2025 Key West Film Festival Announces Awards

The 14th Annual Key West Film Festival celebrated filmmakers and special guests in a joyful Awards Ceremony at The Studios of Key West. Congratulations to the KWFF 2025 Golden Key and Golden Conch Award Winners below.

GOLDEN KEY AWARDS

Excellence in Costume Design – DEBORAH L. SCOTT

Artistic Excellence – SIR BILLY CONNOLLY

Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking – ONDI TIMONER

Timoner was also presented with replacements of two previous award that she won in the festival, which were lost after her house burned down in the Altadena fires.

GOLDEN CONCH AWARDS
The 11^th Annual Key West Film Festival Critics Award is a juried prize selected by the attending critics, Bilge Ebiri (New York Magazine/ Vulture.com), Addie Morfoot (Variety), David Rooney (The Hollywood Reporter). The Golden Conch for Best Florida Feature was a juried prize voted on by Chad Newman, Film Commissioner for the Florida Keys and Key West; Liz Young, Director of the Keys Arts Council; and Jed Dodds, Executive Director of the The Studios of Key West

All other feature film awards are Audience Awards.

Best Narrative Feature Film – HAMNET – Chloe Zhao

Here’s your first look at HAMNET…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYcgQMxQwmk

Critics Award – THE SECRET AGENT – Kleber Mendonca Filho

Best Foreign Language Film – SENTIMENTAL VALUE – Joachim Trier

Best LGBTQIA+ Feature Film – I WAS BORN THIS WAY – Daniel Junge & Sam Pollard

Best Documentary Feature Film – ASK E. JEAN – Ivy Meeropol

Best Florida Feature Film – THE PYTHON HUNT – Xander Robin

Best World Comedy Short Film – BDAY PRIVATE DICK – Dante Ariola

Best World Documentary Short Film – ALL THE WALLS CAME DOWN – Ondi Timoner

Best World Dramatic Short Film – (tie) LITTLE REBELS CINEMA CLUB – Khozy Rizal / THE SINGERS – Sam Davis

Best Florida Filmmaker Short Film – GOLDEN YEARS – Tim Ritter

The Kimberly Peirce Scholarship for Student Filmmakers Presented by The King Family Foundation

Best World Student Filmmaker Short Film – WRESTLE- OFF – Sabatino Ciatti

Best Florida Student Short Film – PRÉLUDE – Paolo Cesti

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