2023

April 14-16

99 Entries

51 Official Selections

Expanded to 3 DAYS

Celebrating 20 years of CRIFF! 

We don’t like to brag, but 2023 was one of the BEST CRIFFs EVER! Ninety-nine outstanding films were entered, the most since 2007!

Our distinguished panel of judges made 51 Official SelectionsNEW this year was Student Cinema Sunday, a special screening of just student films, followed by the presentation of the Student Audience Choice Eddy Award!

The Eddy Award Ceremony Saturday night, April 16th, was presented by FARMERS STATE BANK.

Our host venue generously continued its COLLINS ROAD THEATRES $1000 SCHOLARSHIP, awarded to a student filmmaker in order to further the recipient’s filmmaking education and career. 

Festival Director’s Awards for Significant Contributions to CRIFF and Iowa Filmmaking were presented to founder Scott Chrisman, with the festival since its inception in 2001; and Prescribed Films’ Mike Saunders and Jason Bolinger, having screened 23 films at CRIFF since 2005! 23!!

Here are a few 2023 pix – visit the whole 2023 Gallery

For photos from all years, visit our Archive Gallery

Eddy Award Results

Professional Freestyle

Gold

The Voice in Isabell Fleiss’ Office

Professional Short Film

Gold

The King’s Eye

Silver

Dream Girl

Professional Documentary

Gold

Greener Pastures

Silver

The Collins Story: From the Earth to the Moon – Steps to the Moon

Professional Feature

Gold

Reveille

Silver

Between the Lines

ProAm Freestyle

Gold

Black Excellence by Tone Da Boss

Silver

Strange Ballet

ProAm Short Film

Gold

Letters

Silver

Dream Girl

ProAm Documentary

Gold

Livestock on the Land

Silver

Standing Strong: Elizabeth Catlett

ProAm Feature

Gold

You Should Have Killed Me

Silver

To Live Again

Student Freestyle

Gold

Heaven’s Ranch

SILVER

The Edge

Student Short Film

Gold

Alice

Silver

(Un)alarmed

Student Documentary

Gold

A Spring for Ali

Silver

Kenosha: The Shooting of Jacob Blake

Student Long-Form

Gold

The Way it Was

Silver

Exodus

Audience Choice Award

The Bridge

Student Audience Choice Award

Zach Dies at Nine

Iowa Connection Award

The King’s Eye

$1000 Collins Road Theatres Student Scholarship

PhD: Private High School Detective

Festival Director’s Awards
For Significant Contributions to CRIFF and Iowa Filmmaking

Scott Chrisman, CRIFF Founder

Insane Mike Saunders and Jason Bolinger, Prescribed Films

Celebrating 20 years of CRIFF! 

We don’t like to brag, but 2023 was one of the BEST CRIFFs EVER! Ninety-nine outstanding films were entered, the most since 2007!

Our distinguished panel of judges made 51 Official SelectionsNEW this year was Student Cinema Sunday, a special screening of just student films, followed by the presentation of the Student Audience Choice Eddy Award!

The Eddy Award Ceremony Saturday night, April 16th, was presented by FARMERS STATE BANK.

Our host venue generously continued its COLLINS ROAD THEATRES $1000 SCHOLARSHIP, awarded to a student filmmaker in order to further the recipient’s filmmaking education and career. 

Festival Director’s Awards for Significant Contributions to CRIFF and Iowa Filmmaking were presented to founder Scott Chrisman, with the festival since its inception in 2001; and Prescribed Films’ Mike Saunders and Jason Bolinger, having screened 23 films at CRIFF since 2005! 23!!

2023 Official Selections

2:40 AM

Professional Short
Insane Mike Saunders – Writer/Director
Prescribed Films
Ottumwa


The A.B.E.N Case

Student Short
Joshua Thomas Woolcott – Writer/Director
Noah Kallem – Producer
Buena Vista University – Storm Lake


Alice

Student Short
Matt Williams – writer, director, producer, editor
Loras College – Dubuque


Autumn Artistry via Canoe

Pro-Am Documentary
Bruce G. McKee – Director – Mason City
Dale Mills – Writer


Between the Lines

Professional Feature
Shelby Hagerdon, M.G. White – Directors
Bitter Hipster Films – Sioux City


Black Excellence by Tone Da Boss

Pro-Am Freestyle
Antonio Chalmers, Josh Booth – Directors – Cedar Rapids
Antonio Ricardo Chalmers, Ean Mills, Alicia Strong, Rachel Hagen – Writers – Cedar Rapids
T1 Entertainment


Blades of Betrayal

Student Short
Gavin Smith, Paul Murphy – Producers/Directors
University of Iowa – Iowa City
Drake University – Des Moines


The Blundering Buffoons

Student Freestyle
Calvin Huber – Director – Cedar Rapids
Taite Peach – Writer – Cedar Rapids
David Thomas, Jackson Slaymaker – Producers
Iowa Valley Community School  – Marengo


The Bridge

Professional Short
Courtney Ball, Adam Orton – Directors – Cedar Rapids
Flow Media


The Collins Story – Connecting the Moon to the Earth: Steps to the Moon

Professional Documentary
Annette Juergens Busbee – Writer/Producer
Busbee Communications, Wired Production Group, Arthur A. Collins Legacy Association – Cedar Rapids


Dream Girl

ProAm Short
Tristan Bennett – Director/Writer
Tyler Black, Skyler Ferguson, Kazek Israni-Winger – Writers
Zach Everman, Noah Lucy – Producers
Cedar Falls


The Edge

Student Freestyle
Colton Bachar, Jon Quinn, Michael Runde, Amber Krieg, Dana Majerczyk, Asia Singleton, Nate Kaiser, Nora Carr, Ellie Schill
Loras College Media Studies
 – Dubuque


Exodus

Student Long-Form
Nathan Matthew Blizzard – Director
Nathan Matthew Blizzard, Sidney Morgan, Piper Hager – Writers
Omaha, NE


Foreign

Student Freestyle
Logan Westin – Director – Des Moines
Des Moines Central Campus – Des Moines


Gills

Student Long Form
Griffin Presnell – Writer/Director
Ally Boyd – Producer
Wayne State College – Wayne NB


Good Riddance

Professional Short
Jake J. Roth – Director


Greener Pastures

Professional Documentary
Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian – Director/Producer
Vickie Curtis, Vanessa Roworth – Writers
Ian Robertson Kibbe – Producer


Gypsy Vengerka

Pro-Am Documentary
Oleg Timofeyev, Sabine I. Gölz – Directors/Producers


Heaven’s Ranch

Student Freestyle
Morgan Minear, Nate Kaiser – Directors/Producers
Addison Aronson – Performer
Loras College Media Studies – Dubuque


Into the Lions Den

Professional Documentary
Quinn Early – Writer/Director/Producer
Cameron Early, Benjamin Sheeler, Tai Seibert – Producers


Into the Valley

Professional Feature
Stephen Folker – Director
Sarah F. Katz – Producer/Writer


Kenosha: The Shooting of Jacob Blake

Student Documentary
Jon Quinn – Director
Loras College – Dubuque


The King’s Eye

Professional Short Film
Tony Joseph Cross – Director/Writer/Producer


Large

Student Short Film
Dillon Jacobson – Writer/Director/Producer
Lucas Halverson – Producer
University of Iowa – Iowa City


Launch Sequence

ProAm Short
Kazek Israni-Winger – Writer/Director/Producer
Abby Bjorholm – Producer


 
Let me know when your name gets to Mars

ProAm Feature
Kazek Israni-Winger – Writer/Director/Producer
Abby Bjorholm – Gorsche


Letters

Pro-Am Short
Eva Beunza – Writer/Director/Producer – Sioux City


Livestock on the Land

Pro-Am Documentary
Nick Ohde – Producer/Director
Practical Farmers of Iowa – Ames


Nostalgia

ProAm Short Film
Katie Otten – Director
Jeremy Wade Rodman – Writer/Producer


One Stolen Moment

Student Documentary
Ben Friedman, Michael Runde, Ben Burkholder, Pat Hunt – Directors/Producers
Loras College Media Studies – Dubuque


Orchestra Iowa — 100 Years Into Our Future

Professional Documentary
Benjamin Marion – Writer
Paul Marlow – Producer
Creative Genes – Cedar Rapids


Penny Road

Student Short Film
Chase Alexander Guerdet – Director/Writer/Producer
Austin Ellis – Writer/Producer
Randall Guerdet, Andrew Kilburg – Producers
Loras College – Dubuque


PhD: Private High School Detective

Student Freestyle
Myles Strait – Writer/Director – Oskaloosa


Polterguys (Series Pilot)

Professional Short
Landon Sheetz, Joey Loboda – Writers/Directors/Producers
Don Tjernagel – Producer


El Principe Azul (Prince Charming)

Student Documentary
Matt Williams, Juan Luna – Producers/Directors
Loras College Media Studies – Dubuque


REVEILLE

Professional Feature
Michael Akkerman – Director/Writer
Myra Miller, Phd, Jörg Rochlitzer, Mike Burch, Bernd Wittneben – Producers
Film Farm Iowa – Wellsburg


Shout

Professional Short Film
Mason Greer – Director/Producer
Kacie Rogers – Writer/Producer
Angela Mavropoulos – Producer


Shut The Box

ProAm Short Film
Brittany Benedict – Director – Dojolo Films – Newhall
Kevin Shepherd – Writer – Cintree Films – Coralville


A Spring for Ali

Student Documentary
Katherine Eid – Writer/Director
Maharishi International University – Fairfield


Standing Strong: Elizabeth Catlett

ProAm Documentary
Kevin J. Kelley – Director
Marie S. Wilkes – Producer
New Mile Media Arts – Iowa City


Strange Ballet

ProAm Freestyle
Carol Ann Montag – Director/Writer/Producer – Cedar Rapids


That Guy in Brown

ProAm Short
Matthew Tribble – Director/Writer – Cedar Rapids
Marc Bauer, Daniel Tribble – Writers – Cedar Rapids


To Live Again

ProAm Feature
Dr. Michael White – Writer/Director/Producer
Shelby Hagerdon – Producer
Bitter Hipster Films – Sioux City


The Tower

ProAm Short
Carrsan T. Morrissey – Writer/Director


Two Wheel Freedom

ProAm Documentary
Evan M. Jenkins – Writer/Director/Producer – Burnsville, MN
Michael Berg – Writer


(Un)alarmed

Student Short
Logan Westin – Director – Des Moines
Des Moines Central Campus – Des Moines


Uninvited House Guest

Professional Short
Insane Mike Saunders – Writer/Director
Prescribed Films – Ottumwa


The Voice in Isabel Fleiss’s Office

Professional Freestyle
Jim Haverkamp – Director/Producer – Cedar Rapids
Virgil Renfroe – Writer – Durham, NC


The Way It Was

Student Long-Form Film
Jake Heelein – Writer/Director/Producer
Nate Kaiser – Producer
Loras College – Dubuque


You Should Have Killed Me

ProAm Feature
Michael James Minard – Writer/Director – Cedar Rapids
Susan Andersen, Eric Andersen, Emily Bauer, Jesse Bauer, John Huff, Ricky Bartlett, Doug Myer – Producers – Cedar Rapids


Zach Dies at Nine

Student Short
Will Nachazel – Writer/Director/Producer – Cedar Rapids
University of Northern Iowa – Cedar Falls