | Columbia Grammar School | Bronze |
Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy | |||
Time's Ticking | Kalina Sabala | Trevor Day School | Gold |
Wherever in Your Sightless Substances | Jade Perkins, Alexi Kardaras, Nico Sanchez | Ross School | Silver |
MONDAY | Josh Greene | Rye Country Day School | Bronze |
Animation | |||
Aimo Koivunen | Declan Griscom | Grace Church School | Gold |
Flower Girl | Ella Morin | Masters School | Silver |
Allergies | Gretta Hong | Masters School | Bronze |
Comedy | |||
DIRK | Willie Nuttall | Colligate School | Gold |
Jetpack Dracula | Quinn Victor | Woodstock Day School | Silver |
Hasta La Pizza | William Robert Ohmes | Riverdale School | Bronze |
Music Video | |||
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun | Frey Wood | Ross School | Gold |
The Chicken | Greg Malone | Grace Church School | Silver |
Experimental | |||
Ajudar o Peixe | Giulia Souza Biglia | Ross School | Gold |
Edge of Dusk | Addy Gorton | Ethical Culture Fieldston School | Silver |
Soulace in Solitude | Ray Cassese | Masters School | Bronze |
Mixed Genre | |||
Mascara | Madeleine Kingsley Birnbaum | Woodstock Day School | Gold |
Reliving Your Past | James Kolodner | Rye Country Day School | Silver |
After December | Astrid Aggour | Packer Collegiate Institute | Bronze |
Special Awards | |||
Eddie Murray- A Life on the Court | Clara Tripp | Ethical Culture Fieldston School | Female Filmmaker |
Mirror of Her | David Lilien | Packer Collegiate Institute | LGBTQA+ |
Juno | Fin Wrazej | Grace Church School | Best in Show |
Setting Sun | Sophie Basner | Ethical Culture Fieldston School | Best Cinematography |
DIRK | Willie Nuttall | Colligate School | Best Acting |
Wherever in Your Sightless Substances | Jade Perkins, Alexi Kardaras, Nico Sanchez | Ross School | Best Editing |
Temporary Pandemic SNAP Benefits End in New York | Hanna Schiciano | Masters School | Social Justice |
The Nuyorican Poets Cafe | Violet Pachter | Grace Church School | Best Hispanic Film |
2022
Our sixth year; we were on Zoom due to the pandemic one more time. Hopefully we will be in person next year. Short thirty-second clips were screened and awards announced.
Animation | |||||
Gold Medal Winner | Helianthus | Noah Taylor | Woodstock Day School | ||
Comedy | |||||
Gold Medal Winner | Power Bunny | Jonah Gleeman | Ethical Culture Fieldston School | ||
Silver Medal Winner | The Hot Girl Hotline | Giselle Meskin | The Masters School | ||
Bronze Medal Winner | Aires | Ava Dilorenzo | The Masters School | ||
Documentary | |||||
Gold Medal Winner | Art Saves the Soul; Bowl | Madeleine Birnbaum | Woodstock Day School | ||
Silver Medal Winner | A Story Less Known | Fin Wrazej | Grace Church School | ||
Bronze Medal Winner | Lucas Kurzweil | Sean Robertson, Charlotte Reidy, Mellanie Salazar | Packer Collegiate Institute | ||
Drama | |||||
Gold Medal Winner | Cherie Je T'aime | Eli Berliner | Saint Ann's School | ||
Silver Medal Winner | Lucid | Marlin Lofaro | Woodstock Day School | ||
Bronze Medal Winner | After August | Olivia Siegel | Woodstock Day School | ||
Experimental | |||||
Gold Medal Winner | Restless | Eli Berliner | Saint Ann's School | ||
Silver Medal Winner | A Day in The Life | Kyler Warren | The Hewitt School | ||
Bronze Medal Winner | Canvas | Mackarthy Grimes | The Masters School | ||
Horror/Science Fiction/Fantasy | |||||
Gold Medal Winner | A Proper Guest | Cody Victor | Woodstock Day School | ||
Silver Medal Winner | Running Back in Time | Conan Y Chang | Saddle River Day School | ||
Bronze Medal Winner | The Play | Aerin Atinksy | The Hewitt School | ||
Mixed Genre | |||||
Gold Medal Winner | Now Hiring | Olive Milford | Woodstock Day School | ||
Silver Medal Winner | A Hymn to Love | Eil Berliner | Saint Ann's School | ||
Bronze Medal Winner | A Chicken Tweets | Rowan Walter | The Masters School | ||
Public Service Announcement | |||||
Gold Medal Winner | High School | Jared Perlmutter | Rye Country Day School | ||
Special Awards | |||||
Best Screenwriting | Bookstore Blues & Collide | Marisa Hirschfield & Alex Brooks | Ethical Culture Fieldston School | ||
Best Female Filmmakers | Diet Coke | Najah Diaz & Chloe Wise | Rye Country Day School | ||
Social Justice Award | Helianthus | Noah Taylor | Woodstock Day School | ||
COVID Award | Hello Again | Rylee Landau & Dylan Jackson | Ethical Culture Fieldston School | ||
Best LGBTQA+ Film | The Stonewall Inn | Tamyrha Dunac | Grace Church School | ||
Best in Show | The Painted Beast | Cody Victor | Woodstock Day School |
2021
Our fifth year; we were on Zoom due to the pandemic. Short thirty-second clips were screened and awards announced.
Animation | |||
Gold Medal Winner | History of Animation | Collin Bogert | Woodstock Day School |
Silver Medal Winner | Visual Pleasure Cruise | Max Comora | Rye Country Day School |
Bronze Medal Winner | A Warm place to Rest | Devon Crew | Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School |
Documentary | |||
Gold Medal Winner | Unequal Access | Jake H. Srebnick | Packer Collegiate Institute |
Silver Medal Winner | Shsat and Segregation | Micah Hervey | Reel Works |
Bronze Medal Winner | FOMO | Jack Hillyer | LREI |
Experimental | |||
Gold Medal Winner | The Applicant | Jayden Siegel | Horace Mann School |
Silver Medal Winner | Cross Currants | Eli Berliner | Saint Ann's School |
Bronze Medal Winner | Dandelion Daydreams | Jake Srebnick | Packer Collegiate Institute |
Drama | |||
Gold Medal Winner | Dinner Date | Eli Berliner | Saint Ann's School |
Silver Medal Winner | Perscription | Giselle Meskin | Masters School |
Bronze Medal Winner | Hereafter | Eli Berliner & Will Parker | Saint Ann's School |
Comedy | |||
Gold Medal Winner | Tomorrow I Leave, He Said Again | Ollie Milford | Woodstock Day School |
Silver Medal Winner | Impersonation | Lara Berliner | Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School |
Bronze Medal Winner | Hook Line and Sinker | Hudson Price | Woodstock Day School |
Mixed Genre | |||
Gold Medal Winner | Hampton Bagels & Road to Ruin | Jesse Smolan | Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School |
Silver Medal Winner | A Journey Chasing Cheese | Aden Soroca | Horace Mann School |
Bronze Medal Winner | A Day in the Life | Aerin Atinsky | Hewitt School |
Music Video | |||
Gold Medal Winner | The End of Disease | Theo Perl | Ethical Culture |
Silver Medal Winner | Love Delivered | Rylee Landau | Ethical Culture |
Bronze Medal Winner | The Swap | Aidan Frank, Nathaniel Garelik, Matteo Stewart, Braden Queen, Stella Shah, Patrick Stinebaugh, Ethan Waggoner, Madison Xu | Horace Mann |
Special Awards | |||
Best in Show | Tomorrow I Leave, He Said Again | Ollie Milford | Woodstock Day School |
Special Award - Social Justice | On The Other Side | Pastel Villalba | Reel Works |
Special Award - Best Female Director | Writer's Block | Lara Berliner | Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School |
Best Cinematography | Growing Up Downtown | Naaz Valvani | Grace Church School |
Best Mental Health Film | Scribbled | Olivia Siegal | Woodstock Day School |
Best Editing | Faceshopping | Aidan La Poche | Ethical Culture School |
Best COVID Film | Growing Up COVID | Rylee Landau | Ethical Culture School |
2020
The New York Alliance Film Festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2019
Our fourth year; we returned to Westchester to Rye Country Day School. We had a brisk 90-minute video screening followed by a short awards presentation.
Animation | |||
Gold Medal Winner | Interrupted | Sean Glass | Grace Church School |
Silver Medal Winner | Taking the Temple | Otto Landesman and Henry Pallesen | Grace Church School |
Comedy | |||
Gold Medal Winner | Hudson Price | It’s GIF | Woodstock School |
Silver Medal Winner | Ra Ra Girls | Jake H. Srebnick | Packer Collegiate Institute |
Bronze Medal Winner | The Rainy Minute | Abby Gewirtz | Ethical Culture Fieldston |
Honorable Mention | Is This Seat Taken? | Farrah Shikara | Friends Academy |
Documentary | |||
Gold Medal Winner | True Administration of Justice | Esmé Fox | Ethical Culture Fieldston |
Silver Medal Winner | Women in STEM | Alexia Hartogensis | Rye Country Day School |
Bronze Medal Winner | Danny Cole | Max Cole | LREI |
Honorable Mention | Fieldston Protest Doc | Mia McCoobery | Ethical Culture Fieldston |
Drama | |||
Gold Medal Winner | Same Blood | Malcolm Grover | Woodstock School |
Silver Medal Winner | Daydream | Meadow Magee | LREI |
Bronze Medal Winner | Audio Waves | Jake H. Srebnick | Packer Collegiate Institute |
Honorable Mention | Delusions of Introversion | Max Reilly | LREI |
Experimental | |||
Gold Medal Winner | The Mechanism of… | Sam Klein | Loyola School |
Silver Medal Winner | Crushed | Oliver Milford | Woodstock School |
Bronze Medal Winner | Trawl | Gega Ugulava | The Ross School |
Honorable Mention | L'Initiative Orange | Liv Solomon | Grace Church School |
Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy | |||
Gold Medal Winner | The Magician's Granddaugher | Alexia Hartogensis | Rye Country Day School |
Silver Medal Winner | Pop goes the Weasel | Evalise Melgar | Rye Country Day School |
Bronze Medal Winner | The Fear of… | Juliann Zhou | Loyola School |
Honorable Mention | Little Box of Horrors | Juliana Casale | Rye Country Day School |
Mixed Genre | |||
Gold Medal Winner | The Piano | Ethan Stuart | Rye Country Day School |
Silver Medal Winner | Lovely | Evelyn Ward | Grace Church School |
Bronze Medal Winner | baked. | Abby Gewirtz and Kasey Wilner | Ethical Culture Fieldston |
Honorable Mention | Paperboy | Theo Perl | Ethical Culture Fieldston |
Special Awards | |||
Best in Show | Same Blood | Malcolm Grover | Woodstock School |
Special Award - Social Justice | Fieldston Protest Doc | Mia McCoobery | Ethical Culture Fieldston |
Special Award - Best Female Director | Women in STEM | Alexia Hartogensis | Rye Country Day School |
2018
Our third year saw the introduction of special categories based on judges preferences. We had a very long screening hosted by Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, New York.
Animation | |||
Gold Medal Winner | T.S.A. | Henry Wolf | Trevor Day School |
Silver Medal Winner | Stress | Reed Leibowitz | SAR High School |
Bronze Medal Winner | Another Hero | Myles Dunlop | LREI |
Comedy | |||
Gold Medal Winner | Perfect Little Angel | Arabella Walley | St. Ann’s School |
Silver Medal Winner | Ra Ra Girls | Annabelle Lesser | Ethical Culture Fieldston |
Bronze Medal Winner | Reset Button | Pong Tulyathan | The Ross School |
Honorable Mention | Is This Seat Taken? | Rachel Horowitz & Gabe Merke | St. Ann’s School |
Documentary | |||
Gold Medal Winner | Taking Back the Bronx | Ben Ginsburg | Ethical Culture Fieldston |
Silver Medal Winner | Ladies of Liberty | Rebecca Auburn | Ethical Culture Fieldston |
Bronze Medal Winner | Under the Blanket | Jemima Alabi | Grace Church School |
Honorable Mention | Redefining Judaism | Melissa Ibrahim | The Ross School |
Drama | |||
Gold Medal Winner | Strangers | Benjamin Kaiser | Ethical Culture Fieldston |
Silver Medal Winner | Fool’s Paradise | Eli Kramer | St. Ann’s School |
Bronze Medal Winner | Behind Her Words | Mia McCoobery | Ethical Culture Fieldston |
Honorable Mention | Sedona | Graham Hall | Packer Collegiate Institute |
Experimental | |||
Gold Medal Winner | A Loss of Innocence | Christian Miller | The Ross School |
Silver Medal Winner | A+A | Nina Sielski Elizalde | United Nations International School |
Bronze Medal Winner | Where’d All Time Go? | Theo Matza | Ethical Culture Fieldston |
Honorable Mention | Perception | Sunny Guo | The Ross School |
Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy | |||
Gold Medal Winner | What’s In The House? | Joseph Zanchelli & Kai Parcher-Charles | The Ross School |
Silver Medal Winner | Spellbound | Rachel Nachman | St. Ann’s School |
Bronze Medal Winner | Nøkk | Olivia Belluck | Ethical Culture Fieldston |
Honorable Mention | The Butcher | Kenyon Bruha, Melchior Delpech, Arthur Christory | Lycée Français de New York |
Mixed Genre | |||
Gold Medal Winner | The Crank Call Criminal | Henry Wolf | Trevor Day School |
Silver Medal Winner | Neon | Kai Parcher-Charles | The Ross School |
Bronze Medal Winner | A Culinary Romance | Christopher Agger | St. Ann’s School |
Honorable Mention | Identite | Sofia Rao | United Nations International School |
Music Video | |||
Gold Medal Winner | People of the Night | Will Simotas | Grace Church School |
Silver Medal Winner | Black Power Movements | Kai Williams & Summer Green | Grace Church School |
Bronze Medal Winner | Smile | Margot Sarkozy | Lycée Français de New York |
Special Awards | |||
Best in Show | A Loss of Innocence | Christian Miller | The Ross School |
Special LGBTQ Award | A+A | Nina Sielski Elizalde | United Nations International School |
Special Award - Best Female Director | Ladies of Liberty | Rebecca Auburn | Ethical Culture Fieldston |
Special Award - Social Justice | Taking Back the Bronx | Ben Ginsburg | Ethical Culture Fieldston |
2017
In our second year, seventy-eight productions from over thirty schools made a very difficult judging process. This year, we screened four films - “Gold”; “Silver”; “Bronze”; and “Honorable Mention."
Animation | |||
Gold Medal Winner | The Shadow | Pier Paolo Piccoli | Lycée Français de New York |
Silver Medal Winner | Multiplicity: A Day of a DID Patient | Mingwei Gao | Ross School |
Bronze Medal Winner | Antarcticology | James Karasyov | Grace Church School |
Honorable Mention | Fractions of Time | Will Waddell | Rye Country Day School |
Documentary | |||
Gold Medal Winner | Off Season | Alex Lawson | Ross School |
Silver Medal Winner | Union Square, September 2016 | Milena Krondl | United Nations International School |
Bronze Medal Winner | The Sculptor | Ben Ginsburg | Ethical Culture Fieldston School |
Honorable Mention | The First Time Race Mattered | Kalli Jackson | LREI |
Experimental | |||
Gold Medal Winner | Fiji | Jonas Linnman Feuerring | Ross School |
Silver Medal Winner | Growth & Discovery | Will Waddell | Rye Country Day School |
Bronze Medal Winner | Relax | Jason Zuriff, Alex Lopez, & George Maguire | Trevor Day School |
Honorable Mention | The Roots | Jemima Alabi | Grace Church School |
Narrative Fiction, Over 6 Minutes | |||
Gold Medal Winner | Tub Adjacent* | Jefferson Randall | Ethical Culture Fieldston School |
Silver Medal Winner | Cover Up | Theo Matza | Ethical Culture Fieldston School |
Bronze Medal Winner | Better Than Here | Lucia Robinson | Ross School |
Honorable Mention | 127 Minutes | Sam Gallen | Riverdale Country Day School |
Narrative Fiction, Under 6 Minutes | |||
Gold Medal Winner | Vacuum | Skylar Jennings | United Nations International School |
Silver Medal Winner | No New Messages | Olivia Weseley | Packer Collegiate Institute |
Bronze Medal Winner | Hiccups | Sam Nedelma | Ethical Culture Fieldston School |
Honorable Mention | Fishing | Zenona Darrow | Woodstock Country Day School |
Best in Show | |||
Tub Adjacent* | Jefferson Randall | Ethical Culture Fieldston School | |
* Tub Adjacent contains mature themes. |
2016
It was a very competitive first year for the 2016 New York Alliance Film Festival.Seventy-five productions from over twenty-five schools made a very difficult judging process. If your film wasn't selected, it wasn't because it wasn't well done. These semi-finalists represent the best New York State independent schools have to offer. Semi-Finalists are listed in alphabetical order. Winners in Bold.
Animation | ||
“Guts” | Misuzu Shibano | The Ross School |
The Moon's Letter | Pier Paolo Piccoli | Lycee Francais de New York |
Documentary | ||
The Ebola Project | Noah Cosimano-White | The Park School of Buffalo |
Unfound Justice* | Labeebah Subair & Ellana Lawrence | LREI |
Experimental | ||
GIRL$ | Stella Gatti, Kit Keenan & Zoe Pratt | Grace Church School |
Leftovers | Harrison O'Clair & Emma Pittelman | Woodstock Day School |
Narrative Fiction, Over 6 Minutes | ||
Baby Face | Fernanda Amis, Romilly Newman & Eliza Price | Saint Ann's School |
Modern Love | Evariste Gindrey & Harry Traenkle | Lycee Francais de New York |
Narrative Fiction, Under 6 Minutes | ||
Delusions of Noir | Myles Dunlop, Harry Kassen, Ella Corn, Bennett Mark | LREI |
Dropped Call | Dorothea Fox-Dichter | Packer Collegiate Institute |
Special Achievement | ||
Lang “Mark” Cheng | The Ross School | |
* Unfound Justice contains scenes of people dying and curse words. Parents with younger children may wish to preapre their children. |