‘Lesbian Space Princess’, ‘Coroner to the Stars’, ‘God As My Witness’ Among Winners of 23rd Tallgrass Film Festival

The 23rd Annual Tallgrass Film Festival wrapped with the closing night film Lesbian Space Princess co-directed by Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese walking away with Audience Favorite Narrative Feature.

The Audience Favorite Documentary Feature was a tie, with the award shared with Coroner to the Stars co-directed by Ben Hethcoat and Keita Ideno and God As My Witness directed by Lindsay Quinn Pitre.

A State of Passion co-directed by Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi walked away with Outstanding Courage in Filmmaking and Best Documentary Feature awards. Best Narrative Feature award went to Our Hero, Balthazar directed by Oscar Boyson.

2025 Tallgrass Film Festival Award Winners

Programmer Awards

Outstanding Courage in Filmmaking

Short: ملاذ (Sanctuary) – Dir. Mena Nasiri
Feature: حالة عشق (Halatu ‘Ishq) [A State of Passion] – Dir. Carol Mansour & Muna
Khalidi

Outstanding Cinematography

Short: All The Real Boys – Dir. Ohad Ira Amram
Feature: Remaining Native – Dir. Paige Bethmann

Outstanding Editing

Short: Mystery Seeds – Dir. Nathan Truesdale
Feature: Meta Take One – Dir. John Dierre & Ryan Dutter

Outstanding Art Direction

Short: Are You a Friend of Dorothy – Dir. Andrés García
Feature: If You Should Leave Me – Dir. J. Markus Anderson & Boyd Anderson

Outstanding Sound Design

Short: Forest Echoes – Dir. Eva Grant
Feature: An Autumn Summer – Dir. Jared Isaac

Murmurations Awards

Honorable Mention: Imade – Dir. Ignacio Acconcia González
Best Short: Synthesize Me – Dir. Bear Damen
Best Feature: NINX – Dir. Kani Lapuerta

Documentary Awards

Honorable Mention (Short): Entre le Feu et le Clair de Lune – Dir. Dominic Yarabe
Best Documentary Short: Correct Me If I’m Wrong – Dir. Hao Zhou
Best Documentary Feature: A State of Passion – Dir. Carol Mansour & Muna Khalidi

Kansas Filmmaker Awards

Honorable Mention (Short): Kansas, 1989 – Dir. Clayton Dean Smith
Best Kansas Filmmaker Short: Derby – Dir. Aisha Amin
Best Kansas Filmmaker Feature: Flood – Dir. Katy Scoggin

Thane Chastain Emerging Young Filmmaker Award

Honorable Mentions: Patriot – Dir. Audrey Maxson (Story) and Just One More – Dir. Bingquing Liu (Artistic Achievement)
Winner: The Backseat – Dir. Benjamin Shore

Somewhere Fest Music Video Award

Honorable Mention: Church Bell – Dir. Naftali Beane Rutter
Winner: FootRocket – “Appleseed” – Dir. Zach Strum

The Gordon Parks Awards for Black Excellence in Filmmaking

Honorable Mention (Short): BABA – Dir. Fitzgerald Junior
Winner (Short): ADO – Dir. Sam Henderson
Winner (Feature): Seeds – Dir. Brittany Shyne

Narrative Awards

Honorable Mention (Short): One Day This Kid – Dir. Alexander Farah
Best Narrative Short: Deux Personnes échangeant de la Salive (Two People Exchanging Saliva) – Dir. Natalie Musteata & Alexandre Singh
Honorable Mention (Feature): Lijepa večer, lijep dan (Beautiful Day, Beautiful Evening) – Dir. Ivona Juka
Best Narrative Feature: Our Hero, Balthazar – Dir. Oscar Boyson

Vortex Shorts & Animation Awards

Honorable Mention (Animation): I Beg Your Pardon – Dir. John W. Lustig
Best Vortex Animation: Tiger Lily Mountain Pass – Dir. Nate King
Best Vortex Experimental: A Poem – Dir. Vasilios Papaioannu

Stubbornly Independent Award

Winner: If You Should Leave Before Me – Dir. J. Markus Anderson & Boyd Anderson

Audience Award Winners

Audience Favorite Documentary Feature (TIE): Coroner to the Stars – Dir. Ben Hethcoat & Keita Ideno, and God As My Witness – Dir. Lindsay Quinn Pitre
Audience Favorite Narrative Feature: Lesbian Space Princess – Dir. Emma Hough Hobbs & Leela Varghese
Audience Favorite Kansas Feature (TIE): Flood – Dir. Katy Scoggin and Let’s Talk Shop – Dir. Sara & Charity Harmon
Audience Favorite Kansas Short: Matt’s Monsters – Dir. Blaise Webster
Audience Favorite Narrative Short: She Raised Me – Dir. Ben Lewis
Audience Favorite Documentary Short: Sanctuary – Dir. Mena Nasiri