2025
April 4-6, 2025
102 Entries
62 Official Selections
Great films popped up from everywhere!
Sixty-two films with Iowa connections from across the country! Judges reviewed 102 entries—nearly 45 hours of high-quality storytelling, diverse perspectives, and standout performances. It was no easy task narrowing it down, and we sincerely thank all filmmakers for sharing their work. .
2025 also featured two Forums: Representation and Identity in Independent Cinema and the Student Discussion: Real job or REEL job?
Congratulations to all Official Selections and Eddy Award Winners!
For images from all years, visit our Archive Gallery
Eddy Award Results
Eddy Award Results
Professional Freestyle
Gold
Hunky Dory
Silver
Blink Once
Professional Short Film
Gold
Stronghold
Silver
Lost Woods
Professional Documentary
Gold
From Iowa and Back: The Vietnam Era
Silver
The Negro Artist
Professional Feature
Gold
5683
Silver
Remote
Hobbyist Short Film
Gold
Inheritance
Silver
Chase
Hobbyist Documentary
Gold
Good Tough Kid
Silver
Tinker
Hobbyist Feature
Gold
The Gates
Silver
Bits & Pieces
Student Freestyle
Gold
EDM is Plastic?
SILVER
Unwritten
Student Short Film
Gold
Brothers: A Civil War Story
Silver
Eighteen Years
Student Documentary
Gold
i went on the adventure of my dreams
Silver
Jayden Upton: Give it Your All!
Student Long-Form
Gold
50mm
Silver
Exaltation
Audience Choice Award
My Heart Remembers
Student Audience Choice Award
Petrichor
Iowa Connection Award
5683
$1000 Collins Road Theatres Student Scholarship
Than San
Great films popped up from everywhere!
Sixty-two films with Iowa connections from across the country! Judges reviewed 102 entries—nearly 45 hours of high-quality storytelling, diverse perspectives, and standout performances. It was no easy task narrowing it down, and we sincerely thank all filmmakers for sharing their work.
2025 also featured two forums: Representation and Identity in Independent Cinema and the student discussion: Real job or REEL job?
Congratulations to all Official Selections and Eddy Award Winners!
2025 Official Selections
50mm
Student Narrative Long-Form
Dillon Jacobson – Writer/Producer/Director
University of Iowa
Iowa City
5683
Professional Narrative Feature
Brittany Benedict – Director
Michael Huntington – DP
Kevin Shepherd – Writer
Newhall
Abraham’s Bridge
Professional Documentary
Elinor Pierce – Producer/Director
Justin Limoges – DP
Auburndale, MA
After Ike: A Journey That Changed America
Professional Documentary
Gregory F. Maassen – Producer/Director
Michael S. Owen – Writer/Director
Washington DC
Anybody But You
Hobbyist Narrative Short-Form
Derek Smith – Director
Jacob Daniels – Writer
Baby Doll
Hobbyist Narrative Short-Form
Serena Fath – Writer/Director
Ellen Lee, Victoria Jackson – Producers
Des Moines
Bits & Pieces
Hobbyist Feature
Bauston Van Sickle, Wayne D. Barrett – Writers/Producers/Directors
BvM Productions
Newton
Blink Once
Professional Freestyle
Jim Haverkamp – Director
Karin Gottshall – Writer
Durham, NC
Brothers: A Civil War Story
Student Narrative Short-Form
Casey Schaffer – Writer/Director
Matthew Donley, Zachary Gutherman – Producers
DeSales University
Waterloo, Westminster, CO
Chase
Hobbyist Narrative Short-Form
Lilah Pearl Skaar, Anthony Syracuse – Writers/Directors/Producers
Jme Lee, James Brown – Writers
Denver, IA
Clean Up
Student Narrative Short-Form
Laura Makari, Jordyn Van Santen, John Reda, Corey Whitlock – Writers/Directors/Producers
Augustana College Film Program
Augustana College
Rock Island, IL
Counterfeit
Hobbyist Narrative Short-Form
Michael E. Berg – Producer/Director
JJ Hillard – Writer/Producer
Wes Worthing, Andrew McDowell – Producers
Cuffed!
Student Narrative Short-Form
Kylie Muller – Writer/Producer/Director
Grace Birkland, Hannah Romell – Writers/Producers
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE
Dinner with Gigi
Professional Narrative Short-Form
Courtney Ball – Writer/Producer/Director
Cedar Rapids
EDM is Plastic?
Student Freestyle
Than San – Writer/Producer/Videographer/Editor
Loras College Creative Media / DUMEDIA
Loras College
Dubuque
Eighteen Years
Student Narrative Short-Form
Emily Surma, Libby Perry – Writers/Directors/Producers
Ellie Coleman – Writer
Loras College Creative Media / DUMEDIA
Loras College
Dubuque
Exaltation
Student Narrative Long-Form
Will Schwarz – Writer/Producer/Director
The University of Iowa
Iowa City
Facing the Father
Student Narrative Short-Form
Lauren Ulveling – Director
Kylea Nuendorf – Writer
Henry Hahn – Producer
Ronald Johnson – Exec. Producer
Ethan Shawgo, Chiefy Loma – Cinematographers
Wartburg College
Waverly
Flock Together
Student Narrative Short-Form
Andrew Sloth – Writer/Director
Leo E. White – Producer
University of Georgia
Athens, GA
Friends & Neighbors
Professional Documentary
Benjamin Wagner – Writer/Director
Wilmington, DE
From Iowa and Back – The Vietnam Era
Professional Documentary
Jeremy Glazier – Producer/Director
Gerard Estella, Megan Turner – Writers
Cedar Rapids
Garden of Des Moines
Hobbyist Documentary
Teri Underhill – Writer/Producer/Director
Des Moines
The Gates
Hobbyist Feature
Tiffany A Ketcham – Writer/Director
Cody McKinney – Producer/Videographer
Newton
Get Over Yourself
Professional Narrative Feature
Thomas Pace – Writer/Producer/Director
Gloves
Student Narrative Short-Form
Isaiah Griffith – Producer/Director
John Plewa – Writer
Megan Kolbe, Marley Hewitt – Producers
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE
Good Tough Kid
Hobbyist Documentary
Michael James McDonald – Director
Seth Stoltenow – Producer
Joshua Cote – DP
Wyoming, MI
The Grief Project
Hobbyist Narrative Short-Form
Regan Hill – Writer/Producer/Director
Tessa León, Billy Chengary – Producers
Phillip Ward – Cinematographer
Los Angeles, CA
Home No Return
Student Narrative Short-Form
Arman Hodasefat – Writer/Producer/Director/Editor
Philip Rabalais – DP
Taryn Neal – Editor
University of Iowa
Iowa City
Hunky Dory
Professional Freestyle
Steven Vander Meer – Director
Béla Fleck – Music
Arcata, CA
i went on the adventure of my dreams
Student Documentary
Jack McCarthy – Writer/Producer/Director
North Scott High School
Eldridge
Inheritance
Hobbyist Narrative Short-Form
Benjamin Schmidt – Director/Producer
Alannah Swenka – Writer/Producer
Coralville
Jayden Upton: “Give It Your All”
Student Documentary
Dylan Ervin, Kevin Franks, Nolan Swartz – Producers/Directors
Loras College Creative Media / DUMEDIA
Loras College
Dubuque
Killsbury Doughboy Rises
Student Narrative Short-Form
Parker Miller – Writer/Director
University of Northern Iowa
Cedar Falls
Ku: A Love Story
Hobbyist Narrative Short-Form
Anita George – Writer/Producer/Director
Los Angeles, CA
The Legacy of The Great River Reapers
Student Documentary
Lucas Schoaf, Nora Bruxvoort, Kevin Franks – Producers/Directors
Loras College Creative Media / DUMEDIA
Loras College
Dubuque
Light Painter
Professional Documentary
Eric Smidt – Producer/Director
Ames
Lost Woods
Professional Narrative Short-Form
Ben Hagarty – Writer/Producer/Director
Shawn Stadburg – Writer
Pokey Spears – Producer
Matthew Welch – DP
Cedar Falls
Love Bites
Student Narrative Short-Form
Ludovica Chiovini – Writer/Producer/Director
Augustana College Film Program
Augustana College
Rock Island, IL
Loyal Wheels
Student Freestyle
Than San – Writer/Producer/Director
Loras College Creative Media / DUMEDIA
Loras College
Dubuque
Making Magic
Professional Narrative Short-Form
Patrick Boberg – Writer/Director/Producer
Brian Hogan – Writer/Producer
Erin Hogan, Jolene Schultz, Matt Clark, Bill Gongol – Writers
Des Moines
Moved by Waters
Professional Documentary
Kelly Rundle – Writer/Director
Tammy Rundle – Writer/Producer
Fourth Wall Films
Moline, IL
My Heart Remembers
Professional Feature
Melinda Myers, Melissa Lawrence – Producers
Stephen Folker – Producer/Director
Brian Lawrence – Writer
Lisbon, Marion, Cedar Rapids, Davenport
The Negro Artist
Professional Documentary
Nikolas Ira Heftman – Director/Producer
Douglas Burns, Ann Wilson – Producers
Los Angeles, CA
Nightmare At Camp Bloodbath
Professional Narrative Short-Form
Dylan Arnow – Writer/Director/Producer
Ryan Brown – Executive Producer
Will Perls, Aaron Klisman, Adam Bussell – Producers
Los Angeles, CA
ORGANIZED TERROR | Eclypse Haunted Attraction: Year 3 Recap
Professional Freestyle Documentary
Nick Orth – Director
Cedar Rapids
Paranormal Press
Student Narrative Short-Form
Ava Bertram – Director
JP Smith – Producer
Hawkeye Community College
Waterloo
Petrichor
Student Freestyle
Grace Potratz – Writer/Director
University of Iowa
Iowa City
Pluto
Student Narrative Short-Form
Lua Rasga – Writer/Director/Producer/DP
Nick Hull – Writer
Matt Sindt – DP
University of Iowa
Iowa City
Project Lucidity
Hobbyist Narrative Short-Form
Erika Chagdes – Writer/Director
Alexandra Runnells – Writer
University of Iowa
Iowa City
Cedar Falls
Refining Your Craft
Student Narrative Short-Form
Andrew Sloth – Writer/Director
Jesse Scales – Producer
Austin Yeomans – Cinematographer
University of Georgia
Athens, GA
Remote
Professional Feature
Matthew Tribble – Writer/Producer/Director/Editor
Marc Bauer – Writer/Producer/Editor
Cedar Rapids
Sew Lucky
Student Narrative Short-Form
Hannah Pedersen – Writer/Producer/Director
Wyatt Debban, Alijah Mallula – Producers
Kylie Muller – DP
Frumble Films
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lincoln, NE
Stronghold
Professional Narrative Short-Form
Meghann Artes – Director/Producer
Anna Maria Hozian – Writer/Producer
Joe Lyons – Producer
Chicago, IL
Tim Olson: Observing Oddities
Student Documentary
Jessen Weber – Producer/Director
Loras College Creative Media / DUMEDIA
Loras College
Dubuque
Tina
Professional Narrative Short-Form
Sheri Davenport – Writer/Executive Producer
Laura Sweeney – Director
Chris Luner – Producer
Oakland, CA
Tinker
Hobbyist Documentary
Ryan Adams – Writer/Director
Independence
Turn Four
Student Documentary
Joshua Tigges – Writer/Producer/Director
Buena Vista University
Storm Lake
Unlikely Pair
Student Narrative Short-Form
Sam Madson – Director
Hawkeye Community College
Waterloo
Unwritten
Student Freestyle
Hunter Jones – Writer/Producer/Director
Loras College Creative Media / DUMEDIA
Loras College
Dubuque
Weedman
Hobbyist Narrative Short-Form
Alannah Swenka – Writer/Producer/Director
Tristan Bennett – Producer/Director
The Wordless Ones
Student Narrative Short-Form
Tyler Samuel Dintaman – Writer/Producer/Director
Daniel Nierling – Producer
Hawkeye Community College
Waterloo, Decorah
Yule Father
Professional Narrative Short-Form
Brittany Benedict – Writer/Producer/Director
Michael Huntington – Producer/DP
Cintree Films