2023 Winners
2023 Screenplay Winners
Please note that selection of any and all published winners is at the sole discretion of the Garden State Film Festival (“GSFF”) judging panel. The GSFF reserves the right to select or not select a “winner” or award for any particular category in a given year and are under no obligation to do so. By participating in the GSFF, the participant acknowledges this disclaimer and waives his/her/their right to contest any decision by the judging panel to award or not award in a category.
This event is sponsored in part by:

FEATURE WINNER:

Curly's Camp for Girls (and Boys)
Written by Kelly A. Byrne
Kelly Byrne is a writer from New Jersey, where half of New York’s talent is actually from.She started writing after she realized playing sports competitively meant a lot of running and kept writing after she won a summer camp award for writing and directing a short film. She later won the thesis prize at Princeton University for outstanding work on an original screenplay about a penny discovering her self-worth.
She lives in Los Angeles where she has worked as a director’s assistant on such classics as “The Curse of Llorona” and “Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn” - and spent two years working in development at Amazon Studios.
Now a student at the Stark Producing Program at USC, she spends her spare time writing for kids and family audiences to give them the great comedies they deserve, while asking the tough and sometimes ambiguous questions of what it means to grow up.
Synopsis: While during the school 14-year-old Seth is a bit of a nerd, at camp he’s a god. Only this year, his realm has merged with the girl’s camp. Determined to keep the status quo, Seth risks the only friends he's ever known for a summer of hijinks and games.
Short Screenplay Winner:

Ablaze
Written by Jenny Goddard-Garcia
Jenny Goddard-Garcia spent the first half of her career making short films while working in production, mainly as an Assistant Director, on indie feature films and music videos in Austin, TX. I have written, directed, and produced three of my own short films. In addition, she has produced numerous shorts and one feature with amazing collaborators. Having relocated to Los Angeles to focus entirely on her writing career, she is enjoying getting to know the city. Big congrats Jenny on your win!
Movie Music Winners

MOVIE MUSIC COMPETITION PLAYLIST
Best Retro Song
Back to 1964
Composer: Philip Curcuru
Performed by: The Atomik Age Project
Best Pop Song
Disconnected
Composers: Krysta Youngs, Julia Sinclair
Performed by: Krysta Youngs
Best Movie Theme
Foreboding
Composer: Beverly Cole Putnam
Performed by: Vitor Gonçalves
Best Blue Grass Song
Departure
Composer: Eric Elterman and Kensuke Shoji
Performed by: Kensuke Shoji and Eric Elterman
Best Vocals in a Home Grown Score
Cici’s Sonata – Music Score
Composers: Edward B. Kessel
Performed by: Edward B. Kessel
Best Score from a Short
A Sunny Lovely Day
Composer: Alberto Anaya
Performed by: Alberto Anaya
Best Orchestral Score from an Animation
The Last Cloudweaver
Composer: Ros Gilman
Performed by: Ros Gilman, Prague Metropolitan Orchestra
Best Country Song
Night Skies
Composer: Matthew Hackett & Husayn Ruhe aka the Puge
Performed by: Matthew Hackett & Husayn Ruhe aka the Puge
Best Theme from a Documentary
Songs of Little Saigon
Composer: Sid De La Cruz
Performed by: Tina Huynh, Jason Nguyen, Elizabeth Le, Minh Nguyen. Conducted by Sid De La Cruz
2022 ACTOR NOMINATIONS
BEST ACTOR IN A FEATURE
Jerry H. Sroka – Our almost completely true STORY
Ben Begley – Fourth Grade
Aaron Monaghan – Redemption of a Rogue
BEST ACTRESS IN A FEATURE
Miya Cech – Marvelous and the Black Hole
Mariette Hartley – Our almost completely true STORY
Mena Suvari – Fourth Grade
Aisling O’Mara – Redemption of a Rogue
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A FEATURE
Peter MacNicol – Our almost completely true STORY
William Baldwin – Fourth Grade
Kieran Roche – Redemption of a Rogue
Leonardo Nam – Marvelous and the Black Hole
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A FEATURE
Morgan Fairchild – Our almost completely true STORY
Teri Polo – Fourth Grade
Liz Fitzgibbon – Redemption of a Rogue
Rhea Pearlman – Marvelous and the Black Hole
BEST ENSEMBLE (FEATURE)
Redemption of a Rogue
Fourth Grade
Our almost completely true STORY
Marvelous and the Black Hole
BEST ACTOR IN A SHORT
Timothy Hornor – Bernard Checks In
Ian Morrison – Parrot
Lucca De Oliveira – You’re Now Beyond Hope, Arizona
Xander Berkeley – The Little Drummer Boy
Robin Lord Taylor – Skeletons
Tosin Morohunfola – Ride
Brian Keane – Matthew
BEST ACTRESS IN A SHORT
Anna Camp – GraceLand
Lainie Ventura – En Suite
Bonnie McKee – April Kills the Vibe
Karlijn Koel – Game Über
Katie Vincent – HomeBound
Jameelah Nurridin – Aftermath
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A SHORT
Conner Marx – Bernard Checks In
Daniel Nguyen – April Kills the Vibe
Geordie Kieffer – You’re Now Beyond Hope, Arizona
Michael Graziadei – The Little Drummer Boy
Ezra Knight – Matthew
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A SHORT
Ashley Platz – Bernard Checks In
Elyse MIrto – You’re Now Beyond Hope, Arizona
Scarlett Lewis – Operation: Cavity
Louisa Erlich – Matthew
Eileen Davidson – Aftermath