RESULTS

21st Annual Myrtle Beach International Film Festival

Best Overall: Out of Order
Best Actor: Brandon Routh (Out of Order) 
Best Actress: Sonja Romei (NightFaces)
Best Director: Martin Winter & Stefan Langthaler (NightFaces)
Best Feature: Out of Order1st runner up: The Legend of Juan Jose Mundo2nd runner up: The Ashes of a Dream
Best Short: ‘Til Harvest 1st runner up: Wendy and the Lost Boy2nd runner up: The Drive
Best Documentary: More Than Santa Baby1st runner up: The Last Puestero2nd runner up: The 3100
Best Foreign: Connection1st runner up: Shakkar2nd runner up:
Best Foreign Short: NightFaces1st runner up: Fundbox A Love Story2nd runner up: Serenity
Best Comedy: Out of Order

Best Music Video: You Are Special

Best Animation: Pinocchio and the Water of Life

Best Stop Animation: Something Greater Than You
 Best Commercial: Bigfoot Lawyer Branding Campaign

Best Experimental: Cuckoo!

Best AI: Sigumun

Honorable Mentions:CompanyDecibel DummiesDrawing DadGoogle TranscriptHafuThe Lizard Man of Scape Ore SwampThe Other SideWooly Bully

Hāfu

Film Block 1  Tuesday April 21    4:00 - 6:00pm

RUN TIME:  16 Minutes
When an American bride-to-be spends the day reuniting with her Japanese grandmother, she discovers through the dance of communication that she is more connected to her heritage than she realized.
Writers: Josh Wolff, Luka OidaDirector: Josh WolffProducers: Lauren Sowa, Yuki Sakamoto Solomon, Josh Wolff, Luka OidaCast: Luka Oida, Mariko Takai, Miyuki Matsunaga, Keizo Kaji, Chandra Michaels, Kelli Harrington, Brent ToyomitsuCountry: USASouth Carolina Premiere 

Til Harvest Comes

Film Block 1  Tuesday April 21    4:00 - 6:00pm

RUN TIME: 15 Minutes
Jim Bauer, a struggling farmer, works hard to care for his family. When his young daughter, Maggie, requires medical attention beyond the scope and resources of their rural hospital, Jim’s search for quality care pushes him to the extreme. Set against the backdrop of rural America, ‘Til Harvest Comes tells a story of systemic injustice and the lengths we’ll go for our children.
Writer: Ben Klingemann 
Director/Producer:  Ken WombleCast: Will Boddington, Jacey J. Merritt, Rachel Darden, Royce Roeswood, Brittany Mendoza-PeñaCountry: USAWorld Premiere

Fundbox A Love Story

Film Block 1  Tuesday April 21    4:00 - 6:00pm

RUN TIME: 23 Minutes 
Fundbox A Love Story As his 50th wedding anniversary approaches, an elderly gentleman returns to Vienna to honor a promise that he and his wife made when they were first married.  Sadly, while in Vienna, he suffers a distressing loss.  Far from home, he is forced to depend upon the kindness of strangers to try to help remedy the situation.  
Writers/Directors: Miles Merritt & Gail KemplerProducer: Thomas BischofCast: Florentin Groll, Alice Schneider, Leonardo Neiva, Gerald Walzberger, Elizabeth Prohaska, Christian Jeschko, Brigitt Sagmeister, Harold PhillipsCountry: AustriaCarolina Premiere

Out Of Order

Film Block 2  Tuesday April 21    6:30 - 8:30pm

RUN TIME: 95 Minutes
In an attempt to win back his supermodel ex-girlfriend, a young NY lawyer ends up working at two opposing law firms, representing both sides of the same case.
Writers: Guy Jacobson, Megan Freels JohnstonDirector: Guy JacobsonProducers: Isen Robbins, Aimee Schoof, Chris Bongirne, Stephen Tedeschi, Brandon Routh, Katy Donnelly, and Jesse ManningCast: Brandon Routh, Sam Huntington, Krysta Rodriguez, Tao Okamoto, Asher Grodman, Michael Potts, Luis Guzmán, with Sandra Bernhard, and Brooke ShieldsCountry: USA

Pacific Coast Highway

Film Block 3  Wednesday April 22    2:30 - 4:30pm

RUN TIME:  0 Minutes. 
“Pacific Coast Highway” is a music video by Italian Driving that captures the spirit of a fun, exhilarating drive up the California coast. The song was produced by Bob Dylan's longtime lead guitarist Stu Kimball, who also plays on the track. Italian Driving is the solo music project of singer-guitarist-songwriter Alfred Thomas Catalfo.
Writer/Director/Producer/Cast: Alfred Thomas CatalfoCountry: USA

Message to Jacob

Film Block 3  Wednesday April 22    2:30 - 4:30pm

RUN TIME: 10 Minutes
A devout father records a desperate video in his cluttered basement in hopes of finding his teenage son, Jacob, who has been missing for a month. While initially his message is tinged with grief and nostalgia over Jacob and his childhood, the father’s tone shifts to a bitter sermon, revealing how faith, fear, and grief can boil over into violence.
Writer/Director: Thomas Kennedy PopeProducers: Thomas Kennedy Pope, Phoebe Jones, Michael PettitCast: Keith Brooks, Meghan CoyleCountry: USASouth Carolina Premiere

Walla Walla Wiffle Redux

Film Block 3  Wednesday April 22    2:30 - 4:30pm

RUN TIME:  23 Minutes
Walla Walla Wiffle Redux is both a love letter to small town America and a heart-wrenchingly honest time capsule that spans across 16 years in its depiction of the sweetness, light, and melancholy that comes with growing up, growing older, and learning what it means to carry on a tradition and how to say goodbye to it, whether you want to or not.
Director: Robert C SickelsCast: Amy Reed, Jimmy Hough, Micah Babbit, Jay Babbitt, Jonas Nicholson, Finley Reed, Rocky Eastman, Andrew Reed, Joe Rodhouse, Tony Martinelli, Brian Taylor, Basil Reed, Julian Reed, Molly Babbitt, Kevin Dyerly, Jack Babbitt, Peter Allen, John Hough, Jennie DyerlyCountry: USA

You Are Special

Film Block 6  Thursday April 23    2:30 - 4:30pm

RUN TIME:  4 Minutes
A little boy, fascinated by the legend that the white keys on the old Steinway piano, which "lives" in his parents' house, are made of elephant tusks, dreams every night of meeting the gray giants one day and never being separated from them…This desire grows from day to day along with the lullaby that his mother sings to him, because there are words in it: "You are special!"
Writer: Kvitka Gaevska  Director: Ilia Noyabrov  Producer: Semen Khanin  Cast: Anna Khanina, Oleksiy Zubkov  Country: UkraineNorth America Premiere

An Excess Baggage

Film Block 6  Thursday April 23    2:30 - 4:30pm

RUN TIME: 17 Minutes
Sophie hides her unease within the intense bond she shares with her daughter, Lila. When Lila leaves for summer camp, Sophie finds herself alone for the first time, overwhelmed by separation and emotional dependency. As the day unfolds, she drifts through encounters and small gestures, trying awkwardly to fill the void. An Excess Baggage portrays a woman whose love, though sincere, becomes too heavy to carry.
Writer/Director: Myriam Garcia MarienstrasProducer: Idris LettifiCast: Sophie Verbeeck, Lou Bennett, Déborah Marique, Country: FranceCarolina Premiere

Company

Film Block 6  Thursday April 23    2:30 - 4:30pm

RUN TIME:  27 Minutes
When Candela, a young Colombian woman feeling isolated in her new life, discovers Larry — a small, quick-witted puppet living in her desk drawer — the two form an unlikely friendship that helps her find courage, joy, and belonging. As they navigate work, loneliness, and life together, the film reveals that family isn’t always the people we’re born to… it’s the company we keep.
Writers: Brian Mortensen, Johnathan Motney, Amalia IsabelDirector: Brian MortensenProducers: Brian Mortensen, Enid Smith-HelckCast: Georgette Castro, Brian Mortensen Country: USASoutheast Premiere

Drawing Dad

Film Block 7  Thursday April 23    5:00 - 7:00pm

RUN TIME:  11 Minutes
“Drawing Dad” is a goofy and sincere film combining live action and hand-drawn animation with themes of family and reality vs imagination. It explores how the most valuable thing to give your family is your time. Henry, is eager to reunite with his estranged father for his 12th birthday, who he has not seen much after his parent’s divorce. However, while his birthday progresses, his hopes dwindle as his father fails to appear. Disappointed, Henry retreats into the world of his comic book drawings, using his imagination to craft a narrative that explains his father's absence. When his father finally arrives late at night, Henry is asleep, leaving his father to grapple with the impact of his repeated lateness. In a poignant moment of realization, the father must make a significant sacrifice to prove his love and commitment to his son.
Writer/Director: Cameron DavisProducer: Melany Abigail HernandezCast: Porter Scanlon, Katy Glover, Anthony Paderwaski, Ben Buchnan, Steve BramhamCountry: USA Carolina Premiere

Where We Are Headed

Film Block 7  Thursday April 23    5:00 - 7:00pm

RUN TIME:  17 Minutes
Rosa, a wheelchair user, has just started a new job. Nevertheless, her inexperience irritates not only her workmates but also her boss. This makes her suffer because Rosa does not know whether this rejection comes from her inexperience or her condition. One night Rosa meets Puri who, by lending her a sympathetic ear, reveals something inside her that will change her life.
Writer/Director: Esteban RoelProducers: Esteban Roel, Jon PlazaolaCast: Magdalena Broto, Susana Capella, Kájel MartínezCountry: SpainEast Coast Premiere

The Last Puestero

Film Block 7  Thursday April 23    5:00 - 7:00pm

RUN TIME:  27 Minutes
The Last Puestero tells the story of Adonai Jara, a gaucho - or Argentine cowboy- who spends most of his days alone in a remote Patagonian ranch outpost, protecting cattle from poachers and pumas. As he hopes his son will carry on the puestero tradition, he faces the painful reality that changing times may bring an end to this way of life.
Director: Belle CasaresProducers: Belle and Wenceslao CasaresCast: Segundo "Adonai" Jara, Aurelia Zúñiga de Jara, Emanuel Silvano Jara, Eluney Jara, Tomás Gibelli, Walterio Cruces, Christian CroissantCountry: ArgentinaSouth East Premiere

Connection

Film Block 8  Thursday April 23    7:30 - 9:30pm

RUN TIME:  125 Minutes
This film portrays the fear of a woman being left alone and the men in her life, such as her husband, brother, and lover, making decisions for her life. Eventually, the woman reaches a point where she believes she must build her life on her own efforts.
Writers: Hasti Mohammaei, Iman KaramiDirector: Negar AzarbaijaniProducer: Negar EskandarfarCast: Hasti Mohammaei, Abdullah Saeid Bin HaidarCountry: United Arab Emirates

Bigfoot Lawyer Branding Campaign

Film Block 9  Friday April 24    2:30 - 4:30pm

RUN TIME:  3 Minutes
The Bigfoot Lawyer® branding campaign is a high-impact, entertainment-driven concept that reimagines marketing for personal injury law firms. Bluphyre Media leverages its Bigfoot character in various cinematic movie parodies to create a memorable, shareable identity that stands apart from conventional legal advertising.
Writer/Director: Matt SchwartzDirector: David SchwartzCast: Curt Stark, Nina Valente, Yasmeen Faisal, Bill Lichieri, Matt Schwartz, JD Van Brink and Erin AudeCountry: USA

Google Transcript

Film Block 9  Friday April 24    2:30 - 4:30pm

RUN TIME:  11 Minutes
During a long and bitter snowstorm, two men discuss Google Transcript, a new app that can recall all past conversations... and even predict future conversations. A trivial disagreement gives rise to questions about widespread surveillance, self-determinism, the inexorable advance of artificial intelligence—and, ultimately, whether we even care. A darkly comedic take on the technology that's rapidly transforming our world.
Writers: Alex Richard, Adam ReichDirector: Adam ReichProducers: Alex Richard, Adam ReichCast: Adam Reich, Alex RichardCountry: USAEast Coast Premiere

The 3100

Film Block 9  Friday April 24    2:30 - 4:30pm

RUN TIME:  50 Minutes
The 3100™ is a cinematic exploration of Idaho’s 3,100 miles of navigable whitewater, the most found anywhere in the Lower 48. This film showcases the state’s most rugged and revered whitewater river systems while highlighting the power of experiencing wild places at any age. Through the voices of those who know these rivers best, this film reveals the transformative power of Idaho’s whitewater rivers.
Director: Mark FisherProducers: Andrea Rayburn, Andre Womack, Mark Fisher, Mike BankerCountry: USA Run Time: 50 min

Sigumun

Film Block 10  Friday April 24    5:00 - 7:00pm

RUN TIME:  15 Minutes
In the devastating aftermath of the Second Manchu Invasion of Korea, the world of Heontaek, a principled aristocrat, is shattered when his son is stricken by a mysterious plague. His only hope is his former servant Mandeuk, now a fugitive implicated in the death of the Crown Prince, who claims a cure lies beyond Sigumun—the infamous "Gate of Corpses." Just as the gate’s original name means the 'Gate of Light,' the film explores the paradox that the path to the future can only be found by journeying through the heart of darkness. To save his son, Heontaek must defy the very principles that have defined his life and destroy his own world to find a true future in its ashes.
Writer: Hyeongjun YouDirectors: Hyeongjun You, Rolen Yealin Jeon, Jinwook HongCountry: South Korea

Go Down, Diller

Film Block 10  Friday April 24    5:00 - 7:00pm

RUN TIME:  23 Minutes
A single father’s sense of control begins to unravel when he encounters a talking bear that no one else finds unusual. As his fixation on the bear grows, his perception of reality shifts, straining his relationship with his daughter and forcing him to confront what he’s truly afraid of.
Writers: Eric Howerton, Andrew BatemanDirector/Producer: Andrew BatemanCast: Ryon Thomas, Lauren Robinson, Ben HilzerCountry: USACarolina Premiere

Dirty Change

Film Block 10  Friday April 24    5:00 - 7:00pm

RUN TIME: 23 Minutes
Richie must repay a crippling loan shark debt, inherited from his father, by fighting in illegal bouts. Just one final match stands between him and closing the past once and for all to start a new life with his girlfriend. But when he finds himself in the crosshairs of rival gangs, Richie is forced to make life-altering decisions.
Writer/Director: Tibor TasiProducer: Attila CsákyCast: Ádám Németh, Szonja Brigitta Nagy, Róbert Kardos, Roland Rába, Péter Horkay, Barnabás DrobniCountry: Hungary

THE ASHES of a DREAM

Film Block 11  Friday April 24    7:30 - 9:30pm

RUN TIME:  132 Minutes
Randy Lupo returns to Staten Island to find his mother drifting into the quiet shadows of age. She compels him to right the wrongs she believes were done to her and left to fester in the silence of passing years. As he navigates the still streets of his past—from weathered boardwalks to long-forgotten corners of his youth—Randy is pulled into a reckoning with the life he left behind, where old debts linger, memory blurs with regret, and redemption may lie in the spaces between what was lost and what remains.
Writer/Director: Joe NuzzoloProducer: Kenneth GreenblattCast: Joe Nuzzolo, Marcia Haufrecht, Alicia Minshew, Anthony De Sando, Bryant Carroll, Abigail Donaghy, Mike Massimino, Tony Darrow

Pinocchio and the Water of Life

Film Block 12  Saturday April 25    2:30 - 4:30pm

RUN TIME:  90 Minutes
In this hilarious, action-packed twist on an Italian classic, Pinocchio goes on a mission to rescue his puppet pals before the evil Faustino destroys them in a catastrophic bonfire!
Writers: Mark DeCarlo, Ryan RoweDirector: Victor V LuckysovProducers: Paul Marshal, Kim Eva Matuka, Yonas Kibreab, Marc DeCarlo, Vsevolod ZorinCast: Yonas Kibreab, Fred Tatasciore, Mark DeCarlo, James Hong, Maurice LaMarche, Rob PaulsenCountry: Spain

Bozo The Valedictorian

Film Block 13  Saturday April 25    5:00 - 7:00pm

RUN TIME:  13 Minutes
An academically gifted teen -- who also happens to perform as a clown -- chases valedictorian status at an elite high school, where identity is a performance. As pressure mounts from academics and romance, his carefully constructed persona begins to fracture. Blending the heightened absurdity of early-2000s teen dramas with cartoon logic, Bozo the Valedictorian is a sharp, stylized satire about ambition, image, and the quiet unraveling that happens when achievement becomes your only sense of self.
Writers: Jenny Austin, Devin GreeneDirector/Producer: Jenny AustinCast: Devin Greene, GloZell Green, Katie Peterson McCartney, Drew Lipson, Ry Doon, Brie Eley,  Cornell MitchellCountry: USA 

CUCKOO!

Film Block 13  Saturday April 25    5:00 - 7:00pm

RUN TIME:  8 Minutes
Absurd comedy about a lonely man who lives inside a cuckoo clock. Every hour he straps himself into his ejection seat and shoots through the doors of the clock. "Cuckoo!" He yells, "Cuckoo!" His work is of vital importance. The old lady who sits under the clock needs to take her medication exactly at the top of every hour. One day the man has the opportunity to win a substantial sum of money in a radio quiz. He loves gadgets and wants to buy a new computer. The only problem is that he can only dial in at the exact time he’s supposed to sit in his seat.
Writers: Jorgen Scholtens, Pepijn Van Weeren Director: Jorgen ScholtensProducers: Jorgen Scholtens, Jimmy GroeneveldCountry: Netherlands

Wooly Bully

Film Block 13  Saturday April 25    5:00 - 7:00pm

RUN TIME:  22 Minutes
"Wooly Bully" follows Becca, a young woman coping with her Alzheimer’s stricken mother, Jane. Becca is thrown for a loop as Jane’s delusions veer into the paranormal!
Writer: Austin Jennings BoykinDirector: Kristen Buckels CantrellProducers: Carly Louison, Elizabeth Bays, Austin Jennings Boykin, John Palomino, Carter Bays,   Kristen Buckels, Nathan MardisCast: Kathryn Grody, Elizabeth Bays, Phillp Coccioletti, Diego Aguirre, Austin Jennings Boykin
Country: USA

More Than Santa Baby

Film Block 13  Saturday April 25    5:00 - 7:00pm

RUN TIME:  40 Minutes
An inspiring story of perseverance, resilience and hope, MORE THAN SANTA BABY honors the prolific artistic legacy of “Santa Baby” composer Philip Springer. His journey over 80 years in worldwide music history reveals a creative lifetime well beyond his renowned Christmas song, proving “it is never too late”. 
Writer, Director, Producer: Tamar SpringerCast: Archival, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Preley, Judy Garland, Aretha Franklin, Sir Cliff Richard Country: USASouth East Premiere

The Other Side

Film Block 14  Saturday April 25    8:00 - 9:30pm

RUN TIME:  29 Minutes
Set in the heart of Mumbai, The Other Side is a compelling portrayal of the struggles endured by a Mumbai street artist aspiring to attend one of the country’s finest art academies. When faced with a friend’s desperate need, he must choose between his heart and his conscience.
Writer/Director: Nikita HattangadyProducer: Nouveau Journey ProductionsCast: Swapnil Kanase, Arpita GhogardareCountry: India / USA
South Carolina Premiere 

MBIFF 21 RESULTS & FILMS

RESULTS

Oh Deer!

Moon Over Capri

Hāfu

Til Harvest Comes

Wendy and The Lost Boy

Fundbox A Love Story

NIGHTFACES

SALTY

Out Of Order

Pacific Coast Highway

The Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp

The Artis Residence

To The Window

Message to Jacob

Wake

Amends

Walla Walla Wiffle Redux

Heartbreaker

Travel Plans

Wanna Be A Star!

The Legend of Juan Jose Mundo

Leaf

Shakkar

You Are Special

Mom

A.W.A.R.E.

Hit it Off

La Montana Toxica

An Excess Baggage

GOOD-MAN

Company

2 Can Play

Quisiera Decrite I Wish I Could Tell You

Drawing Dad

Where We Are Headed

Serenity

The Last Puestero

Connection

Bigfoot Lawyer Branding Campaign

Corfu, Poseidon's Island

Google Transcript

Decibel Dummies

The 3100

My Love

Sigumun

Go Down, Diller

The Last Wish

The Reach

Dirty Change

THE ASHES of a DREAM

Jurassic Joyride

Something Greater Than You

Pinocchio and the Water of Life

The Endless Wave

Rain Was Not In The Forecast

Bozo The Valedictorian

CUCKOO!

Wooly Bully

More Than Santa Baby

You!

The Other Side

Arrival

The Drive

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