FilmQuest Unveils Complete List of Winners, Led by The Deep Dark

The Deep Dark, a mining horror story directed by Mathieu Turi, won Best Feature Film at the 10th annual FilmQuest, the fun-spiked Provo, Utah festival devoted to all things genre, from sci-fi to fantasy to creature features to anxiety-ridden horror.

Led by founder and filmmaker Jonathan Martin, the festival packs filmmakers and film fanatics into Provo’s Velour, an all-ages venue that transforms, for the length of FilmQuest, into a church of genre. Almost around the clock, students of slashers, ghost stories and grisly comic allegory celebrate each other’s work from their chairs, cozy couches, settees or special spaces reserved for filmmakers as their works are unveiled.

Man of a thousand faces Doug Jones was on hand this year, just as he was at the first FilmQuest.

You can click on the following links to read more extensively about some of the winners, including Erin Brown Thomas’ “[subtext]”, Jillian Corsie’s “Tooth,” Mike Cheslik’s Hundreds of Beavers, and Sam Fox’s “Fck’n Nuts.”

The latter film was made with the proud support of MovieMaker Production Services after MovieMaker met the very talented Fox at the 2022 edition of FilmQuest.

FilmQuest is one of MovieMaker‘s 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World and one of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee, and if you make it to Provo next year you’ll have no trouble understanding why — it’s a near perfect mix of fun and inspiration, and it’s not at all uncommon for attendees to meet new creative partners with whom they can complete projects in time for the next edition. See you in 2024.

Here is the complete list of FilmQuest winners.

2023 AWARD WINNERS

BEST FEATURE FILM
The Deep Dark

GRAND PRIZE BEST SHORT FILM
Escape Attempt

BEST COMEDY SHORT
Murder Camp

BEST FANTASTIC SHORT
[subtext]

BEST FANTASY SHORT
Juggernaut

BEST FOREIGN SHORT
Sincopat

BEST HORROR SHORT
Terror**

BEST MICRO SHORT
Tooth

BEST MIDNIGHT SHORT
Fck’n Nuts

BEST SCI-FI SHORT
Escape Attempt

BEST STUDENT SHORT
Voyager**

BEST UTAH SHORT
To Err

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
The Voice of the Hollow

BEST MUSIC VIDEO
Abandon**

BEST WEB SERIES
Headless: A Sleepy Hollow Story

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Citizen Sleuth

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Justice for Batman

BEST FOUND FOOTAGE FEATURE
Frogman

BEST FOUND FOOTAGE SHORT
Angel Hare

THE MINERVA AWARD
A.K. Espada for “I Could Just Die… and That Would Be All Right”

BEST DIRECTOR – FEATURE
The Wait – F. Javier Guiterrez

BEST SCREENPLAY – FEATURE
American Meltdown – Andrew Adams

BEST ACTOR – FEATURE
Hippo – Kimball Farley

BEST ACTRESS – FEATURE
New Life – Sonya Walger

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – FEATURE
The Deep Dark – Amir El Kacem**

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – FEATURE
New Life – Hayley Erin

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST – FEATURE
Me, Myself & The Void**

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – FEATURE
The Wait

BEST EDITING – FEATURE
Hundreds of Beavers

BEST SOUND – FEATURE
Double Blind

BEST SCORE – FEATURE
Irati

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN/ART DIRECTION – FEATURE
Irati**

BEST COSTUMES – FEATURE
Irati

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS – FEATURE
Hundreds of Beavers

BEST MAKEUP – FEATURE
How to Kill Monsters

BEST DIRECTOR – SHORT
Come Home – Mike Pecci

BEST SCREENPLAY – SHORT
To Err – Derek Romrell

BEST ACTOR – SHORT
What Lies Within – Aiden Carere

BEST ACTRESS – SHORT
Pruning – Madeline Brewer

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR – SHORT
The Sin-Eater – Jack Parry-Jones

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS – SHORT
Oddities – Ariela Barer

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST – SHORT
Volition

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – SHORT
Accidental Stars

BEST EDITING – SHORT
Entrainment

BEST SOUND – SHORT
Honk

BEST SCORE – SHORT
Lost in the Sky

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN/ART DIRECTION – SHORT
S P I D E R L I L Y**

BEST COSTUMES – SHORT
Velma

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS – SHORT
Evenveil

BEST MAKEUP – SHORT
Old Time Radio: Your Move

DIRECTOR’S PRIZE
Overall Cinematic Achievement – Hundreds of Beavers
Overall Cinematic Achievement – Lost in the Sky
Overall Cinematic Achievement – The Last Movie Ever Made
Overall Cinematic Achievement – The Reclaimers
Artistic Vision & Execution – The Ringmaster
Cultural Impact & Achievement – My Scary Indian Wedding
Atmosphere & Tone – Meadowville
Atmosphere & Tone – Red Velvet
Payoff & Execution – Too Slow
Dynamic Duo – Kill Your Lover

BEST UN-PRODUCED SCREENPLAY – FEATURE
1st Place – The Circuit Breaker by David Ethan Sanders
2nd Place – The Memory Sphere by Kevin Sluder
3rd Place – Borderline by Kieran Shea & David Osorio

BEST UN-PRODUCED SCREENPLAY – SHORT
1st Place – The Insatiable Pine by Kent Green
2nd Place – The Weeping Willows by Amalie Lorentzen
3rd Place (TIE) – Lashes by Jill Sachs
3rd Place (TIE) – Honed by Jeffrey Howe

BEST UN-PRODUCED SCREENPLAY  – FEATURE – TOP 20 (Updating)
A Nice Place to Visit by John Munn
Blood of the Mob by Johnny Giacalone
Borderline by Kieran Shea & David Osorio
Consumed by Don Stroud
Deep Down by Dan Sullivan
Frankenstein in the Land of Oz by Mike Mann
Hunter by Alan Sanchez
Krolik by Rose Ann-Marie Norberg
Mysteries of the Desert by Whitney Crowder & Adam Hardman
NRG by Andreas Petersen
Rough Cut by Mitchell V. Slan
Settlement by Jason Sheedy
Sheriff of Rottingham by Anthony Ferraro
The Broken Fellowship by Sam T. Weston
The Circuit Breaker by David Ethan Sanders
The Hat Man by Edward G. Lyons & Melissa P. Lyons
The Memory Sphere by Kevin Sluder
The Prodigal by Thomas O’Malley
The Third Wife by Barrett Burgin & Daniel Yen Tu
Wicked Grin by Arran Crawley

BEST UN-PRODUCED SCREENPLAY – SHORT – TOP 10
Blackout by Scott Akers
Detective Palooka by Jason Lou Baldwin
Erosion by Tony Hipwell
Freeda by Lorenzo Colonna & Giada Mazzoleni
Honed by Jeffrey Howe
Lashes by Jill Sachs
Mermaid by Jerry D. Ochoa
Mouse by Michael Clifton
The Insatiable Pine by Kent Green
The Weeping Willows by Amalie Lorentzen

Main image: FilmQuest founder Jonathan Martin (center) leads a panel discussion with FilmQuest filmmakers.