‘Snow Bear,’ ‘Dragfox,’ ‘Playing God,’ and ‘Inside, The Valley Sings’ also take home wins; Guillermo del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’ named the Audience Award Winner at event, which ran October 24-31.
The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) today announced the award winners for the 28th annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival. A key stop on the festival circuit leading up to the Academy Awards, the 2025 SCAD Savannah Film Festival screened 167 films, including 56 narrative feature films, 16 documentary feature films, 96 short films, and seven world premieres and three U.S. premieres.
Guillermo del Toro’s latest film, Frankenstein was named this year’s Audience Award Winner, as selected by festival attendees. Actor Oscar Issac was in attendance for the sold-out screening, where he was feted with the Icon Award.
In the Animated Shorts competition, Murmuration, directed by Janneke Swinkels and Tim Frijsinger, took home the Best Professional Animation award. The Jury Award for Environmental Impact went to Snow Bear, directed by famed animator Aaron Blaise. The Best Student Animation award went to Dragfox, directed by Lisa Ott. Murmuration will receive a cash prize of $500, while Dragfox will receive a cash prize of $250 each, sponsored by Frankfurt Kurnit.
In the Shorts Spotlight competition, the Special Jury Award for Excellence in Animation went to Playing God, directed by Matteo Burani, while the Human Spirit Jury Award went to the animated film Inside, The Valley Sings, directed by Nathan Fagan.
The 2025 festival's Short Spotlight jury members included Josh Beveridge (Animation Supervisor, Sony Pictures Imageworks), Rob Dressel (Director of Cinematography & Layout, Disney), Abby Rider Fortson (Actress), Daria Khil (Story Artist, Dreamworks), Mandy Tankerson (SVP, Head of Production Sony Pictures Imageworks), and Daniel Talbott (Writer, director, and producer).
The complete list of winners and information on the films in competition can be found on the festival website.
Source: SCAD Savannah Film Festival
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
