Previous Winners

Untitled Document

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.