And the Winners Are...
With a mix of new and classic film screenings, Rom Com Fest also featured awards! In total, four awards were presented at the inaugural festival. (Two for feature films and two for the short films competition.) Five feature films and eight short films were in judged by the audience and a panel of industry professionals.
The feature films included Tracks, One Bedroom, In Reality, Summer Night and Two in The Bush. Rekindled, Anxiety’s Wilma, On Second Thought, The Curse, À Jamais Pour Toujours, The Noodle Man, Almost Charming, and Girl Friend made up the shorts competition.
The Winners
Jury Awards
Best Feature Film
In Reality, Director Ann Lupo, Writer Ann Lupo
Best Short Film
Rekindled, Director Erin Brown Thomas, Writers Erin Brown Thomas, Kelly Vrooman
Frolic Audience Awards
Audience Award for Best Feature
Summer Night, Director Joseph Cross, Writer Jordan Jolliff
Audience Award for Best Short
Anxiety’s Wilma, Director Alexandra Kyle, Writer Alexandra Kyle
Meet the Jury
How do you judge so many great new rom coms? Not to worry, we brought in the best of the best (and fellow rom com connoisseurs)! The judges were tasked to pick their favorite feature film and favorite short.
Short Film Jury Award
The jurors for the 2019 Shorts Jury included:
Alanna Bennett: Alanna is a writer for The CW's Roswell, New Mexico and a rom-com fanatic. Her work as a cultural critic and reporter has appeared on BuzzFeed News, Teen Vogue, Vulture, TV Guide, and more.
Alicia Swiz: Alicia is a passionate educator and dynamic storyteller committed to creating spaces for women’s voices to be amplified. Drawing from personal experience and academic training, Alicia facilitates dialogues that inspire critical thinking about gender through comedy, storytelling, and media literacy.
Heather Maidat: Heather wrote the romantic comedies Bad Boys Crazy Girls, Mr. Miracle, and Sundays at Tiffany’s. She recently completed writing the romantic comedy novel Thank You for Not Wasting My Time and writes weekly at www.HeatherMaidat.com
Millie De Chirico: Millie is a fifteen-year veteran of the Programming Department at Turner Classic Movies. Her late-night film franchise TCM Underground, which showcases the best in cult cinema, is about to celebrate its lucky 13th anniversary in October!
Feature Film Jury Award
The jurors for the 2019 Feature Jury included:
Katie Silberman: Katie is a writer and producer originally from Omaha, Nebraska. After appearing on 2014’s Young and Hungry List, Katie’s script for SET IT UP landed on the 2015 Blacklist and premiered on Netflix last summer. She wrote New Line’s Isn’t It Romantic, and co-wrote Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut Booksmart.
Amy Nicholson: Amy is a film writer and critic for Variety, The Guardian, and the Washington Post, and the host of the movie podcasts "Unspooled," "Zoom," "The Canon," and "Halloween Unmasked." Previously, she was the chief film critic for LA Weekly and MTV News.
Sarah Ramos: Sarah is a writer, director and actress, best known for appearing in Parenthood and The Affair. Ramos has written and directed short films The Arm, which won the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Jury Prize for Comedic Storytelling and Fluffy (2016).
Julie Rapaport: Julie was named Co-Head of Amazon Studios’ Original Movies (in September 2018). Julie also oversees Amazon Studios’ newest division focused on expanding the current slate with films appealing to wider audiences as well as the Studios’ new streaming initiative focused on creating excellent films for release on Prime Video.
Audience Awards (Presented by Frolic)
Frolic is the entertainment media brand for modern romance fans! Bringing together a community of diverse voices including authors, fans, bookstagrammers, and storytellers to deliver feel-good content. Frolic believes in the power of Happily Ever Afters.
"We at Frolic are passionate about bringing the Rom Com back and are thrilled to be partnering with RomCom Fest where we can delight in our favorite classic movies, alongside discovering the up and coming voices" —Lisa Berger, Frolic CEO