SPOTLIGHT: NOMINEES: 1ST TIME FEATURE FILMMAKER AWARD

	DEPRAVED MIND NICHOLAS SHIELDS Writer-Director Nicholas Shields is known as an Actor. Some of his work includes To Catch a Killer, Princes In Exile, Breaking the Silence, and The Valour and the Horror. Nicholas Shields was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is known for Planting Vines (2011), The Quick and Dirty (2019) and Depraved Mind (2023). .
	BONEHEAD WINNER-BEST 1ST TIME FEATURE FILMMAKER! EYES UPON WAKING JENNIFER SCOTT Writer-Director-Producer-Editor-Lead Actor TIMOTHY ZWICA-C0-Director/Editor Jennifer Scott. Actress: Eyes Upon Waking. Jennifer Scott, founder of Open Eyes Productions, L.L.C. is an Award Winning p.g.a. Producer, Actress and Writer. Jennifer has been a member of the Screen Actors Guild since 1995. Her independent film work has played in a variety of film festivals around the World. She has been credited with over 40 films and television appearances. .
	BONEHEAD WINNNER BEST ENSEMBLE CAST! SCARPEDICEMENTE JOHN VAMVAS & OLGA MONTES Director-Producer-Lead Actor Scarpedicemente actor/co-producer/co-writer, John Vamvas, has extensive experience directing for the stage, including "A Hatful of Rain" at Montreal's Centaur Theatre, where he met Olga Montes in 1992. He has as well directed two plays at New York's Creative Space Theatre, including Frederick Stroppel's "The Mamet Women". Unable to be behind the camera as he was in front of it for the entirety, John hired longtime friend, Victoria Sanchez, to be behind the camera for the 10-day shoot to give her some experience and pave her road to film directing. This is John's first stab at film directing and the process was so magical and enlightening, that he can't wait to take on his next feature project: WHEREWOLVES, A werewolf horror. Scarpedicemente is a FIRST FEATURE for Montes-Vamvas Productions and the film DIRECTORIAL DEBUTS for both Victoria and John. .
	BONEHEAD WINNER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS FEATURE SERPENTINE PINK VIVIAN SORENSON Director Vivian Sorenson is an award-winning Showrunner and Director with a history of creating hit television shows, documentaries, and films across various platforms. She was EP/Showrunner of Guy's Chance of a Lifetime (Food Network, Discovery +), and La Pitchoune, Cooking in France (HBO Max and Magnolia) about a cooking school in Julia Child's summer home in the South of France. In addition, she was the Co-EP (over 800 episodes) of the iconic series Chopped, EP of Chopped Junior & After Hours. She has won a James Beard Award; the show has been nominated for an Emmy, and the Critics Choice Award 2020 and Real Screen awards. In addition, Vivian has worked in a range of seminal television series: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, What Not to Wear, The Bachelor, Wife Swap, Big Ideas for a Small Planet, Operation Homecoming, and Savoring Harlem, a documentary about food and the history of Harlem. Vivian has a strong foundation in theater directing and filmmaking which have taught her the importance of the craft of storytelling. She loves creating immersive worlds that entertain and inspire. Her insatiable curiosity and willingness to push boundaries, to alway look for the magic and to be willing to take creative risks has always helped her connect with her subjects and to tell compelling, funny, weird and wonderful stories. .
	BONEHEAD WINNER OSCAR MICHEAUX LEGACY AWARDEE! SOBER DEWAYNE IRVING Writer-Director-Producer Self financed, First-time film director from Texas. Click image for Dwayne's Statement .
	BONEHEAD WINNER AUDIENCE CHOICE BEST POSTER! AUDIENCE CHOICE BEST MOVIE! THE GOATMAN LEVI BUTNER & HOPE BUTNER Writer-Director-Producer Sibling filmmakers Levi and Hope Butner wrote their first feature film, The Goatman, in 2019, and spent 4 years bringing it to life as co-directors and executive producers. Levi studied film at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco with an emphasis in directing. In 2018, he began working as an editor and videographer with YouTuber Dianna Cowern, creator and host of the YouTube Channel The Physics Girl. Hope studied Philosophy and Creative Writing at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and joined the Physics Girl team in 2020 as a social media specialist and assistant producer. Working with Dianna, they honed their experience as YouTube creators and videographers while continuing to write and produce The Goatman. In 2020, they assembled their team of aspiring creatives and passionate nerds, and spent February of 2021 filming The Goatman in the desert east of San Diego. Since then, they have been editing and growing their team of post-production artists to finish the film. They are so excited to finally share it with the world. STATEMENT FROM THE FILMMAKERS FOR YOU .
	TO WHAT END MAX BISHOP Writer-Director Director Max Joseph was raised in Cumming, Georgia. In 2019, shortly after moving with his family to South Carolina, Max met John Slice (Cinematographer) and Fenwick Rockwell (Producer). Soon after, the trio founded Soapwater Productions and began shooting short films in Columbia, South Carolina. 'To What End' will be Max's feature film debut as writer and director. Max, along with his brother Jacob Joseph, developed the film's concept by marrying Max's personal interest in life management with the conventions of didactic storytelling (particularly children's books and cautionary tales). .