AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2025 AUDIENCE AWARD WINNERS
Festivalgoers cast more than 25,000 ballots to recognize the films that connected most with audiences
AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL (AFF), the premier film festival recognizing writers’ and filmmakers’ contributions to film, television, and new media, today announced the 2025 Audience Award winners across eleven categories, recognizing the stories that resonated most with this year’s festivalgoers.
The 32nd annual Festival celebrated storytelling at every level, from first-time filmmakers to established voices, showcasing the impact of great screenplays. Over eight days, this year’s event presented 180 films, including 21 world premieres, with 35,000+ attendees across all screenings, and hosted 140 panels on the art, craft, and business of storytelling.
Festivalgoers cast ballots after each screening to determine this year’s Audience Award recipients. More than 25,000 ballots were tallied, and AFF is thrilled to share the 2025 Audience Award winners, a standout collection of features and shorts that reflected the diverse perspectives of this year’s lineup.
2025 Audience Award WINNERS
MARQUEE FEATURE
The Boy From St. Croix
Director: Scott Duncan
After keeping the world at arm’s length for decades, basketball legend Tim Duncan reveals himself in an intimate portrait directed by his brother Scott, reflecting on the game, his career, and his enduring connection to his native island of St. Croix.
NARRATIVE FEATURE
American Baby
Writer: Tanya Leonova and Ellen Rodnianski
Director: Ellen Rodnianski
AMERICAN BABY follows Oli as she navigates the repercussions of being very young and very pregnant in small town Texas. As she seeks out the suddenly absent teenage father-to-be of her child, Oli confronts the growing isolation from her community.
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Stronger Than You Think
Director: Janice Molinari and Melissa Forman
Against all odds, Ali Truwit survived. After losing her leg in a brutal shark attack, the accomplished collegiate swimmer set her sights on an unimaginable goal, to earn a spot on the 2024 US Paralympic team just one year after her amputation. This film captures her incredible journey and stands as a testament to what’s possible when resilience meets purpose.
COMEDY VANGUARD FEATURE
TIE Crystal Cross & Yesterday Island
Crystal Cross
Writer/Director: Richie James Follin
A quirky Christian singer and a suicidal dad drive cross-country, forging an unlikely bond through bad decisions, bizarre roadside attractions, and an all-original soundtrack. Crystal Cross is a hilarious, bittersweet road trip about two lost souls finding comfort (but not salvation) in each other’s messes.
Yesterday Island
Writer/Director: Sam Voutas
A midnight phone call from a friend asking for a favor leads a failed writer to be trapped on a surreal subantarctic island, with darkly comedic consequences.
DARK MATTERS FEATURE
Sacrificios
Writer: Mauricio Chernovetzky, Alexander Iosjpe
Director: Mauricio Chernovetzky
After suffering a traumatic loss, Juan attempts to find solace in the vastness of the sea. There, a miraculous event promises to reverse everything…but at what cost?
TEXAS INDEPENDENT FEATURE
Valentina
Writer: Noelle Forougi, Tatti Ribeiro
Director: Tatti Ribeiro
A series of bureaucratic mishaps plagues Valentina as she tries to tackle a simple to-do list at the El Paso-Juarez border.
NARRATIVE SHORT
TIE More Than Dust & Uncle Johnny
More Than Dust
Writer/Director: Julia Weisberg Cortés
Ana, a single mom and immigrant housekeeper, has built her life around shielding her daughter, Isabel. But when a terminal diagnosis forces her to face the future, Ana must let go of control and find the courage to be vulnerable before it’s too late.
Uncle Johnny
Writer: Angela Giarratana
Director: Margaux Susi
As Rose spends the day bowling with her neurodivergent Uncle, she grapples with the secret that he is dying of cancer.
NARRATIVE STUDENT SHORT
Recess
Writer/Director: Jan Saczek
A young English teacher accidentally sends her nude photo to one of her students.
DOCUMENTARY SHORT
The Night Herons
Writer/Director: Will Hammond
The Night Herons Running Club, a group of 48 men from Houston, enter into the Texas Independence Relay. This epic 200 mile relay race through the center of Texas forces the team on a journey of camaraderie, endurance, and faith over a 22 hour period.
ANIMATED SHORT
Beyond Measure
Writer/Director: David Ferrier
A man discovers he is physically shrinking, forcing him and his wife to navigate life’s ups and downs with increasing creativity and adaptability as his stature diminishes.
PRODUCED DIGITAL SERIES
Betsy Fucking Ross
Writer/Director: Kayla Baken
The untrue story of America’s greatest sew job.
Past AFF Audience Award winners include Juno (Jason Reitman, Diablo Cody), which earned four Oscar nominations and won for Best Original Screenplay; Up in the Air (Jason Reitman), nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Adapted Screenplay; American Fiction (Cord Jefferson), winner of the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay and recipient of five nominations; and Mudbound (Dee Rees, Virgil Williams), nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Adapted Screenplay. Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405 (Frank Stiefel) also qualified for Oscar consideration through its Austin Film Festival screening and went on to win Best Documentary Short.
To see previously announced Script and Film Competition juried award winners, visit AFF’s Newsroom.
Submissions for next year’s Script and Film Competitions will open in December 2025. For more information about the Austin Film Festival and its year-round programming and initiatives supporting writers and filmmakers, please visit www.austinfilmfestival.com.
