Houston Comedy Film Festival Fall 2021

This page is dedicated to the films, videos and screenplays on the Film Festival Circuit that have been selected for the Houston Comedy Film Festival Fall 2021 competition. This live screening event took place on Saturday November 13, 2021 at the 14 Pews Theater from 2:30pm - 8:00pm. Genres included Comedy, Dark Comedy, Romantic Comedy, Mockumentary, Animation, Funny Music Videos and more.

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Fall 2021 Award Winners

Order your physical cut and laminated certificate now! All award winners, finalists and official selection can buy them here. (HCFF Cert Order LINK)

1) Best Acting Performance

• Jenn Gannon in “A Stand for Damaged Fame” Directed by Kent J Arceneaux and David Luck (Louisiana)

• “The War on Straws” Directed by Alec Castillo (United States)

• “God Mode” Written by Ash Willeby (Texas)

• “The Long Strange Trip Backyard” Directed by Coby Rich (Texas)

5) Best Comedy Micro Film

• “BioPetz” Directed by Tyler Council (Florida)

• “breakLAND: eps 1-3” Directed by Luisa Novo (California)

• “Auction House” Directed by Sean Davis, CavekeeperX (New York)

• “Ren-Fair” Written by Jesse Mattson, Sam Mattson (United States)

• “In My Twenties” Written by Katherine Aranda (California)

• “You're Killing Me” Written by Johnny Bragg (North Carolina)

• “A Malibu Story” Directed by Seth Woodhouse (California)

• “Like Father, Like Son” Directed by Jeff Walsh (Texas)

• “Cancelled - The Sweet Smell Of Success” Directed by Jeff Doyle, Johnny Elliott (Ireland)

• “Hubert Driver” Written by Suzanne R. Friedman, Guy-Laurent Winterstein (New York)

• “Morrieville” Written by Caryn Ruby (United States)

• “The Gate” Directed by Philip Cooney (Texas)

• “Kathy with a 'K" Edited by Holly Rice (Tennessee)

• “How We Do (Sketches of the Species) : 3-vignette Pilot” Directed by Pete Macnamara (New York)

• Eat the Rich, Written by Julia Pena (California)

• “Zoomies” Directed by Hammond Lake (Louisiana)

• “Grandpa's Demons” Directed by Grace Hanna (California)

• “BallyZombie” Written by Pearse Lehane (Ireland)

• “The Man of the Terms of Service” Directed by Yuki Takashima (Japan)

• “Barry” Written by Keir Beck (Australia)

• “Adventure Brothers Ep2: The Mountain of Fire” Directed by Paul Longley, James Longley (United Kingdom)

• “The Divorce” Directed by Jackson Tozer (Australia)

27) Best International Short Screenplay

• WOMBATS, Written by Millie Hayward (United Kingdom)

28) Best Mockumentary Film

• “The Untold Story of Mild Sauce” Directed by Anton Deshawn (Illinois)

• “Ghosts(?)” Directed by Antonia Maher (Arizona)

• “Dial It Back” Written by Erin Elizabeth Keefer (Florida)

• “Elephants & Donkeys” Directed by David J. Green (New York)

• “The Letter” Directed by Kexin Cai (California)

• “Good Help Is So Hard To Find” Directed by Jake Isaacs (California)

• “Liv” Written by Lisa Baron Ray (New York)

• “Bet! I Win!” Directed by C. Faz (Texas)

• “Proles” Written by Sawyer Wade (Texas)

• “Silicone Wave” Directed by Jeff Hilliard (California)

Fall 2021 Award Finalists and Official Selections

1) Best Acting Performance Award Finalists

• Dara Jemmott in "Where's my White Privilege?" Directed by Michael Harrison (New York)
• Jake Isaacs in "The First Jewish Surfer" Directed by Brett Maline (California)
• Jenn Gannon in "A Stand for Damaged Fame" Directed by Kent J Arceneaux and David Luck (Louisiana) - Winner
• Tony Klein in "Orientation" Directed by Rory Meagher (California)
• Yulia Egereva in "DestructoZhanna" Directed by Maksim Kudymov (Russia)

2) Best Animated Comedy Film Award Finalists

• Dickie, Directed by Wouter Bongaerts, Koen Saelemaekers, Simon Cornelis (Belgium)
• I Need His Blood For My Poisons, Directed by Sean Parker (Oregon)
• Piccolo Junior's, Directed by Jon Portman (California)
• The War on Straws, Directed by Alec Castillo (United States) - Winner
• Undersea News, Directed by Noah Gleason (Georgia)

3) Best Comedy Feature Screenplay Award Finalists

• 3 of Me, Written by Mark Jay Rosen (Washington)
• God Mode, Written by Ash Willeby (Texas) - Winner
• It's Over, Written by Emily Bernard (New Jersey)
• PICTURETAKER, Written by Shauna silva (Washington)
• Where the Aliens are, Written by Mike Meier (Maryland)

4) Best Comedy Film Award Finalists

• Bank Robbers, Directed by Chris Ballinger (Florida)
• Mask It, Directed by Cadden Jones (Texas, California)
• Moon-calf, Directed by Ander Echeverria (Texas)
• Once Beautiful Woman, Directed by Frankie Guerrero, Jr. (California)
• The Long Strange Trip Backyard, Directed by Coby Rich (Texas) - Winner

5) Best Comedy Micro Film Award Finalists

• BioPetz, Directed by Tyler Council (Florida) - Winner!
• Bran Bran! Cereal Commercial, Directed by John A Giaccone (North Carolina)
• Curbside Pickup, Directed by Richard Drutman (Florida, New York)
• Hold It!, Directed by Sebastian Feichtinger (California)
• Mompreneur, Directed by Julisa Gonzalez (California)

6) Best Comedy Series Episode Award Finalists

• breakLAND - eps 1-3, Directed by Luisa Novo (California) - Winner
• Like & Subscribe, Directed by Britt Migs, Clay Taylor, Megan Downey (New York)
• My American Family, Directed by Victor Migalchan (California, Nevada,
  New Mexico)
• My Wonderful F#cking Life, Directed by Tré Manchester (Illinois )
• The Omnibus Social Club, Directed by Carlo Caldna (California)

7) Best Comedy Series Micro Episode Award Finalists

• Auction House, Directed by Sean Davis, CavekeeperX (New York) - Winner
• FLUX, Directed by Alex DiBucci, Jacob Stern (Texas)
• Ghostwritten Series, Directed by George Gross (New York)
• Out of Order, Directed by Emmanuel Stewart (Illinois)
• The Old Guards, Directed by Will Branner (North Carolina)

8) Best Comedy Short Screenplay Award Finalists

• 2001, Written by Jagger Waters (California)
• Food, USA, Written by Jesse Mattson, Sam Mattson (United States)
• Manly Men of the Mountains, Written by David L. Anderson (Washington)
• Ren-Fair, Written by Jesse Mattson, Sam Mattson (United States) - Winner
• Unknown: Episode 1: The Geraldine Washington Story, Written by Kendra M. Hill (California)

9) Best Comedy Teleplay Award Finalists

• Fresh Cut, Written by Jake Morgan, Cole Travis (Wisconsin)
• Hacks: New York, New York, Written by Shannon H Constantine (New York)
• In My Twenties, Written by Katherine Aranda (California) - Winner
• The Office: Talent Show (Season 2), Written by Jeremy Gurvits (New York)
• What We Do In The Shadows Spec Script - Love At First Bite, Written by Colby Kennedy (Illinois)

10) Best Dark Comedy Feature Screenplay Award Finalists

• Big Sur, Written by Bruce Scivally (California)
• Cultivating Mr. Perfect, Written by Roopal Badheka (Texas)
• Her Best Shot, Written by Bruce Scivally (California)
• You're Killing Me, Written by Johnny Bragg (North Carolina) - Winner

11) Best Dark Comedy Film Award Finalists

• A Malibu Story, Directed by Seth Woodhouse (California) - Winner
• Nexting, Directed by Karina Logothetis (California)
• Roman Ruin, Directed by Justin Hartough (New York)
• The Dogsitter, Directed by Kelsey Llewellyn (Massachusetts)
• The Drug Test, Directed by Joseph Horta (Texas)

12) Best Dark Comedy Micro Film Award Finalists

• I'd Rather Not, Directed by Brendan Butler (Illinois)
• Like Father, Like Son, Directed by Jeff Walsh (Texas) - Winner
• P. I. Dick's Private Eye and Dick Service, Directed by Kris Atkins (New Zealand)
• The Dog, Directed by Hugh O'Neill (Ireland)
• Viper Squad, Directed by Chris Russel (United States)

13) Best Dark Comedy Series Episode Award Finalists

• Blood Drive, Directed by Suzanne Cate (United States)
• Cancelled - The Sweet Smell Of Success, Directed by Jeff Doyle, Johnny Elliott (Ireland) - Winner
• From The Makers Of..., Directed by Daniel Fissmer (United States)
• Mister Fantastic Ep4: The Audition, Directed by Patrick Saad (Canada)

14) Best Dark Comedy Short Screenplay Award Finalists

• Hubert Driver, Written by Suzanne R. Friedman, Guy-Laurent Winterstein (New York) - Winner
• Jody, Written by Corey Shields (United States)
• Oh shit, is this a love story? Written by Matthew Perez (California)
• subdivision - pilot, Written by Casey Leary (Georgia)
• The End, Written by Travis Aitken (Texas)

15) Best Dark Comedy Teleplay Award Finalists

• At Wit's End - Negrin Version, Written by Troy Alan, David Negrin (New York)
• Loser Island, Written by C.J. Ehrlich (Rhode Island)
• Morrieville, Written by Caryn Ruby (United States) - Winner
• The Barista, Written by Sean Dalton (Ireland)

16) Best Director Award Finalists

• #Privileges, Directed by Mark David Christenson (California)
• Future Ref, Directed by J. Scott Miller (California)
• Of Age, Directed by Christina Offley (California)
• Present Company, Directed by Tara O'Sullivan, Conor O'Sullivan (Virginia)
• The Gate, Directed by Philip Cooney (Texas) - Winner

17) Best Editing Award Finalists

• Bladder Boy, Directed by Jim Belden (Minnesota)
• Ideas Are Welcome, Directed by Sreyash Myneni (California)
• Kathy with a 'K", Directed by Michael Carnes (Tennessee) - Winner
• The Carnival, Directed by Zachary Krueger (Illinois)
• Third Date, Directed by Michael Kellman (Georgia)

18) Best Ensemble Cast Award Finalists

• Friendz, Directed by Taylor Kavanaugh (California)
• HOW WE DO (Sketches of the Species) : 3-vignette Pilot, Directed by Pete Macnamara (New York) - Winner
• PRE-SHOT, Directed by Timothy Green (Texas)
• The Dinner Plan, Directed by Alec Rosinski (Pennsylvania )
• The Perfect Post, Directed by Jonathan De Guzman (California)

19) Best Horror Comedy Feature Screenplay Award Finalists

• BFFs Never Say Die, Written by K. Jennifer Ilagan (Connecticut)
• Black Shabbas, Written by Max Lehman (New Jersey)
• Eat the Rich, Written by Julia Pena (California) - Winner

20) Best Horror Comedy Film Award Finalists

• Boo Hag or Shadow Man, Directed by Emily Maya Mills (Texas)
• Zoomies, Directed by Hammond Lake (Louisiana) - Winner

21) Best Horror Comedy Micro Film Award Winner

• Grandpa's Demons, Directed by Grace Hanna (California) - Winner

22) Best Horror Comedy Short Screenplay Award Winner

• BallyZombie, Written by Pearse Lehane (Ireland) - Winner

23) Best International Director Award Finalisits

• Dirty Sean, Directed by Nicolas VASSEUR (Poland)
• It's all in the sauce, Directed by Marcus A Olsson (Sweden)
• The Gunslinger, Directed by Rachel Fitzgerald (Australia)
• The Man of the Terms of Service, Directed by Yuki Takashima (Japan) - Winner
• The Robbery, Directed by Nika Belianina (Canada)

24) Best International Feature Screenplay Award Finalists

• Barry, Written by Keir Beck (Australia) - Winner
• Same Same But Different, Written by Craig Brown (United Kingdom)
• Spirits of Christmas, Written by Deborah Blouet (United Kingdom)
• The Imbalance 2, Written by Naomi Lisner (Australia)
• The Love Palace, Written by Justin St. Pierre (Australia)
  
  

25) Best International Film Award Finalists

• Adventure Brothers Ep2: The Mountain of Fire, Directed by PaulLongley, James Longley (United Kingdom) - Winner
• Faleminderit, Directed by Nicolas Neuhold (Luxembourg)
• Fuck The Honeymoon, Directed by Joshua Thornton-Allan (United Kingdom)
• Journey to Quantum, Directed by Micky Suelzer (Germany)
• Remember My Name - Episode 02 - #Hashtags, Directed by Sonny Vrebac (Australia)
• The Reality, Directed by Trevor Clarence (Australia)

26) Best International Micro Film Award Finalists

• Almost Friends, Directed by SANZ Y BUENO John (France)
• No James Harden, Directed by Adrian Wallace (Canada)
• The Divorce, Directed by Jackson Tozer (Australia) - Winner

27) Best International Short Screenplay Award Finalists

• Natural History, Written by Stephen John Tantoco (Philippines)
• The Gang Gets Diverse, Written by Jordan Champagne (Canada)
• We Don't Talk About Godspell, Written by Stevie Jackson (Canada)
• WOMBATS, Written by Millie Hayward (United Kingdom) - Winner

28) Best Mockumentary Film Award Finalists

• Born Better: The Jacob Faulk Story, Directed by Daniel Pysczynski (Georgia)
• Seeing Someone, Directed by Andrew Brian Carter, Katie Page (California)
• Sparky, Directed by Ashley Ephraim (Illinois)
• Tea With The Reaper, Directed by Ryan Simons (England)
• The Untold Story of Mild Sauce, Directed by Anton Deshawn (Illinois) - Winner

29) Best Mockumentary Micro Film Award Winner

• Ghosts(?) Directed by Antonia Maher (Arizona) - Winner

30) Best Romantic Comedy Feature Screenplay Award Finalists

• 2nd Date, Written by Jaik Andino, Vincent V Shade (Illinois)
• Dial It Back, Written by Erin Elizabeth Keefer (Florida) - Winner
• Flash and Stretch, Written by Jim Norman (Florida)
• Good Karma, Written by Edward Mumford (United States)
• Stand Tall!, Written by Vincent J. Paterno (California)

31) Best Romantic Comedy Film Finalists

• Chad, Directed by Benton Cockerell, Clinton Howard II (Texas)
• Elephants & Donkeys, Directed by David J. Green (New York) - Winner
• Madam B, Directed by Pamela Ennis (California)
• Nothing's Original, Directed by Dani Barker (Canada)
• The Letter, Directed by Kexin Cai (California)

32) Best Romantic Comedy Micro Film Award Finalists

• Burrito Bride, Directed by Patrick Fifelski (United States)
• Sorry, Directed by anonymous (New York)
• The Proposal, Directed by Christina Sinyapkina (Russia) - Winner

33) Best Romantic Comedy Series Episode Award Winner

• Good Help Is So Hard To Find, Directed by Jake Isaacs (California) - Winner

34) Best Romantic Comedy Short Screenplay Award Finalists

• Liv, Written by Lisa Baron Ray (New York) - Winner
• Mr. Havisham, Written by Travis Aitken (United States)

35) Best Texas Film Award Finalists

• Bet! I Win!, Directed by C. Faz (Texas) - Winner
• PRE-SHOT, Directed by Timothy Green (Texas)
• The Gate, Directed by Philip Cooney (Texas)
• The Long Strange Trip Backyard, Directed by Coby Rich (Texas)

36) Best Texas Screenplay Award Finalists

• Cultivating Mr. Perfect, Written by Roopal Badheka (Texas)
• Proles, Written by Sawyer Wade (Texas) - Winner
• The Buzzard Whisperer, Written by Robin Lee Green (Texas)
• The End, Written by Travis Aitken (Texas)
• Trouble at Cheery Meadows, Written by Jaclyn E. Fleming (Texas)

37) Funniest Music Video Award Finalists

• Jeff Hilliard - Silicone Wave, Directed by Jeff Hilliard (United States) - Winner
• Kristi Stafford "Trophy Wife" Directed by Marietta R. K. Wilk (Chicago)
  

38) Best Picture Award Winner

• The Letter, Directed by Kexin Cai (California) - Winner

Official Selections

• Baby Queen, Written by Max Rasmussen (Illinois)
  
• Checked Out, Written by Andrew Ortiz (California)
  
• Pundit, Written by Larry Ziegelman, Niki Kilgore (Illinois)
  
• Losing Patients, Written by Michael Todd Whittaker (Maine)
  
• A Brooklyn Summer, Written by David Anthony Butler (united states)
  
• Loose Lips, Written by Eric C Jones (United States)
  
• Contempt Episode 1, Directed by Jason C Margaca (Massachusetts)
  
• Oh No, Directed by John Joseph DiMarco (Nevada)
  
• Friends, Directed by Tom Mooring (United Kingdom)