The Centre Film Festival concluded its seventh year on Sunday with a Closing Night Awards Ceremony at the Rowland Theatre, honoring filmmakers across 13 categories and
highlighting collaborations between the global creative community and the region’s arts and cultural organizations.
This year’s festival showcased films and guests from more than 25 countries, representing stories that spanned continents— from Turkey, Ghana, Mexico and Italy, to Iran, Israel, Croatia, and the United States. Filmmakers traveled to Central Pennsylvania thanks to support from Penn State Global, Bellisario College of Communications, the Borough of State College, Happy Valley Adventure Bureau, the College of Arts and Architecture and numerous festival partners who helped bring international voices to rural communities.
The festival also underscored its growing educational impact. Students across Penn State’s campuses—from Abington to Altoona, Erie to York—participated through hands-on internships and class collaborations. For the first time, organized trips brought student delegations from Penn State York and Penn State Behrend in Erie to attend screenings, panels and workshops.
A high school filmmaker, Mia Durkan, traveled from Croatia to screen her short film and visit State College Area High School, where she met with media students for an international exchange of ideas. Another global highlight included a Mexico City filmmaker, Richard Rodriguez, who joined the festival after participating in a Penn State faculty-led course in Mexico City, reuniting with Penn State students who had studied filmmaking alongside him and returning to State College to screen his work.
Across the region, local partners—including 3 Dots Downtown, Tempest Studios, the Penn State Libraries, and colleges across the University—amplified conversations about storytelling, civic discourse and community. The festival also collaborated with WPSU on a special advance screening of The American Revolution, accompanied by a panel featuring a Penn State Abington professor who appears in the film.
This year’s festival introduced the Keystone Visionary Award, presented by Happy Valley Sports and Entertainment Alliance to state Sen. Camera Bartolotta. The festival celebrated Jerrie Johnson as the Chandler Living Legacy award winner, and Don Roy King as the Lifetime Achievement Award winner.
Closing Night featured live performances by La Fiesta Band, a reunion conversation between Jerrie Johnson and Steve Broadnax, and a conversation with Cameron King and her father Don Roy King, former Saturday Night Live director and Penn State alumnus.
2025 CENTRE FILM FESTIVAL AWARD WINNERS
FICTION FEATURES
● Best Acting – Arienne Mandi, Tatami
● Best Acting – Zar Amir Ibrahimi, Tatami
● Best Acting – Shadi Mar’i, Eid
● Best Director – Gabrielle Brady, The Wolves Always Come at Night
● Best Cinematography – Michael Latham, The Wolves Come Out at Night
● Best Feature – The Fisherman, dir. Zoey Martinson
● Social Impact Award – The Sea, dir. Shai Carmeli-Pollak
● Juror’s Choice – Zoe, dirs. Emanuela Galliussi & Dean Ronalds
FICTION SHORTS
● Best Short – Don’t Be Late, Myra, dir. Afia Serena Nathaniel
● Best Director – Fernando Reinaldos, Gallina
● Best Acting – Sarah Drew, Such a Pretty Girl
● Best Acting – Joakim Lopez Fernandez, Gallina
● Best Cinematography – Don’t Be Late, Myra, dir. Afia Serena Nathaniel
● Juror’s Choice – Kosher Test, dir. Rikki Rotter
● Social Impact Award – A Good Day Will Come, dir. Amir Zargara
DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
● Best Film – Cutting Through Rocks, dirs. Sara Khaki & Mohammad Reza Eyni
● Best Cinematography – Eyes of Ghana, David Feeney-Mosier & Brandon Somerhalder
● Best Director – Mr. Nobody Against Putin, dirs. David Bornstein & Pavel Talankin
● Social Impact Award – Free Leonard Peltier, dirs. Jesse Short Bull & DavidFrance
● Juror’s Choice – Coexistence, My Ass!, dir. Amber Fares
DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
● Best Short – All the Empty Rooms, dir. Joshua Seftel
● Best Cinematography – Mountains We Climb, Alan Imber
● Best Directors – The Third Child, dir. Serna Amini
● Social Impact Award – Whatever Dreams They Had, dirs. Stephanie Ayanian & Joseph Myers
● Juror’s Choice – The Art of Loss, dir. Kathy Bruner
DISABILITY ON SCREEN
● Best Feature – Life After, dir. Reid Davenport
● Best Short – I Can’t Talk Right Now, dir. Carlos Alberto Mej.as
● Best Cinematography – Life After, Amber Fares
● Social Impact Award – Silent Night, dir. Michal Cygan
● Juror’s Choice – Fist Bump, dir. Madeleine Farley
MADE IN PENNSYLVANIA
● Best Feature – Alice-Heart, dir. Mike Macera
● Best Short – Baba, I’m Fine, dir. Karina Dandashi
● Social Impact Award – About Face: Disrupting Ballet, dir. Jennifer Rita Lin
● Juror’s Choice – A Lovely Uncontrollable Thing, dir. Ashley Seering
PRIDE ON SCREEN
● Best Feature – Heightened Scrutiny, dir. Sam Feder
● Best Short – Nothing, Maybe, dir. Daniel Gat
● Social Impact Award – Assembly, dirs. Rashaad Newsome & Johnny Symons
● Juror’s Choice – Don’t Cry for Me All You Drag Queens, dir. Kristal SotomayorSPORTS ON SCREEN
● Best Feature – Beyond the Gaze: Jule Campbell’s Swimsuit Issue, dir. Jill Campbell
● Best Director – Jereme Watt, Everest Dark
● Social Impact Award – Queen of the Catskills, dir. Jamie Kennard
● Juror’s Choice – Seconds Away, dir. Benjamin Kegan
ANIMATION & EXPERIMENTAL
● Best Animation – P, dir. Stelios Koupetoris
● Best Short – Good Neighbors Care, dir. Kate E. Hinshaw
● Social Impact Award – Disabled: A Love Story, dir. Sheila M. Sofian
● Juror’s Choice – Five Seasons of My Childhood, dir. Besim Ugzmajli
STUDENT SHORTS
● Best U.S. Short – Lights Camera Carnage, dir. Logan Weisberg
● Best International Short – Ya Hanouni, dirs. Lyna Tadount & Sofian Chouaib
● Best High School Short – To Drive or Not to Drive, dir. Kei-Dir
● Social Impact Award – Handwoven, dir. Dasha Levin
● Juror’s Choice – REM-Slaap, dir. Husam Zakaraya
FOUNDERS AWARD
● Winner – The Librarians, dir. Kim Snyder
AUDIENCE AWARDS
● Feature – Nuremberg, dir. James Vanderbilt
● Short – Poreless, dir. Harris Doran
● Made in PA Feature – Love Chaos Kin, dir. Chithra Jeyaram
● Made in PA Short – The Wayward, dir. Phoebe Post
● Social Impact – Move Ya Body, dir. Elegance Bratton
