Naples Int'l Film Festival 2025 Award Winners

Isabel Hagen holding "Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature" and "Focus on the Arts" Awards Naples Int'l Film Festival 2025 Award Winners (released 10/30/2025) By Kimberly Burke The Naples International Film Festival's closing night was October 26, 2025. At the closing night ceremony awards were announced and cash prizes were given. NIFF's trio of jurors for the 2025 edition of the juried competition included actor and filmmaker Judge Reinhold (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Beverly Hills Cop), filmmaker and Golden Globe-nominated actress Cynthia Gibb (Salvador, Fame), and Jim Brunzell III, director of festivals at Dark Star Pictures and director of the Twin Cities–based Sound Unseen Festival. Isabel Hagen's drama On a String, about a gifted violist's struggle to find her place as a professional musician, was a two-time winner, taking both the Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature (and a cash prize of $2,500) and NIFF's Focus on the Arts Award (and $1,500). The Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature (and $2,500) went to Cindy Meehl's Jimmy & The Demons, which follows 79-year-old sculptor and artist Jimmy Grashow over four years as he devotes himself to a towering magnum opus. For the first time, NIFF also presented a Jury Award for Best Short Film (and $1,500), which was awarded to Lee Knight’s A Friend of Dorothy. The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature (and $1,250) went to Ricardo de Montreuil's Mistura, while the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature (and $1,250) was presented to Jenna Naranjo Winters' Dream Touch Believe. The Audience Award for Best Short Film (and $1,000) went to Guto Barra and Peter DiMario's Parker & Sammy. Additional filmmaker awards selected by the festival programmers included Wendy Lobel's Anxiety Club receiving the Impact Award, Alexis Lloyd's Group – The Schopenhauer Project earning the Programmers' Choice Award and Reed Arnold's Do Us Part taking Best First Feature honors. Kathy Meng received the Rising Star Award for her directorial work on Willow and Wu, Stevo Chang and Rachel Mathieu's Timeless won NIFF's Indie Spirit Award and KT Bryden's The Little Brown Bird received the Florida Film Award. Each of these filmmakers also received a $750 cash prize. The 2025 Naples International Film Festival Award Winners: NIFF JURY AWARDS Best Narrative Feature – $2,500 On a String Director: Isabel Hagen Best Documentary Feature – $2,500 Jimmy & The Demons Director: Cindy Meehl Best Short Film – $1,500 A Friend of Dorothy Director: Lee Knight NIFF PROGRAMMERS' AWARDS Focus on the Arts Award – $1,500 On a String Director: Isabel Hagen Impact Award – $750 Anxiety Club Director: Wendy Lobel Indie Spirit Award – $750 Timeless Directors: Stevo Chang, Rachel Mathieu Programmers' Choice Award – $750 Group – The Schopenhauer Project Director: Alexis Lloyd Best First Feature – $750 Do Us Part Director: Reed Arnold Rising Star Award – $750 Kathy Meng, director Willow and Wu Best Florida Film Award – $750 The Little Brown Bird Director: KT Bryden NIFF AUDIENCE AWARDS Audience Award Winner, Narrative Feature – $1,250 Mistura Director: Ricardo de Montreuil Audience Award Winner, Documentary Feature – $1,250 Dream Touch Believe Director: Jenna Naranjo Winters Audience Award Winner, Best Short Film – $1,000 Sammy & Parker Print this article

Isabel Hagen holding "Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature" and "Focus on the Arts" Awards

Naples Int'l Film Festival 2025 Award Winners
(released 10/30/2025)
By Kimberly Burke

The Naples International Film Festival's closing night was October 26, 2025. At the closing night ceremony awards were announced and cash prizes were given. NIFF's trio of jurors for the 2025 edition of the juried competition included actor and filmmaker Judge Reinhold (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Beverly Hills Cop), filmmaker and Golden Globe-nominated actress Cynthia Gibb (Salvador, Fame), and Jim Brunzell III, director of festivals at Dark Star Pictures and director of the Twin Cities–based Sound Unseen Festival.

Isabel Hagen's drama On a String, about a gifted violist's struggle to find her place as a professional musician, was a two-time winner, taking both the Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature (and a cash prize of $2,500) and NIFF's Focus on the Arts Award (and $1,500). The Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature (and $2,500) went to Cindy Meehl's Jimmy & The Demons, which follows 79-year-old sculptor and artist Jimmy Grashow over four years as he devotes himself to a towering magnum opus. For the first time, NIFF also presented a Jury Award for Best Short Film (and $1,500), which was awarded to Lee Knight’s A Friend of Dorothy.

The Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature (and $1,250) went to Ricardo de Montreuil's Mistura, while the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature (and $1,250) was presented to Jenna Naranjo Winters' Dream Touch Believe. The Audience Award for Best Short Film (and $1,000) went to Guto Barra and Peter DiMario's Parker & Sammy.

Additional filmmaker awards selected by the festival programmers included Wendy Lobel's Anxiety Club receiving the Impact Award, Alexis Lloyd's Group – The Schopenhauer Project earning the Programmers' Choice Award and Reed Arnold's Do Us Part taking Best First Feature honors. Kathy Meng received the Rising Star Award for her directorial work on Willow and Wu, Stevo Chang and Rachel Mathieu's Timeless won NIFF's Indie Spirit Award and KT Bryden's The Little Brown Bird received the Florida Film Award. Each of these filmmakers also received a $750 cash prize.

The 2025 Naples International Film Festival Award Winners:

NIFF JURY AWARDS

Best Narrative Feature – $2,500

On a String

Director: Isabel Hagen

Best Documentary Feature – $2,500

Jimmy & The Demons

Director: Cindy Meehl

Best Short Film – $1,500

A Friend of Dorothy

Director: Lee Knight

NIFF PROGRAMMERS' AWARDS