Winners announced for 2023 Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival

CEDR RAPIDS — Nearly 30 awards were handed out as the 2023 Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival drew to a close Saturday and Sunday.

The event offered filmmakers and audience members the chance to see 51 films from around the world on the big screens at Collins Road Theatres, 1462 Twixt Town Rd., Marion, from April 14 to 16. Prizes were presented at Saturday night Eddy Awards Ceremony, and following the Student Cinema Sunday screenings.

Festival Director’s Awards for Significant Contributions to CRIFF and Iowa Filmmaking were given to founder Scott Chrisman, with the festival since its inception in 2001; and Prescribed Films’ Mike Saunders and Jason Bolinger, who has screened 23 films at the festival since 2005.

Eddy Award Winners

Student Freestyle

Gold: “Heaven’s Ranch,” music video by Morgan Minear and Nate Kaiser, Loras College, Dubuque

Silver: “The Edge,” a group project by the Loras College Global Filmmaking Class of January 2020

Student Narrative Short Form Film

Gold: “Alice,” by Matthew Williams, Loras College

Silver: “(Un)alarmed,” by Logan Westin, Des Moines Central Campus

Student Documentary

Gold: “A Spring for Ali,” by Katherine Eid, Maharishi International University, Fairfield

Silver: “Kenosha: The Shooting of Jacob Blake,” by Jon Quinn, Loras College

Student Narrative Long-Form Film

Gold: “The Way it Was,” by Jake Heelein and Nate Kaiser, Loras College

Silver: “Exodus,” by Nathan Matthew Blizzard, Omaha

ProAm Freestyle

Gold: “Black Excellence by Tone Da Boss,” by Josh Booth and Tone Da Boss, T1 Entertainment, Cedar Rapids

Silver: “Strange Ballet,” by Carol Ann Montag, Cedar Rapids

ProAm Short Form

Gold: “Letters,” by Eva Buenza, Sioux City

Silver: “Dream Girl,” by Tristan Bennett, Cedar Falls

ProAm Documentary

Gold: “Livestock on the Land,” by Nick Ohde, Practical Farmers of Iowa, Ames

Silver: “Standing Strong: Elizabeth Catlett,” by Kevin Kelley and Marie Wilkes, New Mile Media Productions, Iowa City

ProAm Feature

Gold: “You Should Have Killed Me,” by Michael James Minard, Cedar Rapids

Silver: “To Live Again,” by Dr. Michael White and Shelby Hagerdon, Bitter Hipster Films, Sioux City

Professional Freestyle

Gold: “The Voice in Isabell Fleiss’ Office,” by Jim Havercamp, written by Virgil Renfroe, Cedar Rapids

Professional Narrative Short Form

Gold: “The King’s Eye,” by Tony Joseph Cross

Silver: “Shout,” by Mason Greer

Professional Documentary

Gold: “Greener Pastures,” by Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian

Silver: “The Collins Story: Connecting the Moon to the Earth,” by Annette Juergens Busbee, Wired Production Group and the Arthur A. Collins Legacy Association, Cedar Rapids

Professional Narrative Feature

Gold: “Reveille,” by Film Farm Iowa — Michael Akkerman, Jorg Rochlitzer, Bernd WIttneben, Wellsburg

Silver: “Between the Lines,” by Shelby Hagerdon and Michael White, Bitter Hipster Films, Sioux City

Collins Road Theatres $1000 Scholarship: “PhD: Private High School Detective,” by Myles Strait, Oskaloosa

Iowa Connection Eddy Award: “The King’s Eye,” by Tony Joseph Cross

Audience Choice Eddy Award: “The Bridge,” by Courtney Ball, Cedar Rapids

Student Audience Choice Eddy Award: “Zach Dies at Nine,” by Will Nachazel, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls

The Eddy Awards are named after Thomas Alva Edison who, among his many other pursuits, was a pioneer in motion picture technology. The term “eddy” also is defined as “a current moving contrary to the direction of the main current.” That’s a suitable description for independent filmmakers, who often go against the current trends in mainstream cinema.

“Receiving 99 entries is super, but when we started looking through the films, we were excited by the high production values, the depth of the stories, and the diversity of subject and content,” Festival Director Eric Dean Freese said. “The majority were really well done, and the judges had their work cut out for them.”

The Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival's mission is to encourage independent filmmakers with Iowa ties to continue improving their craft, to provide a place to specifically showcase their films, present a unique cultural event to the community, and to offer networking opportunities for the purpose of building connections between Iowa-connected filmmakers everywhere.

For more information, go to crifm.org or facebook.com/CRIndieFilmFest and the festival’s other social media platforms.