VIFF 2024 AWARD NOMINEES

Below is the list of the 2024 Valkyrie Award Nominations. The awards will be presented at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 24th at the Screening Room Cinema & Arts Cafe, 880 Alberta Drive in Amherst, New York. Additional Surprise Special Awards will be presented.

Best Drama

• The Sweetest Goodbye directed by Emily Schooley

• Trying directed by Emily Alpren

• She Who Dared directed by Gabrielle Rosson

• Trust directed by Diane Lansing

• Outbound directed by Missy Bell

Best Fantasy Film

• Lorelei directed by Jaime Nebeker

• Baba Yaga Smoked Me Out directed by Julia Berkey

• Y directed by Tamara Cook

• A Mermaid on a Summer’s Night directed by Ke Liu

Best Comedy

• Pickled Herring directed by Milana Vayntrub

• Wallie’s Gals directed by Mary C. Ferrara

• Holy Moly Meteorite directed by V. Leigh

• Baba Yaga Smoked Me Out directed by Julia Berkey

• V-card directed by Brooklyn Braaten

Best Horror Film

• Gummies directed by Renetta G. Amador

• Chipper directed by MK Kopp

• Lorelei directed by Jaime Nebeker

• Always Wear Comfortable Shoes directed by Angie Hansen

• Wilderness directed by Amelie Leroy

Best Sci-Fi Film

• Dibs on Mars directed by Julia Tutko-Balena

• Ardor directed by V. Leigh

• Holy Moly Meteorite directed by V. Leigh

• Rest directed by Joan Cassin

Best Documentary Feature

• Fight for Ukraine: 12 Women’s War directed by Karen Kanes Floyd

• The 9 Lives of Barbara Dane directed by Maureen Gosling

• Take the Ice directed by Rachel Koteen

• He Told Us the Sky is Blue directed by Cecilia Mellieon

Best Documentary Short

• Stand UP, Speak Out - Reproductive Rights: Know Your Rights directed by Elisabeth Harris

• Interception: Jayne Kennedy, American Sportscaster directed by Safiyah Songhai

• The Asifa Bano Story directed by Mina Isabella JafriMalik

• Citizens of Nowhere directed by Alicia Sully

Best Animated Film 

• Brutus directed by Julia Samborski

• Undrown directed by Sofia Andrea Hernandez, Anahí Colombina Poblete, Hazel Fernanda Guarachi

• With My Dad directed by MehrLTD Sales

• Why the Dogs and the Wolves Fear Each Other directed by Sydni Wolpert

Best WNY Film

• This Is Not a Pipe Dream directed by Tracy Snyder

• Car Spider directed by Victoria Hutton

• Incantations directed by Amanda Besl

• Die Dame directed by Taylor Martin

• DoorSlash directed by Sabrina Peña Young

Best Experimental Film

• Murmurs of the River directed by Jeanne Travers, Bliss Kohlmyer, Dora Arreola

• Incantations directed by Amanda Besl

• Little Dreams with Eyes Wide Open directed by Carolina Kzan

• Lessons in Cage Decoration directed by Kimberly Te

• Eupnea directed by Trish Morrissey

Best Student Film

• Showrunner directed by Maria Gian

• Carnations directed by Sarah Mehani

• Pier 35 directed by Raina Liwen Yang

• A Mermaid on a Summer’s Night directed by Ke Liu

• Mother’s Essence directed by Kylie Kuty

Best WNY Student Film

• Carnations directed by Sarah Mehani

• Mother’s Essence directed by Kylie Kuty

• Love’s a Drug directed by Summer Faye Harris 

• Conceal Her directed by Anna Maria Logan