Congratulations to the winners of the 2016 Comedy Shorts Film Festival! To watch these award winning films click on the image or on the film title!
First Place Audience Award Winner Allison Frasca and “Which Witch is Which”
“This experience has been really exciting to be a part of. It was a wonderful way to celebrate the film with everyone involved (we had a lot of awesome extras!) and a great way to share it with a new audience and other filmmakers!
I was born and raised on Long Island and went to New York University to study acting. Through my three years of training at the Atlantic Acting School and Stonestreet Conservatory for Film Acting, I’ve gained the tools and desire to create my own work. ‘Which Witch is Which?’ was my first self produced/self written project and it was one of the best (and craziest) experiences I’ve ever had. I competed in this contest because I am so proud and excited to celebrate everyone who helped it come together!
I’ll be honest, winning the audience prize is very gratifying! It’s really hard to put yourself out there and share your work because you, or at least I know I do, question yourself throughout the entire process. During all the time you spend writing it, working on it, changing it, producing it, filming it, and editing it, there’s a voice in the back of your head saying ‘Why did I do this, it’s terrible’. So in pushing through all that and putting it out there and having such overwhelming support in return is a wonderful feeling.
I am in the process of finishing a new script that’s a bit of a bigger production so this prize will be going straight toward a new project!” ~First Place Audience Awards Winner Allison Frasca and “Which Witch is Which“
Second Place Audience Winner Matt Ritacco and “Kickin’ Some Ass”
“I competed in this contest because filmmaking is my life. A lot of people I know think my videos are good but I want to see if people I don’t know feel the same way. This is the only thing I’m planning on doing with my life is to be a creative and an entertainer.Winning this contest proves to me I have the ability to entertain through visual media. It means that what I make is worth seeing.I will use the prize to keep competing and keep entering videos to your contests. In fact I already entered another one and hope to see it in the next round of voting” ~Second Place Audience Winner Matt Ritacco and “Kickin’ Some Ass“
Third Place Audience Award Winner Ernesto Del Gesso and “The Dream Woman”
“Since I was a child I always loved watching movies so I grew up with the desire to become a film director.
I studied film production, directing and photography to improve my skills and I finally achieved some good results also winning some awards in festivals around the world.
I competed in the Comedy Shorts because I wanted to give global exposure to my film and see if people all over the world would like it, Receiving so many votes and understanding people liked my work so much is really amazing. I will use the prize to compete in some other contest. Let’s face a new challenge! ;-)” ~Third Place Audience Award Winner Ernesto Del Gesso and “The Dream Woman”
First place Jury Winner Kelsey Nash and “Couples Therapy”
“I am an actor and writer who has recently, over the past year, ventured into directing. This is the second film that I’ve directed, written and produced.
I’ve found directing and producing my own work to be vastly more fulfilling than the consistently unrewarding path of an actor. Though I love acting, directing and writing my own films gives me power to work, whereas an actor, I usually have to have someone let me (hire me) to work.
I competed in this contest because after I’d gone through the great lengths and expense of making this project, I realized that I had no way to show it to the world. The Audience Awards gave me the platform to share my work. I’m extremely grateful for that opportunity.
The Jury Prize means that in some way, my taste and execution have been appreciated. It’s one thing when a friend or your mom tells you that something you’ve created is good, it’s another altogether when you win 1st place in a contest—that’s inspiring and validating. In this industry where confidence is a commodity, this win will help propel me into the future with the knowledge that I am on the right path!
I haven’t explored all of the different ways that I might be able to take advantage of this great fortune, but I’m certain that I will use it both to help get my work seen and to embark on new projects. I will use the prize itself and the reputation of the prize to aid me in striving forward to the next thing. Now, I just need an idea of what the next thing will be!” ~First place Jury Winner Kelsey Nash and “Couples Therapy“
Second Place Jury Winner Usher Morgan and “Prego”
“My name is Usher Morgan and I am the writer, director and producer of the award-winning short film, Prego as well as the upcoming feature film, Pickings (in theaters 2017). I competed in this contest because I wanted to bring Prego to a wider audience. It’s been a labor of love and we all had such a good time making it and promoting it since its release in December of 2015.
I count myself very lucky to be working in this industry and getting to do what I love every day, it’s a privilege that not many people have in this world and for that I am very grateful. So to be recognized for my work is kind of surreal and amazing. Thank you!
Thank you for picking Prego and I hope to bring to you my upcoming feature film as well in the future.
The name of my first feature film is ‘Pickings’ and it will be in theaters in 2017, folks can check it out online @ www.Facebook.com/PickingsFilm or www.PickingsFilm.com” ~Second Place Jury Winner Usher Morgan and “Prego”
Third place Jury Winner Andie Isaacs and “Life On Mars”
Third place Jury Winner Andie Isaacs and “Life On Mars”
JURY AWARDS
1st Place Jury Award: $150 Site Credit
2nd Place Jury Award: $100 Site Credit
3rd Place Jury Award: $50 Site Credit
AUDIENCE AWARDS
1st Place Audience Award: $300 + 1 FilmStro soundtrack license for movie up to $1M budget worth $1999
2nd Place Audience Award: $60 Site Credit
3rd Place Audience Award: $40 Site Credit
FilmStro offers the world’s first soundtrack creation studio. Score your film and make a masterpiece! In addition to the prize money, the first place audience award and jury selection each won a FilmStro soundtrack license, worth $1,999, for movies with a $1M budget or less.
Audience Awards is an innovative, filmmaker platform, with a rapidly growing community that is 150,000-members strong. AudAwards features live events, audience voting, branded film challenges, video contests and film news. Audience Awards provides an organic opportunity to cross-promote brands, projects, products, services, causes and the work of emerging filmmakers on a broad scale.
