River Tap That

A mockumentary about two average opposing dance crews and the local council that wants to shut them down. When Gerry and Amanda were together they created a new dance style, River Tap That, but now they're divorced, they compete against each other in a local council car park. Who will win this year? And will the council shut them down finally?

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

Friends Not Food

ONCE UPON A FACETIME... Rachel, just two cats away from being a cautionary meme, inherits a barely-functioning farm sanctuary in rural Florida thanks to her half-brother’s catastrophic poker face. Her plan? Get the place stable, hand it back, return to civilization. But the sanctuary’s a fever dream in overalls. It’s less Green Acres, more an emotional support group for people who own ring lights. As Rachel battles zoning laws & existential dread, she attempts to boost visibility with a small local ad. One derailed celebrity casting later, a viral video catapults the sanctuary into the kind of chaos you can’t buy. Or return. And just like that, the woman who once branded oat milk is suddenly milking meaning - for the misfits, for the mission and, inconveniently, for herself.

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

Leylines

It began with disaster... It's been one year since Dr. Anthony Harbor's experiment caused a blast that ruptured the foundations of MIT, destroyed his reputation, and cost him his life. Now, estranged brothers Ethan and Milo Harbor come together to uncover the mystery of their father’s work. Weaving science fiction and spirituality, Leylines is an adventure across the globe as the Harbor brothers confront billionaires, the US government, and each other to save their father and Earth as we know it.

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

Demon Doctor

Inspired by 90s genre shows like Buffy, The Vampire Slayer and The X-Files, Demon Doctor is an LGBT story about a portly demonologist and a detective who believes in the beyond teaming up to confront the mysteries lurking beneath the surface...

Best Sci-Fi / Horror / Fantasy Web Series or Short Films

Minds Never Matter (Year 1)

Four budding adventurers, Emilia Victosolis, the Paladin noble with a not-so-heart of gold; Pogo Stardust, the hard-working Barbarian doing his best to become a Wizard; Cecily Belghriom, a bubbly homeschooled church fanatic-turned Cleric; and Sartheleon Grey, a charmingly self-centered Rogue with more problems than his aim with a dagger take on one of the most stressful challenges of their lives: becoming college students. Taking place on the continent Divitotum, comprised of seven unified regions, our party comes together after being enrolled in the Adventuring College of Elona, the center most region in Divitotum. The college is known for training some of the top adventurers in the world, and each of our "heroes" have their own motivations and reasons for coming to the school as freshman. As the four begin to bond as a party and get used to their newfound independence, weird things start happening that may indicate there's a much larger threat than midterms looming on campus.

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

The Gospel of Haven

The Gospel of Haven is a religious horror podcast exploring the intersection of faith and anatomy after the end of the world. 200 years after the apocalypse, the priest of a cult living inside the body of their god seeks a cure for a mysterious infection in the living flesh of their home, and a young heretic seeks escape from the rigid structures of their oppressive society.

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

The Heart is a Dungeon: Know Gods, No Afters

Know Gods, No Afters is a ttrpg tragedy following four fallen gods attempting to survive a night in the city of Pangaea.

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

The Ghost Pepper Eating Contest of Jefferson County

Successful and intelligent people from different walks of life compete in a ghost pepper (aka the hottest pepper int he world) contest and unwittingly attempt to break the Guinness Record.

Best Documentary / Talk Show / Variety / Experimental Web Series or Short Film.

The All-American Ruins Podcast: Someone Lives Here

abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast ​​guides listeners through immersive audio fantasies, recreating host Blake Pfeil’s experiences exploring abandoned spaces across the United States and around the world. Along the way, abandoned asks critical questions about American history and culture, community, economics, the environment, and mental health while encouraging folks to activate their imaginations as a tool for healing. In this episode: “Abandoned” doesn’t always mean “empty,” and in one particular vacant mini-mansion in Merida, Mexico, that is precisely the case. Continuing on his international circuit, join Blake as he spins an imaginary folk tale about the people who used to live in this house, while wandering its halls and reflecting on family, poetry, and gun violence.

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

My Robot Roommate, Eps 1-3

A college student arrives on campus with her (real?) robot companion.

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

FEAR NOT

Join Bret Lane and The Celebration Choir as they grace our screens with a song from their new EP

Best Music Video

THE FILM FESTIVAL DOCTOR PODCAST

An indispensable Podcast to help you get your film seen on the festival circuit. The Film Festival Doctor podcast is hosted by Festival Strategist Dr. Rebekah Louisa Smith. Her podcast focuses on all things film festivals to help you learn more about this part of the film industry. In each episode she unpacks and demystifies with her guests the complex and very precise world of film festival strategy and programming. In this episode, Rebekah takes a deep dive with Daniel Sol, the Co-Director & Founder of the Oscar Qualifying HollyShorts Festival. During their discussion, they discuss how HollyShorts grew to become an Oscar Qualifying film festival, what types of short films they look for and what qualities an Oscar winning short film has.

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

To The Ends

In the shadowy corners of paradise, a glimmer of hope. Behind Bali’s idyllic image lies a quieter struggle. Beyond the beaches and temples, many communities face poverty, limited healthcare, and isolation. To The Ends journeys into these overlooked spaces, where beauty and hardship exist side by side. The film follows Indonesian pastor Chandra Tobing, his wife Uria, and their small team as they walk alongside low-income families and remote villages, offering medical care, food, and mentorship through real-time outreach. Interwoven with their present work are reflections on years of rejection and loss—including being pushed out by their own church and unexpectedly supported by Buddhist and Hindu neighbors—experiences that have shaped their compassion and resolve. Immersive and deeply human, To The Ends reveals the slow, patient work of perseverance and hope in one of the world’s most spiritually complex regions.

Best Trailer - All Genres

The Contract

A lonely man seeking a place to belong travels to the remote home of a mysterious BDSM master who promises to provide him with one...if he can prove his worth.

Best Trailer - All Genres

HAVANA SYNDROME

For fans of The Diplomat, The X-Files, and Where in the World is Carmen San Diego? HAVANA SYNDROME is a groundbreaking new audio drama which follows the story of two siblings pulled unwillingly into the realm of global espionage when their sister goes AWOL from the CIA to track down the source of a mysterious sound which has plagued spies, diplomats, and military officers around the world.

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

BLACK ROSE

A former MMA fighter gets a second shot at her dream career, but she must choose between her family and her destiny.

Best Dramedy Series or Short Film

The Chronicles of Wild Hollow: Highperion Day (Vol. 1)

The latest instalment in award-winning original series by Shouting Is Funny, ‘The Chronicles of Wild Hollow: Highperion Day (Vol. 1)’ was created by Harvey Badger and Christian Powlesland, with a cinematic score composed by Christian Powlesland, artwork by Harvey Badger, and original songs written by the company. Highperion Day is the biggest event of the year, and it is fast approaching. With the outcome of the election deciding the fate of all Hollownians, everyone is eagerly anticipating the results. Kelly Fluff scrabbles to retain leadership for the Animal Union, whilst Obsidian Vandersplat of the PDP is fast becoming the frontrunner. Arthur J. Hoot, cartoonist at the Hollow Herald, dreams of becoming a renowned journalist, but soon finds himself way out of his depth. And on a secluded rock, some way out to sea, Fandango Boursin arrives on the doorstep of Artemis Gray’s lighthouse, with a request...

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

Divorce Ranch

June 1949. Heiress Mitzi Ballantyne has gone missing during her "Reno-vation" at the Sidewinder Resort. Detective Francis O'Connell, a Bible-toting bloodhound, would rather be at his Ma's sickbed. Instead, he steps off the train and into a den of liberated ex-wives who test his every nerve. Crooked cops, runaways, and divorcees collide in a female-forward, "west-of-center" take on the classic noir.

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

GODKILLER: Qismat

GODKILLER: Qismat is multilingual Actual Play using the GODKILLER RPG Ashcan. It tells an interstellar tale of several lives whose destiny are shaken up because of a murder of a God among the pantheon of a galaxy by an outlying comet. Each Godkiller pursues their own story's end which are intermingled with the fate of the God who lords over their separate planets and whose divine lives are at stake. Each Godkiller has their own struggle, unique and universal, under the shadowed canopy of rules that their planet forces upon them, and yet each Godkiller has the choice of becoming something more than their destiny. GODKILLER: Qismat is not a story about killing Gods, but breaking down pillars of thoughts which become our Gods.

Actual Play (Video)

Dastardly Dungeoneers

As days darken and the light of hope begins to wither, travelers on the frontier yearn for a hero to shape the new world's future... Following the wreckage of the Great War, the newly unified Feraelands found themselves taken advantage of by the Nine Archdevils of the Hells – conniving children of the Gods who targeted struggling frontier families and soldiers, offering them otherworldly powers beyond mortal comprehension at the measly cost of their soul post-mortem. Zenith couldn’t bear to see her beloved mortals be taken advantage of; choosing four individuals from different walks of life to serve as her Chosen, who succeeded in reforming the relationship between the surface and the Hells. In the beginning – this brought a gale of positive change to the Feraelands. But, once the journey was over, time continued its cruel march as our heroes grew jaded, resentful – disillusioned with the responsibilities placed on their heavy shoulders. With each beast felled, a new, deadlier foe would arise – and as the four took on everything from corrupt tax collectors to dragons displacing entire settlements with their almost otherworldly abilities, the unity that once bathed the Feraelands in a Golden light of hope had begun to dim. Years have passed since these legendary heroes were plucked from their everyday lives and sent down a path of adventuring for “a higher purpose”. Our gilded heroes of the Feraelands were weathered by the region’s never-ending storm and one faithful day many years ago, the four cut ties and decided to carve their own paths – at least, that’s what they thought the fates had in store for them. -- Dastardly Dungeoneers is an actual play podcast using Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition and Dungeons & Dragons 2024 to spin a tale of devilry, divine intervention, and the indomitable strength of mankind in the face of tyranny.

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

Josephine

While at a sleep over, Ruby tells the story of a bullied teen who died and now takes revenge against the bullies of her former school.

Best Sci-Fi / Horror / Fantasy Web Series or Short Films

Burned

After a tragic accident costs an actor his career, a chance encounter with his former stunt-man leads to unexpected, painful revelations.

Best Sci-Fi / Horror / Fantasy Web Series or Short Films

As The Chips Fall

"As The Chips Fall" is a comedy soap opera audio fiction podcast about the residents and employees of the McClintock Hotel, Casino, and Sloth Sancutary in the vibrant town of Las Vegas... Ohio. At the helm is Davis McClintock who has recently taken ill. Second in command is Reginald Abernathy, Director of Hotel Operations. Davis' daughter, Calpurnia McClintock is set to return to the McClintock after receiving a mysterious letter telling her that her father is not well. Also making their way to the McClintock is Sequina Jackson who is starting her new life as the McClintock's only exotic dancer. On her way she encounters drifter Sebastian Long who lives on the land and has no cell phone. Other McClintock regulars include the slow-talking Reuben, Head of the Sloth Sanctuary, local psychic and permanent resident, Madame Escroc, not-what-she-seems-to-be resident, Gwendolyn Augustus who says she books models, but might have a secret identity, and Chief of Police, Henry Hyde who also harbors a secret of his own.

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

Bloom&Blight: A Girl by Moonlight Actual Play

Queerness. Magical Girls. Loss and Healing. A few months after their leader sacrificed herself to save the world, the magical girls of Bloom must learn how to overcome their grief as evil begins to stir anew. Bloom&Blight is a queer and trans led, majority BIPOC, Giro by Moonlight Actual Play Podcast.

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

The Desk Files S1

The Desk Files is a neo-noir comedy of errors set in the claustrophobic purgatory of a single basement desk. Prof. Gustav, a sardonic tinkerer, and Anton, a failed actor turned obsessive screenwriter, have turned the act of "waiting for a break" into a mythic ritual. Under the dim glow of a desk lamp, mundane malfunctions—jammed printers, cryptic notes from an unseen executive named ‘Chad,’ and stubborn vending machines—become haunted symbols of their struggle. Staged as a darkly comic anthology, the series unmasks the absurd persistence required to create in a world designed to reject you.

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

Eyes In The Woods: Episode 1 & 2

An OUTtv Original Series. Deep in the woods, Sam and Brooklyn grapple with two vastly different secrets. One that feels inevitable. One that is too strange to ignore. As fractured histories, park rangers, and the pull of the unknown converge, they must decide whether to fear what waits in the dark unknown, or embrace it as the only truth left to trust.

Best Thriller / Mystery Series or Short Films

The Heart is a Dungeon: The Way of the Hollow Star

The Way of the Hollow Star is a Ten Candles ttrpg drama following a spiritual community on their day of ascension.

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

Desterro

Exile

In 1968 the military dictatorship is established in Brazil. After murdering a soldier, resistence fighter Alice flees to her hometown, reuniting with her sister Carmem and her teenage love, Helena. As they organize her late mother's belongings, their relationships are put to the test. As Alice hides the true reason for her return, Carmem dreams of reuniting with her lost son and Helena, now a nun, conceals the love she still feels for Alice. Powerless in the face of life's circumstances and censored by different social and personal layers, they are left to confront each other and themselves. EP 01: https://youtu.be/6auGlDnFhh8 EP 02: https://youtu.be/OA5Lx_fzREA EP 03: https://youtu.be/pmecUGoU-p4 PLAYLIST 4 EPISODES: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLS_hyZen4AcKoOOd-EF9ASZMmBAyJpllM

Best Dramatic Web Series or Short Film

Hearthbound

Hearthbound is an Asian-Americana folk musical audio drama, set across a post-apocalyptic Great Basin. It's a road trip, a queer love story, and a ballad for ecological restoration. You coming our way?

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

The Cardboard Boating World Championships (teaser trailer)

The greatest cardboard boaters the world has to offer compete in this 6-part series to determine who is the 1st world champion.

Best Trailer - All Genres

The Artisan Who Made Me

After their parents died, it’s like Morgan and Evie forgot how to be family. While Evie vanished for days on end, Morgan focused on leading a quiet, predictable life. Years later, Grace, Evie’s coworker and friend, drags Morgan back into her life. Evie’s disappeared again, and this time, she hasn't come back. Their search for Evie leads Morgan and Grace to Evie's other life. There’s a hidden world of magic living in secret communities in Brooklyn, kept alive by mutual aid and community solidarity. Why did Evie disappear? Where did she go? Can her friends find her before it’s too late?

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

Best of Fest

Dom, Luke and Trish run one of the most important independent film festivals in town (if you ask them). When Dom posts an announcement to the festival's social media, the team has to buckle down and do months worth of work in one night.

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

Tales Yet Told: Our Lives in the Wood

Our Lives in the Wood is a horror, actual play series featuring a rotating cast of guests playing various indie TTRPGs as they work to expand upon the world of Sublime County.

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

Murderer's Murder

Thea always wanted a successful murder podcast, so when she heard about a death at a local school, she thought she was set. And while it may seem like she has mistaken an accident for murder, it soon becomes apparent that murderers will always murder. Murderer’s Murder is a 7 part comedy web series from Wayne Tunks.

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

What is Art?

A short film that brings together different voices reflecting on what art means to them. Through personal thoughts on creativity, expression, beauty, love, and connection, the film reveals that art is not limited to one form. Instead, it shows that art can be found in everything and interpreted in endless ways.

Best Documentary / Talk Show / Variety / Experimental Web Series or Short Film.

Forgotten

A young man's long-lost sister returns, bringing with her a lifetime of forgotten memories.

Best Dramedy Series or Short Film

Mage Hand High Five: The Badlands

Mage Hand High Five: The Badlands

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

In Media Res

When Alex is plucked from obscurity and offered the role of the next Jack Stellar, booking the gig is only the beginning. In a whirlwind week of media training, he is thrust into the deep end of shark-infested Santa Monica waters. As his team prepares him for his livestreamed reveal as “Xander Eli”, he can’t tell who to trust. There’s the agent who needs him. The director who mentored him. The father who abandoned him. When the cameras start rolling, who will be at his side…and will he even be himself anymore?

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

Dedina sa postará

It Takes A Village

Zoja, a pragmatic doctor, is forced to confront the unexplainable after her meticulously planned life unravels. Heavily pregnant, she reveals she is in this situation because she ran away from her life in Prague, to an East Slovak village – her home. It Takes a Village is a dark and moody series set in reality and filled with female friendships, secrets, and the unsettling presence of Eastern Slovakian folklore.

Best Sci-Fi / Horror / Fantasy Web Series or Short Films

The Adventures of the Fox in the Fedora

Magic! Mystery! Danger! Adventure! It's around every corner! Join multiverse-traveling treasure hunter Fox (yes! A fox who walks, talks, and acts like a human!) and his friends on their many adventures to procure existence's most dangerous magical treasures before they fall into the wrong hands...

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

Hero's Arc

Welcome to The Spire! A Nation plagued by extreme inequality of wealth, power, and influence, The Spire originally began as a refuge for those who had to flee their homes. However, with the sudden disappearance of the Priestesshood of the god who gave her life to keep the city safe hundreds of years ago, the remaining power vacuum was eventually filled by families with less-than-altruistic intentions. The most wealthy of The Spire have taken residence at the top of the mountainside city, cutting themselves almost completely off from the rest of the city. The lower 3 tiers are similarly organized by class, with the wealthy non-elite living in the 3rd tier, the tradespeople in the 2nd, and the farmers and refugees from the recent war and before attempting to scrape some semblance of living in the 1st. It is here we find our revolutionaries - those who, for various reasons, have come to decide the restoration of the city is their personal goal - as the tension between the tiers begins to reach a breaking point. In the included scene, Raziel and Dalvi have recently come to know and help the 1st Tier ranger and refugee Kara, bringing her and her family to private student housing on the 4th Tier that is currently not in use to wait out after a recent series of disturbances on the 1st Tier which Kara is being held responsible for. The party join her family for dinner in the otherwise uninhabited housing as they meet her family, share information and make plans for their next moves, and are confronted with the realities of all their family situations and losses. Main Characters: Raziel - King Raziel Michaelangelo Jaharii the XVII, King en absentia (and currently undercover in the Spire) of the distant nation of Yukondish. An accomplished "positive energy" necromancer wizard, he is currently also in charge of the prestigious educational institution The Atheneum. The family he stayed with after his own country went to war are a kind family of bards, and they are still close. Dalvi (Dalavakri)/"Eventide" - Preferring the nickname "Dalvi", Crown Princess Dalavakri Katarina Marelli Hildana is the Heir Apparent to the Fallen and mysteriously quiet Nation of Raemari - of which nothing has been heard since the end of the war. A rogue paladin with a myriad of personas, she was sent away to The Spire from her home country of Raemari for her safety just before the war broke out. She regularly sneaks out of the 4th Tier where she must appear to always remain to moonlight as her alter-ego, the vigilante "Eventide". Kara - Kara Mountainwood, refugee from the Nation of Khaloria, the aggressor in the recently-ended war. The nature of her and her family's relationship with the nation is still a mystery to the party as large. They do know she is from the 1st Tier, that she worked as a healer in the makeshift 1st Tier "hospital" before it was just recently destroyed, that her family are very poor, and that she has an amazing little drake friend. She joined the party relatively recently. Mkoll - Mkoll Hendrix was the Heir to the Bank of the 4th Tier, but he gave that place to his brother and took up with the Wall Guard of The Spire after he was convinced that it was not the right position for him. Having lost his family a few years before Dalvi was sent to stay with his brother, something about her sparked his interest, and he began training her privately and became a surrogate "father figure" to her. When Dalvi's home country fell, she began acting differently and he erroneously believed she'd fallen in with the 4th Tier's beliefs. They were estranged until early on in the story, and are still reconciling, as he is processing the loss of his family as well. Character Connections: Dalvi and Raziel were originally betrothed when they were very young back in their home countries. They didn't see each other until they happened to cross paths in the Spire, while Dalvi was teaching her language and culture at the Atheneum and Raziel was studying there. They became fast friends, which grew into something more. When Dalvi's kingdom fell and she lost her real power, the Bank President broke off their engagement and Raziel left to study abroad. They became reacquainted at the beginning of our story, and recently became secretly engaged. As mentioned, Mkoll was a father figure to Dalvi for a few years before the fall of Raemari. When she "changed" to blend in more on the 4th Tier and avoid both the eyes and ire of the Bank President and the rest of the ever-watching 4th Tier, he thought she's changed, becoming as shallow and self-absorbed as most of the 4th Tier's elite. This caused strain in their relationship that they are still working through, as Mkoll tries to make it up to Dalvi, whom he sees as his family now. Though Mkoll and Raziel know of one of two of Dalvi's personas - a roguish information broker between the Tiers called "Rose" and her previous status as a pirate - none of them know she is also the infamous, wanted vigilante "Eventide".

Actual Play (Video)

Line Rider

Like any mad genius, Boštjan Čadež lives life on his own creative terms. Art. Music. Robotics. There’s nothing his mind can’t conquer – except perhaps the legacy of his globally famous, generation-defining video game “Line Rider”…and his tendency to self-destruct.

Best Documentary / Talk Show / Variety / Experimental Web Series or Short Film.

Oops, All Witches

Nia, Ofelia, and Emmett, three unsuspecting young women, are suddenly bestowed with the enormous power and responsibility of witchcraft. As witches were cleansed from Aelia long ago by the Order of Taios, the three must band together to discover why they were granted these abilities and what the Order is up to, as they traverse all of Aelia, hiding from the All-Seeing Eye of the Church, reconnecting the Great Spirits to the land, and restoring the Loom to which we are all bound.

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

The Mysterious CHIRP podcast, Season 1 Episode 3

Podcast Blurb: Purser Sammi Love has achieved a quiet yet fulfilling life as the certified accountant aboard the not very important Mysterious CHIRP, traversing the Caprimulgiform galaxy. After another typical day reconciling ledgers, Sammi stumbles upon a shocking discovery (hint: it's a dead body). There's more than meets the eye on this regular old boat ship carrying mid-level merchants, a group of traveling players, and a small handful of minor dignitaries barely worth mentioning. The stakes are get-lost-in-space high and the quirky crew are in way too deep. This laugh out loud sci-fi meets mystery will delight science experts, Star Wars fans, and diehard nerds alike as a sweet, charming, and marginally scientifically accurate portrayal of travel aboard a spaceship of accidental chaos. Featuring the voices of Sanya Simmons, Julienne Irons, John G. Hertzler, and creator Holly Adams, and in partnership with sound design majors at Michigan Tech University, you can't miss a single minute of The Mysterious CHIRP (Sammi is counting on you).

Podcasts of any Genre - from Audio Fiction to Reality

Mori

Mori, a young aberrant with psychic abilities, spent much of her early life enslaved by a mysterious organization. Years after her escape, Mori now has tracked down the scientist that tormented her all that time, and she's out for revenge. A Sci-Fi film with a splash of horror, Mori aims to be a larger than life tale of bloody vengeance, with the personal struggle of a wronged woman trying to move on from her past, even if she has to kill it.

Best Sci-Fi / Horror / Fantasy Web Series or Short Films

Grimelle

At 24, the age of first loves and defining friendships, Alizée, a mixed-race journalist, navigates a full-blown identity crisis. Working in a newsroom that claims to be progressive yet remains deeply biased, she faces daily microaggressions. GRIMELLE is a comedy-drama led by humour, friendship and self-discovery.

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

Abracadavers: Season 3 - Episode 1-4

At some point everyone starts to wonder what they're going to do with their life, even superheroes.

Best Sci-Fi / Horror / Fantasy Web Series or Short Films

"The Tale That Never Was"

The Tale That Never Was – Act 1: The Great Game is afoot "In this tale, the backstory IS the story. Or is it? After all, none of this ever happened."  In this Tale, a band of adventurers from different parts of Existence have been pulled through Time and Space, becoming The Wildcards in a universe-spanning Game of Cosmic Chess between Voz (the God of Cosmic Balance) and the Many Faced One (a primordial on a mission to become everyone in Existence, erasing everyone but itself). As they team up with Voz, they must travel into their own dark pasts to solve the mysteries that tie them to The Great Game and learn the secrets that could undo Existence's greatest adversary. In this actual play, you'll find vibes reminiscent of Treasure Planet, Groundhog Day, Doctor Who, Howl's Moving Castle, and Kingdom Hearts woven into a Universe and Time-spanning tale. True to ADHaDventures' mission to advocate for destigmatizing mental health, "The Tale That Never Was" takes a deep dive into themes of trauma, loss, acceptance, and healing as our sweet-but-capable crew travel back in time and relive the most pivotal (and frequently painful) parts of their past. They must understand, process, and accept what has happened to them if they have any hope of saving their future - and the future of all of Existence. Our cast: Anthony Clipton: Anthony is the sweet and somewhat naive, but absolutely brilliant "mini"taur armorer artificer. Previously a maintenance worker in the greatest library in the Universe, the Lark's Pride Collective, Anthony has found himself owing a debt after an experiment went awry. This led him to jump on a ship across the Universe, and take the job that brought him face-to-face with the rest of the party. Ayodeji Nyota: Ayo (and, in his mind, his quori Sidra) is a kind and somewhat enigmatic ex-military kalashtar aberrant mind sorcerer. Having lost not one but three sets of parental figures, Ayo dedicated himself to helping casters who have been conscripted into the ever-more-corrupt Kestrian military. It was in search of help that he found the other party members. Phynneus ("Phynn/Ryder"): Ryder is the happy-go-lucky but time-weary wanderer agent of Voz and devotion paladin. Searching for their long-lost love who was destroyed by The Many Faced One and shattered through Time, the human wizard-turned-paladin has been removed from Time in an effort to give them a chance to find her. Which they FINALLY, after hundreds of years of searching, finally did. Ivestra Elyssian: Ivestra Elyssian is the sweet and wise Eternal whose entire world was destroyed - the first great victory of The Many Faced One - numerous millennia ago. However, that is not who she was when the party first met her. First she was... Lyss, a quiet bladedancer who was a mother, widow, and elite Palace Guard before being murdered and waking up 200 years in the future - immediately coming across the party who had also just time-travelled abruptly. As the party have learned, she was also the war mage General Ivy Elyssian. Assassinated by a political rival bent on Kestri joining the Olgoth Empire, she is the beloved long-dead mentor and older "sister" of Ayo and Sidra - and the reason they were part of the military in the first place. Not long after, they learned she was also Ellie - a gifted surgeon and trickster cleric with a particular hatred of their ally, the god Voz, and a reluctance to explain her backstory. Ellie was a close friend and confidante of Reina, a previous member of the Wildcards who was pulled back into her own dimension when The Many Faced One changed her past so she never met the party. Then, upon arriving in the Lark's Pride Collective and being shown an old relic of a long-lost world and civilization, they found she is Ivestra Elyssian - a skilled diplomat and the long-lost love of Ryder. At this point, pieces of the puzzle surrounding "Lyssetera" started coming together. Last and tiniest, but certainly not least, little Ves - an arctic fox from a world where primates never existed and all animals developed sapience together - made her appearance upon a return visit to the Collective. A good friend of Anthony's, the little lore bard and her sidekick the sentient guitar Fernando spent many days researching, exploring, trespassing into forbidden sections, and generally engaging in harmless shenanigans at the Collective. Likely the very last of her people, Ivestra Elyssian is an Aurelian - a race of Eternals from the Heart of Creation. Aurelians were the Historians and Protectors of the Universe before their world fell to The Many Faced One thousands of years ago. Ivestra had been regenerating onto different worlds, attempting to find a new purpose and come to terms with what had happened, before she met Ryder.Still hunting down any survivors that might exist, their enemy found Ivestra on Ryder's world. Though Voz showed up to fight the primordial, Ivestra pushed them out of the way of a "non-existence" beam, preventing catastrophe for the God and thus Creation, but ending up shattered across Time and Space and losing her previously perfect memory. No longer remembering who or what she is, nor understanding why she remembered her previous lives, she has been hundreds of people in the time since she was Ryder's love. However, only a select few have resurfaced so far; each someone pivotal in the lives of the other Wildcards. And so Act 1 continues as the party time travels in an effort to find answers to seemingly countless questions. In this cut, you will get a glimpse into the party's return to Sidra's homeworld at the time of its destruction as they find what happened to their world and why (and by whom) it was destroyed. The repercussions are felt by all as they experience the connections to their own losses, but as Voz fights a Star God above using tools stolen from the Many Faced One, Ivestra is involuntarily pulled into memories of her own world's loss and experience of being torn through Existence by those same tools. This leaves it up to Ryder's support and, most importantly, the incredible psionic abilities of Ayo/Sidra to dive into her mind and help her pull herself away from the memories and trauma that threaten to never let her go. This Tale is a team endeavour, engaging in a "Writer's Room" storytelling style blended with the traditional tabletop improv medium in an effort to bring the incredible narrative capabilities of all 4 members (all talented GMs and players) of the cast together. Though The Teller of Tales may wield the quill and know all the twists and secrets, the cast have built their own worlds, cultures, themes, peoples, and villains as they've developed the Universe that houses "The Tale That Never Was". They rotate through playing NPCs, describing scenes, asking for rolls and playing their own villains with the Storyteller, as the person dictating the narrative occasionally changes places. Welcome, friends, to our poignant and heartwarming "Tale That Never Was".

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Game Master Monday

Game Master Monday is an actual play podcast that features indie TTRPG systems on a biweekly basis Every episode features a new system with a new cast playing new one shots and semi-annual miniseries GM'd by Grant Nordine and Supriya "Zoup" Agrawal

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Moose on a Highway

Moose on a Highway is a new 7-Part comedy fiction podcast about what happens when seven stranded travelers are forced to face the open road together and fall headfirst into new, destined beginnings. Hop on in and join us for an uproarious adventure where the roads bend, and the detours will certainly surprise you. Moose on a Highway is love letter to the webfest circuit, conceived during NJ Webfest 2024 and produced by multiple circuit production companies.

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Solemn Vale: Homegrown

In the town of Solemn Vale you may come as invited quest and yet find yourself... stranger. The Vale does not give its secrets lightly.

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Dungeons & Drimbus: City of Jerry

Dive inside 21 year old Jerry Terrell, in an Osmosis Jones inspired microscopic action adventure: City of Jerry! Join new-to-the-field neuron Asa Dendrite, grizzled-and-grouchy vaccine Quentin Quarantino, freshly-popped-allergy-pill Sergeant Benedict Dryll, and muscle-man-extraordinaire Tim Glutus as they sleuth about to discover what’s really going on in the City of Jerry. All played on the bespoke City of Jerry hack of the Mischief TTRPG!

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Detoxification

Blinded by rage, a man sets out on a rampage, killing everybody he blames for the death of his daughter.

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a place as beautiful as ours.

a place as beautiful as ours is a micro drama audio fiction about the world that surrounds us.

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RÉMORAS: Season 01 (Episodes 01 to 06)

A couple frustrated with the world of cinema and acting decide to parody scenes from national cinema to succeed, but their plan goes out of control when their relationship becomes a parody. Ramiro and Vivi have been dating for years. He is a frustrated film director and she is an unlucky actress and both have relegated the family project to that of success. One night while watching “La ciénaga” by Lucrecia Martel, an idea occurs to them: to ride other people's success by absurdly parodying iconic scenes from national cinema. But the plan goes out of control when their own relationship begins to turn into a parody.

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

The Cineplex

The Cineplex is abuzz as the staff prepares for the arrival of their new concession stand manager, Yelena... a sharp, no-nonsense hire. The team is told everything must run smoothly, but skepticism abounds, especially from the ushers, who bet she won't last the week. Their doubts take a comedic turn when Dylan, the lovable, but not the sharpest knife in the drawer supervisor, is immediately smitten by Yelena and insists on impressing her. Initially, things seem fine... Yelena is charismatic, but visibly unimpressed with The Cineplex's disorganized charm and over lunch, she candidly reveals her boredom. Hoping to win her favor, the ushers hype up the indie film series showing that evening, describing it as a "packed house for sure". The problem? Pre-sales are abysmal. With only hours to go, Dylan and Zeeshan, his partner in crime, scramble to drum up a crowd. Just as things start to looking up, the director of the film has a "special request" that changes everything. He would like to bring the star of his documentary, that just so happens to be an escaped convict! In the end, through sheer ingenuity and some dumb luck... the team manages to pull off a memorable event.

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

Quorum

In this noir-tinged hardboiled-crime series, an assortment of people living on the fringes of respectable society, in locations across the world, find themselves caught up in nefarious plots far beyond their experience, caught in the nexus of history-making events. From a professional poker player trying to make up for past choices, to a bicycle messenger hoping to finish one last job, to a seasoned navigator piloting a ship through treacherous waters, and more, each must grapple with rapidly escalating peril, little realizing they are mere pawns in the grand schemes of an ominous council manipulating events behind the scenes: the omnipresent Quorum.

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Kampen for Tilværelsen - Season 2

The Struggle for Existence - Season 2

The days of beers, babes and soccer are over. In this Danish series we follow the comedic journey of two friends as they navigate the ever-changing landscape of modern masculinity. Through a series of humorous conversations set in everyday situations, the protagonists grapple with the challenges of being sensitive husbands, dedicated fathers and sexy lovers in a world where gender roles are constantly shifting.

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

Josie's Lonely Hearts Club (Franksgiving)

Josie’s Lonely Hearts Club is a semi-scripted audio drama set in the studio of New Mexico’s 3rd-best romantic advice call-in show. On-air, listeners eavesdrop as Josie squares off against top improvisers and is only occasionally helped by her puckish engineer Frank. Off-air, witness her journey from melancholy Joanne Holtzinger to nationally syndicated sensation Josie Heller. What results is an often hilarious and surprisingly human show exploring the risks we idiots take every time we fall in or out of love. Get ready to stand on your desks, O cuties my cuties, as Josie entreats her listeners to seize their destiny! They face difficult odds: crushworthy coworkers, extra-sensory self-doubt, even a 40-year coma...but you can't keep a good lonely heart down. Maybe their courage will spur our own Josie into making a move of her own? Grab a drumstick and sweeten your potatoes, because this week we're getting stuffed. Frank and Joanne arrive for their long-awaited Thanksgiving Day celebration and the tea -- and the gravy -- is piping hot. Meet Frank's family. That's it. No puns or wordplay, just ...Frank's family. Buckle up.

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Luminescent

On their way to an important night market, a stubborn merchant and her gullible friend find themselves lost in a seemingly abandoned town.

Best Animated Web Series or Short Film

Afterlight

Afterlight is a Blades-In-The-Dark AP podcast from BlackwaterDnD, and is a story about hope and survival at the end of the world, with big monsters and bigger feelings.

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Illuminagents Season 3

As enemy organization 113 closes in, Agent Nasmith Jones is ordered to keep tabs on his partner Agent Nara Mason in case she switches sides. Episode 2: The agents get some unexpected help when a critical system fails Episode 4: An old friend of Agent Jones asks for his help when she goes on the run Episode 5: As 113 makes its final moves, Martin is counting on Nara to betray the Organization

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Turtletastic? (Season 2)

It's 2025. Stone Scriven is dealing with his future (or lack thereof), his minimum wage job (haunted), and the return of his imaginary stuffed turtle friend from college. What could go wrong?

Best Dramedy Series or Short Film

Not in Service

In cities across the U.S., public transit is an afterthought - consistently stuck behind the needs of roads and cars. Using Baltimore and its Red Line project as an example, Not in Service unwinds the realities of an urban-suburban culture war that seems to permanently stand in the way of American public transit. The film highlights the perspectives of residents, activists, and local leaders, and examines how decades of neglect created the disappointing system that exists today.

Best Trailer - All Genres

Unlicensed Magic

Called "timely" by many viewers, although we truly wish it weren't, Unlicensed Magic is a story that touches on real-world themes regarding power, hate, genocide, fascism, and the true cost of war and resistance. In a world on the edge of a major conflict, where magic users are hunted and magic is outlawed or heavily controlled in most nations, our band of freedom fighters seek to restore balance to their fractured world and free casters from persecution. At the beginning of Season 2 ("War Crimes"), the party began by helping to break a siege on the previously isolationist nation of Dwarfheim and negotiating their assistance in protecting magic users across the world (including Ichasi's swampy Southlands) by fighting back against the fascist nation of Queldoras. Queldoras (one of the most powerful nations in Evets) has been hunting magic-users for decades and, as the party recently learned, using them to power newly-evolving magitech for their upcoming war efforts and attempt at world conquest. After their success in Dwarfheim, the party hurried to the coast to take a ship to the Northlands and rescue Icaran's kidnapped daughter and wife. However, that effort was interrupted as a gith ship took one of the characters, Mae (half-elf/half-mindflayer). Teaming up with Mae's estranged mindflayer father Kel, the party boarded the ship to rescue Mae. Successful, they made their escape, but Kel stayed behind to attempt to persuade the Gith to leave. When they refused, to ensure they couldn't harm any of his children again, Kel forced them away and destroyed them. After the party made it to safety, Mae's father reached out - alive, but barely. In his attempts to connect with her (he's trying to learn to be an actual father) he tried to show her, in their shared mindscape, how much people cared about her. Unfortunately, this reminded her of the many, many friends and found family she'd lost as a sorcerer spy growing up "underground" in Ibrezzia (another magic-hating nation) with other magic users, including the recent decimation of Arcane Divergence and The Conservatory (Mae's only known home and family until very recently). Already in a terrible mental/emotional place, Mae accidentally tapped into her incredible stores of psionic power (something she'd tried to keep tucked away) and connected psionically to every single living creature on the continent. Realizing the immense power she suddenly had, she blew past the mental defenses set up around the Palace of Queldoras and psionically transported herself there to kill the Emperor and end the war on spell casters.  However, she fell for the Emperor's mundane (in comparison) mind games and, baited with the promise of rescuing her long-lost mentor, fell into a trap. Her dead sister (killed by the party to protect a city and stuck in a cursed ring of mind-shielding), along with Xan and his touch of psionic ability, helped pull the party mentally to the dungeons beneath The Queldoran Palace. There they fought the Emperor and his monstrous and inhumane creations in a psionic showdown, but quickly realized they were painfully outmatched. Mae is badly mauled in body, mind and even soul, but realizes she is their only chance of escape and sacrifices herself to save them all. *This is where we begin the first scene* Between the first and second scenes, the party spent a month at sea traveling to the coastal town of Rief - Mae and Kiadora's birthplace, where their parents live. Kiadora spent a lot of time trying to learn how to work with others and who she is without her previously damaged mind and constant influence of her father - with a lot of party help. Arriving in Rief, they are greeted with painfully sad violin music, played by a bard they'd met just before Mae was taken to the githyanki. A bard who had a strange connection to Mae, and a feather from her fallen aasimar love. Asking Kiadora to let him visit what's left of Mae in their shared mindspace, Kiadora and the party learn the heartbreaking truth about his connection to the fallen spy. Setting:  The world of Evets, which at this point in time is high magic but low tech (with magitech is taking off) Places of Interest: Queldoras - the most anti-magic country, which rounds up spellcasters and murders them, using their souls to power magitech weapons of incredible power. Ibrezzia - also a heavily anti-magic country, where magic users here generally disappeared never to be seen again, or to be seen differently (as the party found out The Mindflayer was controlling them and building an army) Northlands - a separate continent, home to a powerful elven nation that has, of yet, stayed relatively uninvolved in the events of their neighbors - much to the chagrin of many  Significant Organizations: Arcane Divergence - previously a legitimate magical foundation, since the oppression of spell casters it has turned it has gone underground and become a highly competent spy ring focusing on rescuing spellcasters and transporting them to safer countries. The Conservatory - Previously a bard school, The Conservatory has been turned into an "underground" school, home, and training ground for kids with innate magic (sorcerers, aasimar, kalashtar, etc). It works closely with Arcane Divergence, and since the skills innately magic children need to stay safe in Ibrezzia are similar to spy work, many of the children are raised as spies and graduate straight into working with Arcane Divergence. Other: The Silver Kracken – the ship the party has contracted to transport them. Characters: Ichasi: A young leader left to take over the running of the swampy Southlands after her father passed away. A lizardfolk druid, Ichasi is strongly connected to the natural world and her place in it. She's become a bit of the "party mom", and her no-nonsense but kind attitude is a huge help to the party, who come from widely varied backgrounds and experiences. Icaran: A noble and cousin to the King of the Northlands, Icaran has had a chaotic life filled with lots of trying - and lots of failing - to stop the progression of world events to where they are today. After teaming up with his long-time friend and lover Mogrim to try and fight back against the anti-magic laws and social changes, he realized he'd made a mistake when his lover's methods were almost as bad as their enemies'. After taking some time to clear his head, he started his own organization to earn back public opinion regarding magic. In doing so, he began working with Arcane Divergence on missions to rescue spellcasters and foil the attempts of Queldoras and Ibrezzia to remove all magic users. Verreth: a highly skilled healer and surgeon, Verreth is a firbolg from the Northlands - the elven kingdom - who has made it his life mission to save and help as many people as possible. It is unfortunate that current events make that very, very difficult, but he still does a great job. He's also become the de facto party therapist which they really, desperately need. Xan: Previously a villain of Evets known as "The Dread Darkness", Xan is an eladrin paladin who made the wrong deal after his husband was murdered for practicing magic. Trying to make up for the harm he caused while under the influence of a Star God eldritch being and coming to terms with his place in causing current world events (including the fear and hatred of magic), Xan is accompanied by his sister-in-law AnnaBelle, who was eventually able to save him from the Star God and help him recover his true self. AnnaBelle: A sweet-as-pie (which she regularly bakes and makes into a weapon) strawberry cow tiefling cleric. Her peace domain is a hard one to follow right now, though, as the world is teetering on the edge of a massive war. Still trying to help her brother-in-law recover and find his path, AnnaBelle is never far from her brother's love's side. Amaelyn "Mae" Vindhal-Flayer: Mae was a master spy. A shadow sorcerer pushed into hiding as a toddler due to her innate magic, Mae was raised at "The Conservatory" - an underground school and safe haven for children with innate magic who have no family. Trained there in spycraft and secrecy, Mae joined the connected "Arcane Divergence" when she grew up and became an exceptional spy. Eventually learning her parents were actually alive and she was the daughter of The Mindflayer (her father) and the missing heir to the Throne of the Northlands (her mother, the Crown Princess), Mae unlocked powerful psionic abilities. However, contrary to the pressure of her father, Mae combined that power with her love of music and taught herself mental healing, becoming a bard and helping those around her overcome the emotional wounds no other healing magic could touch. She had always wanted to be a healer, but previously had no ability with it.   After falling for the trap and having her soul destroyed in the fight and in getting her friends' minds out, the party lost her.Triple T: Mae's cranium rat familiar ("Thaddeus Thackeray the Third"). Kiadora Vindhal-Flayer: Mae's barely younger triplet sister. Kiadora placed Mae in their special ring of mind-shielding to try and preserve whatever remains of her. In the process, she was pushed into Mae's body and now continues with the party, feeling distinctly out of place. Previously a villain of the campaign whom the freedom fighters had killed to try and stop a killing spree ordered by her and Mae's father, Kiadora is early in the process of both grieving the loss of her sister and learning how to be a good "person" - with plenty of attempted help from the party. A powerful psionicist and telekineticist known to wield 8 blades at once, Kiadora is finally getting the chance to learn who she is without her previously damaged brain or her father's influence. Cast: Our wonderful cast are made up of a combination of LGBTQIA+, autistic, ADHD, BIPOC, and disabled TTRPG content creators. You can find them under their listed social media handles across the internet! Highlights were taken from: Unlicensed Magic: War Crimes Episode 30: Deep Within the Bowels of Devotion, Part 3/3 Unlicensed Magic: War Crimes Episode 42: Come. What. Mae. (Part 3/3) Full episodes can be found on twitch.tv/adhadventures under "videos" > "Unlicensed Magic: War Crimes"

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Reminisce

Logline: 25 years younger than her husband, a woman's world is turned upside down when her husband's college classmates come to visit. Synopsis: As Monica gets ready to host her older husband's college classmates, a phone call from her estranged sister puts her mind at unease. With the age gap and her questioning the one sacrifice she made for love, she feels like an outsider in her own home. As the evening continues, tensions run hot as truths come to light. After the friends leave, she questions the perfection of her marriage and the power imbalance as her loving husband struggles to rein her in.

Best Dramatic Web Series or Short Film