Fusion Film Festival 2023 Awards Review

Fusion Film Festival 2023 Awards Review

By Tenzing Pixley

This year’s Fusion Film Festival has come to a close in celebratory fashion: a multicolored fountain of artistic voices. The organization was founded in 2003 by Tisch Film & TV students Emma Heald and Gina Abatemarco, guided by Kanbar Professor Susan Sandler as a direct reaction to the lack of representation for women in the U.S. film industry.

The “Woman of the Year” award went to alumnus Janicza Bravo, writer-director of 2020’s acclaimed crime-drama Zola, and key directing roles on hit series including Mrs. America (2020), In Treatment (2021), and Them (2021).  The packed audience for her Master Class heard her speak movingly about the journey an artist takes entering the highly competitive commercial entertainment industry, and the strength of purpose and will it takes to say on course and continue to grow artistically and personally.

 Winner of best undergraduate film was Olivia De Camp’s Chico Virtual, which centers on a boy grappling with the realization of his immigrant status when his brother doesn’t return home one day. The runner-ups were Samina Saifee’s AmeriGirl and Kaia Santos’ Saltwater Interlude. Best graduate film award went to Kristian King’s Twice As Gold which deals with the weight placed on a high school senior, grappling with her mother’s career expectations. The runner-ups were Rio Tobaccowala’s Shadows and Louise Zhang’s Nights and Days in America.

Winner of best animation went to Lauren Kim’s Mind Control, a vivid film exploring a girl’s self-deprecating messages to herself  as sticky notes, illustrating the metaphorical weight of self-doubt. Runner-ups were Johanna Xue’s Dumplings and Shira Seri Levi’s Leftovers.

Winner of the Sight & Sound category was Manami Forward for Fresh Meat, which focuses on fish being slaughtered but interestingly, from the perspective of the fish. Runner-ups were Jessery Darlington’s Be a Better Lady and Isabelle Perez’ Mano de Flor.

Best music video went to Come Through by Maya Peters, complementing the song’s lyrics about unrequited love across three different timelines. Runner-ups were Rhea Li’s Let Me In and Olivia De Camps’ The One – Plant Skull.

Best documentary went to Flora Nolan for White Lie, a Super 8 piece on subjectivity as several friends go on a road-trip together in the midst of quarantine. Runner-ups were Aiyue Li for Leave Slowly and Miranda Manganaro for Hello, My Name Is Chronic Pain.

Spotlighting as the “Freshman Rising Star” was Carly Lin for her documentary About Grandpa. Heartfelt, it deals with Lin’s research into why her grandpa became unhappy in the twilight years of his life.

Best undergraduate feature-length screenplay was The Later Years by Lauryn Darden, a coming of age story that follows an elderly woman after she leaves her husband of forty years and takes on life with her estranged sister. Runner-ups were The Ponderosa Pine Society by Amelia Annen and The Prettiest Black Girl in School by Rebekah Strauss. Best graduate student feature-length screenplay went to Iraisa Ann Reilly for La Reina Del Bronx. Facing religious persecution, a sheltered Cuban refugee is forced to flee to the Bronx in 1961, where she forms an unlikely friendship with a kind-hearted drag queen, until the sins of her past threaten to tear them apart. Runner-ups were Inés Camiña for CATALINA and RAIN (Summer on Washington Street) by Aisha Ford and Josette Roberts.

Rounding out the competition, for television categories, best undergraduate half-hour pilot was Carley DeFoe’s Feign and Glory. When aspiring celebrity Kacie is lured into an alternate dimension and mistaken for a long-awaited messiah, she must fake her way through a prophecy. Runner-ups were Ila Finn’s Accidents Happen and Gabie Yacobi’s Untitled Rabbi Pilot. For graduate student half-hour pilots, the winner was Danielle Koenig for Soccer Moms. Cat fights and nasty rumors are started and flourish as the mothers of a young boy’s soccer team vie for ultimate suburban supremacy. Runner-ups were Grace Dennin’s The Space Race Experiments and Naná Xavier’s Bia from Brazil.

Well, that’s a wrap on this year’s Fusion Film Festival! It’s been a joy to witness all of these beautiful and varied artistic voices: each and every one deserves our praise and attention. We’ll see you next year!