After seven days of screenings across 48 features and 70 short films, virtually all making their Los Angeles theatrical premieres, the inaugural 2025 Film Fest at Hollywood Park, presented by Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas and Hollywood Park, is proud to announce this year’s award winners. Best Picture was given to the festival’s Opening Night Film Becoming Vera, the story of a gifted young pianist who struggles to survive when she ages out of foster care, and its director Sergio Vizuete also won for Best Director. The film picked up additional awards for Best Actor, Best Supporting Actors, Best Editing and Best Score.
The Best Documentary prize was a tie, shared by A State of Passion, which captures the horrors of war as seen through the eyes of a successful British-Palestinian plastic surgeon who volunteers to work in Gaza, co-directed by Carol Mansour and Muna Khaldi, and Clint Eastwood: A Life In Film by Michael Henry Wilson, an intimate portrait of the Hollywood living legend. Just Sing, co-directors Angelique Molina’s and Abraham Troen’s poignant but joyous documentary about a group of college acapella singers, scored the Audience Favorite Award.
Other feature winners included Best Screenplay for director Harry Locke IV’s psychological thriller Kaishaku, which screened as the festival’s Centerpiece Film; Special Jury Prize to The Seven Waves by Asma Fuad Bseiso, the last film shot in Gaza before the start of the war; Best Documentary Director to Alexander Hammer for his Room To Move , Best L.A. Film to Molar for director Jon Campbell Rose’s wild ride through the streets of the Angel City, and Best Fantasy and Best Costume for the Fellinesque A Moment For Love.
“We were excited to present the Los Angeles premiere screenings of several dozen feature and short films of all genres. Interestingly, and perhaps in keeping with the times, a recurring theme of mental health emerged organically in the line-up, reflected in such diverse films as the thriller Kaishaku, the documentary Room To Move, and the fantasy biopic A Moment For Love,” noted Festival Director Greg Ptacek.
The festival’s feature line-up was selected by Director of Programming Carolyn Schroeder and Assistant Director of Programming Kayla Sloan.
With a line-up of 10 shorts programs in competition, curated by Wellington Almeida, the festival’s Best Short Film Award went to Mexican filmmaker Gerardo Del Razo for Family Sunday (Domingo Familiar), a breathtaking single-shot work that captures a community in Mexico as it reclaims justice on its own terms. A Special Mention was awarded to Canadian filmmaker Alicia K. Harris for On a Sunday at Eleven, a delicate and poignant portrait of a seven-year-old Black girl navigating the pressures of a beauty store dominated by white beauty standards.
Other short film winners included the Best Documentary Short prize given to Apocalypse by Belgian filmmaker Benoît Méry, who impressed the jury with his immersive exploration of a heavy metal music festival in Germany, and Best Director Award to Julia Hebner for her provocative and controversial short Jeff, which follows a phone-sex operator’s strange relationship with a caller who confesses his most unspeakable secrets.
The complete list of feature film winners can be found by clicking HERE. The list of short film winners can be found HERE.
This festival also presented 17 panel discussions, curated by festival co-founder Henry Priest, on wide-ranging topics of interest to independent filmmakers and the industry writ large, including AI, film financing, disability inclusion, DEI and vertical entertainment.
The 2025 Film Festival at Hollywood Park was presented by Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas US and Hollywood Park with additional sponsorship from Hyatt Regency Los Angeles International Airport, 101Keys Digital Marketing and Schein. Post-Production.
