The New York Science Fiction Film Festival has announced the award winners for its third annual event, which featured a lineup of film screenings, and screenplay and graphic novel categories. Held in-person on Saturday, March 25 at the Producers Club Theaters, with a virtual encore on Sunday, March 26, the festival honored the city’s diverse filmmaking community and recognized 13 official selections for exceptional storytelling. More information on this year’s event is available here.

Congratulations to the award winners of The 2023 New York Science Fiction Film Festival:

BEST EXPERIMENTAL SCI-FI FEATURETTE

Stoneman (2022)

Director: Rupert Barker

Run Time/Country: 38 minutes, UK

Synopsis: The last man on Earth must escape the British Isles before the country’s unmanned nuclear power stations go into meltdown.

BEST HORROR FEATURE

The Monster Mash (2022)

Director: Richard Terrasi, Kevin Losani

Run Time/Country: 120 minutes, USA

Synopsis: An anthology of three gruesome tales that will take you back to the days of creature features.

BEST DOCUMENTARY

Black Knight Satellite: Beyond the Signal (2022)

Director: Melissa Titti

Run Time/Country: 78 minutes, USA

Synopsis: Billy Carson as he uncovers the truth coming from an unknown signal. Carson has spent most of his life studying the unseen to uncover why humanity is here and where we came from. When he discovers a NASA image depicting an unknown object, Carson knows this could be the answer to his questions. Known as The Black Knight Satellite. He interviews leading thinkers in the field.

BEST HORROR FEATURETTE

The Pit and the Pendulum (2021)

Director: Danny Ashkenasi

Run Time/Country: 29 minutes, USA

Synopsis: Musical short film adaptation of the classic Poe story. A desperate composer imagines himself both the victim and the Inquisition in Poe’s “The Pit and the Pendulum.” Reality and fantasy converge with frightening consequences.

BEST SCI-FI SHORT

The Signal (2022)

Director: Daniel Lasker

Run Time/Country: 18 minutes, Zimbabwe

Synopsis: A deadly sound transmitted from space known as “The Signal,” corrupts the minds of all who hear it, turning them into soulless demons under its control.

BEST HORROR SHORT

Hangman (2022)

Director: Cameron Sun

Run Time/Country: 12 minutes, USA

Synopsis: A woman returning home is stalked by a mysterious upside down figure.

BEST ANIMATION

Agatha (2022)

Director: Roland Becerra, Kelly Bigelow Becerra

Run Time/Country: 60 minutes, USA

Synopsis: The film follows “The Professor,” a man suffering from a terminal disease, who by a twist of fate, witnesses an incredible event involving his mysterious neighbor Agatha.

BEST WEB SERIES

Cosmic Virtuoso (2022)

Submitter: Scienshell Studio

Run Time/Country: 20 minutes, USA

Synopsis: Showcasing alien mega constructions around the universe.

BEST TRAILER

Staycation (2023)

Director: Russ Emmanuel

Run Time/Country: 2 minutes, USA

Synopsis: Teaser Trailer for the upcoming film “Staycation” starring Olivia d’Abo, Sean Kenney, Tracee Cocco, Laurene Landon, Kelli Maroney, and Eileen Dietz.

BEST SCI-FI SCREENPLAY

Death Memory

Writer: Jenny Popovich

Synopsis: An eager scientist develops and performs an experimental cure for Alzheimer’s on her mother, who begins having disturbing memories of crimes she committed.

BEST SUPERNATURAL SCREENPLAY

An American Afterlife

Writer: Michael Natoli

Synopsis: After a shady life and a suspicious death on a job gone wrong, loudmouth mercenary Gee Zulamina finds herself conscripted onto a team of afterlife assassins, made up of misfit souls from different eras of American history.

BEST SHORT FORM SCREENPLAY

E.Nygma – A Batman Story

Writer: Rob Ayling

Synopsis: A psychological dive into the narcissistic mind of Edward Nygma,who is struggling to answer one of his most personal riddles.

BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL

Gorilla My Dreams – Team-Up #1

Writer: Tim Stiles, Kieran Jack

Synopsis: Knockaround-Guy (KG) and Cthulhu Williams don’t always see eye-to-eye. KG is a D-List superhero (and talking gorilla) who solves the weird and bizarre, street-level cases the A-List ignore. Williams is a paranormal investigator/monster hunter who takes his job VERY seriously.

[Based on a press release.]