Highland Park Independent Film Festival Announces 2025 Award Winners
4 min read
Los Angeles, CA (November 1, 2025) The Highland Park Independent Film Festival has announced the 2025 Award Winners after wrapping last week at the historic Garibaldina Society in Highland Park. The 12th Annual festival’s theme of “Heart and History” featured a diverse and inspiring array of films, discussions and panels that were a vibrant celebration of filmmaking which included many outstanding premieres.
Sue Carpenter’s LA Pirate Radio Rock-Doc 40 Watts From Nowhere kicked off the festival. Since its world premiere at Slamdance this year, Carpenter’s film has been rocking the festival circuit and now she’s now joined forces with Jack Black who stepped up as the films Executive Producer. The film took home the HPIFF award for Best Documentary Feature Film.
The festival closed with director Mauricio Medina Elizondo’s Kokoro: Heart of A City from Mexico. Elizondo’s anthology of stories about heartbreak, friendship and love set in Mexico City won the award for Best Narrative Feature Film.
2025 Highland Park Independent Film Festival Award Winners:
Horror in the Hood
Winner: The Nature of Death
Honorable Mention: Love Bomb
Audience Award: Love Bomb
Highland Park Hijinx
Winner: Pretty Good
Honorable Mention: Sienna and the Sit
Audience Award: Pretty Good
Audience Award: The Unlikelihood of Trevor
Handcrafted Independents
Winner: The Uniform
Honorable Mention & Audience Award: Dream Machine
Photo by Al C. Strange
Healing Reels
Winner: TATTERS! A Puppet Story
Honorable Mention: Terminally Ill
Audience Award: TATTERS! A Puppet Story
Photo by Al C. Strange
Hues of Animation
Winner: Sunrise In Prison
Honorable Mention: I Know Him So Well
Audience Award: Sorry I Missed Your Call
Hypnotic Filmscapes
Winner: Metal
Honorable Mention: Black Piñata
Honorable Mention: The Re-education of Jane Brown
Audience Award: The Tell-Tale Heart
Harmonic Reflections
Winner: How The Rose Reaches
Honorable Mention: Sonata
Audience Award: Right On!
Haciendo Cine
Winner: Heart of the Diamond
Honorable Mention: Super Latina
Audience Award: Fiat Lux 5000
Herspective Cinema
Winner: You Used to be Fun
Honorable Mention: Solstice
Audience Award: You Used to be Fun
Humanity in Focus
Winner: SU
Honorable Mention: Compas
Audience Award: Compas
Best Narrative Feature: Kokoro: Heart of A City
Benjamin Ortiz, Actor – Photo by Al C. Strange
Best Short: Terminally Ill
Best Short Honorable Mention: Paydirt
Best Performance: Jammie Patton, The Uniform
Best Ensemble: Sienna and the Sit
Best Student Film: Sage Hen
Honorable Mention: Scary Marian, The Scariest Librarian
Best Feature Documentary: 40 Watts From Nowhere
For more information about the festival please visit: www.hpifilmfest.com
About Highland Park Independent Film Festival:
Founded in 2014, Highland Park Independent Film Festival is dedicated to elevating diverse voices and promoting innovative storytelling. Their mission is to create a platform for filmmakers to showcase their work while engaging audiences in impactful conversations.
From their debut in 2014, they presided at the historic Highland Theatre, located off the Figueroa corridor of Historic Route 66. In 2020, due to the pandemic, they produced their first-ever Drive-In experience to much success. For the last two years with the beloved Highland Theatre closed for renovation, they were grateful for the space provided by a supportive and encouraging community, and to their 2025 venue sponsor: The Garibaldina Society.
HPIFF is the first and only of its kind in Highland Park. A grassroots organization that invites filmmakers producing unique and captivating independent cinema to share their work with the Highland Park community. They foster emerging and established filmmakers by providing screening forums, professional networking, and mentoring. To this end, their organization consists of three components: the Highland Park Independent Film Festival, a Community Film Series, and a Filmmaking Mentorship Program for youth in the community. The festival is an annual event held in October featuring the works of filmmakers from Highland Park and around the world. The Community Film Series consists of film screenings or participation in events designed to build community through film, fulfilled this year by the production of a Movie Trivia Night series at The Offbeat, A Bar on York. Their Mentorship Program has offered film education and enrichment for the youth of Franklin High School for 12 years.
Follow HPIFF on social media:
Facebook: @highlandparkindependentfilmfestival | Instagram, X, TikTok: @hpifilmfest
