Waco’s Deep in the Heart Film Festival announced the award winners for the 6th edition of the film festival led by Aaron Hosé’s One Pint at a Time, which took three awards, including Best Feature Film, Best Documentary, and the Audience Award for Best Feature. Individual awards were led by The Sisters Karras’ Micah Stathis (Best Feature Film Director), and A Place Among the Dead’s’ Juliet Landau (Best Performance – Feature Film).

Co-Founders and Co-Directors Louis Hunter and Samuel Thomas, said, “This year’s Deep in the Heart Film Festival was another reaffirmation of the reputation this film festival has built over the last couple of years. Forging that connection between our visiting filmmakers and the wonderful film-loving community in Waco has always been our aim and we are enjoying seeing that come to fruition in so many ways now.” Hunter and Thomas added, “Our award-winning films this year emphasized that connection and added the anticipation of more filmmakers returning to Waco to shoot their next films – and the thought of that energizes us to continue to grow in years to come.”

2022 Deep in the Heart Film Festival Filmmaker Award Winners

Feature Film Awards

Best Feature Film
One Pint at a Time
Director: Aaron Hosé

Best Feature Film (Documentary)
One Pint at a Time
Director: Aaron Hosé

Best Director – Feature Film
Micah Stathis (The Sisters Karras)

Best Performance – Feature Film
Juliet Landau (A Place Among the Dead)

Audience Awards

Feature Film
One Pint at a Time
Director: Aaron Hosé

Short Film
The Tale of the Daughter
Directors: Taylor Hinds, Savannah Sivert

Short Film Awards

Best Short Film
Bainne
Director: Jack Reynor                     

Best Texas Short Film
First Impressions
Director: Michael Charron

Best United States Short Film
Out of Tune
Director: Portlynn Tagavi

Best Foreign Short Film
Kafkas
Director: Nick Blake                  

Best Student Short Film
Saving Salvador
Director: Luisa Maria González              

Special Jury Award – Short Films
Male Fadàu (Ill Fated) (Director: Matteo Incollu)
Jettison (Director: JJ Pollack)
Man Seeking Man (Director: Travis White)
Where the Winds Die (Director: Pejman Alipour)

Short Film Awards by Genre

Best Drama Short
Kalamiti
Director: Glenn Pack

Best Comedy Short
We All Die Alone
Director: Jonathan Hammond

Best Documentary Short
Riding the Shadow
Directors: Blair Thomas, Steve Vanderhiede

Best Fantasy/Sci-Fi Short
Telos
Director: Natalie LaValley                      

Best Horror/Thriller Short
Cutter
Directors: Dan Repp, Lindsay Young              

Best Family Short
Nickels
Directors: Chris Sage, Stephen Schroeder

Best Music Video
“Bones”
Directors: Jill Sachs, Angeline Armstrong

Short Film Craft Awards

Best Director – Short Film
Vaishali Naik (7 Star Dinosor Entertainment)

Best Performance – Short Film (Drama)
Rona Rees (Freya)

Best Performance – Short Film (Comedy)
Joe Grisaffi (Joe Returns a Video)

Best Cinematography – Short Film
Matthew Barber (Specter of Weeping Hill)

Best Editing – Short Film
Esmeralda Hernandez (Dream Carriers)

Best Screenplay – Short Film
Samuel Rudykoff (Cruise)

Screenplay Competition

Best Unproduced Screenplay – First Place
“The Audition” (Writers: Gregory JM Kasunich, Lauren Noll)

Best Unproduced Screenplay – Honorable Mention
“Blood Splattered Pearls” (Writer: Shanna R Riker)