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 Selections. NEW 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 Selections. NEW 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
