Weed Wars "Maryland's Monopoly And The Fight For Free Markets

"Weed Wars: Maryland's Monopoly & The Fight For Free Markets" is a provocative documentary that exposes the deep-seated issues within Maryland's legalized cannabis market. Directed by Nicholas Patrick, the film reveals how restrictive policies and monopolistic practices stifle competition and maintain economic and social disparities, rather than fostering an industry with equitable market access. Through interviews with advocates from the Maryland Healthy Alternatives Association, Maryland Cannabis Equity Collective, Maryland Hemp Coalition, and Maryland NORML, the film delves into the manipulation, collusion, and corruption that underpin the current system. This documentary challenges viewers to reconsider the framework of cannabis legislation and advocates for reform towards genuine economic liberty and justice.

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

Poison

When a teacher is poisoned during detention, every student is a suspect.

Best Thriller / Mystery Series or Short Films

GODKILLER: First Blood

Rune is a young heretic from Iron-42. Rune is preparing for their third mission. Rune is about to meet The Devil. GODKILLER: FIRST BLOOD follows Rune Ironsworn, a young heretic from a dirt-poor mining district, as they confront the power-hungry, cannibalistic gods of the Cradle based off the Major Arcana — and emerge in a baptism of blood and fire as THE GODKILLER. GODKILLER: FIRST BLOOD is produced by Transplanar RPG; an all-transgender, people of color-led actual play channel telling stories set in an original noncolonial, antiorientalist multiverse.

Actual Play (Podcast)

No Holmes Barred!

America’s first serial killer, H.H. Holmes, took advantage of the chaotic, city-wide bustle from the fair's setup, and—quite literally—set-up shop in plain sight. Against all odds (and probably a few zoning laws), he built a block-wide hub, a living monument to his endless greed and ruthlessness. The first floor housed his crooked businesses. The second and third floors housed much darker intentions... From Baltimore's one-time Jeopardy champion and two-time Jeopardy loser, Daniel Ciarrocchi, comes a nine-episode, dark-humored, old-timey radio-show based on a story that's both uniquely American, and too absurd for fiction. Human zoos. Runaway, killer bobsleds. Exploding buildings. The Liberty Bell, but it’s made out of oranges. Political assassinations. Pabst Blue Ribbon. And, of course, an actual M u r d e r c a s t l e.

Audio Fiction (Standalone)

Mercury

Two estranged friends find themselves face to face for the first time in many years. As they discuss the events that took place years prior, they relive the good and bad times that led to their estrangement. Is there a path for them to rediscover the bonds that once seemed unbreakable or will the ghosts of the past be too much to overcome?

Best Dramatic Web Series or Short Film

The Invicta Collective

What if the tale of Gilgamesh wasn’t just simple fantasy? What if it was a story carefully constructed to hide an ancient truth that the world was never meant to discover? Travel back to the 1930s as we follow Arthur, Mohammed, Lola, Bashir, and a wide range of colorful characters as they seek to unearth the shocking truth behind an ancient Mesopotamian mystery, all while facing down a violent foe who seems to want to stop their mission no matter the cost. Think "Indiana Jones meets the Strange Brigade!"

Best Podcast - All Genres

STONE Presented by KIOME

Fictional audio crime podcast about Bishop Stone, a Black police officer coping with depression as he attempts to find out the truth behind his mother's murder.

Best Podcast - All Genres

Gray Matter

A powerful algorithm working for the police and a hyper-skilled private detective compete to see who will solve a mysterious criminal case first. Prism, the algorithm, has big data and processing power on its side. Dulac, the private detective, can count on his intuition and his inventiveness. Both believe themselves to be the world’s top investigator and this duel is an opportunity to put their strengths to the test.

Best Thriller / Mystery Series or Short Films

Harlem Hellfighters Never Die

An all-Black cast of Harlemite investigators are on the case when a series of unexplained attacks rock their close knit community. Something is targeting the Harlem Hellfighters, veterans of the famous all-Black infantry regiment. When the war comes home, will these investigators be able to pull the community together in time to save their local heroes?

Actual Play (Video)

Worlds Away

Two and a half centuries into our future, humanity has just survived its first interstellar civil war. On one side is Earth and its unified Republic, founded on the principles of solidarity and progress. On the other is Aventine, humanity’s first planetary colony and part of the nearby galactic region known as the Verge—home of all known planets beyond Earth that support human life. As part of an uneasy peace, the rest of the planets in the Verge must choose whether to remain members of the Republic, or follow Aventine into independence. Four strangers have been chosen as the crew of the Minerva Project, Earth’s last-ditch effort to reunite peacefully with our siblings across the stars. But as their journey begins, what started as a diplomatic mission transforms into something more: a search for answers that all of humanity will depend on.

Actual Play (Podcast)

MEKONG

In the secure heartland of the Viangchan Sector, four unsuspecting pilots find themselves thrust into a battle for survival when their passenger starliner falls prey to a malevolent force from the dark beyond the stars. As they launch their custom war machines into the skies above Chao Phraya, the pilots must confront not only monsters, but the sinking horror of a prophecy revealed. If the Con Ma have returned, the entire Mekong Empire is at risk.

Actual Play (Video)

Last Night in Seoul

Colin is a contract killer. He has just successfully assassinated CEO of a big company in Seoul. Colin goes out to celebrate and tumbles into a suicidal stranger, Dave. Dave was the bodyguard of CEO Colin has killed. Trying to make amends of what his job caused, Colin tries to give Dave a reason to live by hiring him as a bodyguard.

Short Film - All Genres

My First Dungeon

In debt and on a deadline, five interstellar outlaws find themselves on a crash course with their pasts…

Actual Play (Podcast)

Content Farm

Two rogue bots teach themselves to be human on the internet. Nothing is original, and clicks are king. Speculative fiction meets cringe comedy, unfolding in the doom scroll.

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

King & Pawn - Season 2

**King & Pawn** follows Rhett, a lovable loser who inherits the struggling pawnshop of the same name. As he struggles to keep the business afloat, he's joined by his bumbling sidekicks, Holden and Allen, who often cause more trouble than they help. In Season 2, Rhett’s relationship with Eliza sparks conflict with her overbearing mother, Maggie, who takes legal action that threatens to shut the shop down for good. To navigate the lawsuit, the group reluctantly enlists Mark, an incompetent lawyer whose blunders only add to their mounting challenges. Meanwhile, the sharp-witted shopkeeper, Norma Jean, does her best to keep things together amidst the chaos. This season, the crew faces a whirlwind of problems—getting robbed, served legal papers, and enduring a trial—all while being counseled and judged by a rotating cast of quirky characters. Starring Reid Price (Sullivan's Crossing, The Sinner, From), Shelley Thompson (Trailer Park Boys, Tokens), and Taylor Olson (111, Bone Cage).

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

NIRWANA GOLD

Nirwana.Gold is a multi-sensory virtual reality trilogy that offers the viewer three different spiritual experiences. An individual film, soundtrack, perfume and ice cream flavour was created for each VR experience. Chapter I: Shanti - The viewer enters the atrium of a temple and is immediately drawn into a multi-sensory,meditative experience which culminates in a feeling of complete loss of consciousness. Chapter II: Samsara - The viewer is invited to experience birth followed by an immersive and emotional journey of the soul, travelling through the most important phases of life up until death. Chapter III: Zen - Alternating between the perspective of deadly predator or fearful prey, the viewer experience show all elements of nature are harmoniously interconnected.For the presentation of the trilogy at a festival, the three individual chapters were cut together to simplify and speed up the screening.Therefore, the ice cream of the first chapter will introduce the trilogy and its fragrance will lead into the experience.

Best Virtual Reality Content

The All Night Society

The All Night Society is a Vampire the Masquerade Camarilla chronicle following four neonate Kindred as they navigate the murky waters of Chicago politics. Prince Kevin Jackson has big plans for the Windy City, but Anarch agitators, rogue Lycans, and Sabbat terrorists threaten to undermine him at every step. Can the coterie help the young Prince build an empire to rival those of the Old World? Or will they join his broken regime in the ashes of vampire history?

Actual Play (Podcast)

SOS Humanity: Earth's Last Distress Signal

It’s easy to get cynical about the end of the world - we all saw it coming - but one optimist believes you shouldn’t give up so easily on people. Join Chip Reynolds in this musical sketch variety wrapped inside a sci-fi fiction as he tries to persuade extraterrestrial listeners to save his species through randomly selected Earth Archives – unopened and unheard files of humanity at its “best.” Each episode is an endearing reminder that even at our worst, there’s always hope.

Best Podcast - All Genres

Dating Unlocked S2

In Dating Unlocked, hopeful romantics from the LGBTQ2S+ community move beyond curated social media and dating profiles to find love in real life, and potentially share the key to their hearts. From the traditional to more radical, there are daters from all walks of life who share the same goal - to find a hook-up, a date or their one and only. In each episode, our lead dater selects someone they’d like to continue the romance with – by choosing between three prospective dates. To assist these love seekers in creating a connection with the lead dater, each episode involves games, activities and intimate moments tailored to showcase their personalities and interests. After weighing their options, the lead dater extends a secret invite for a second date. Will the chosen person unlock those fuzzy, flirty feelings and show up or leave them alone behind the door? There is only one way to find out!

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

Top of the Round: Paradigm

In the wake of technological advances, an anti-magic religion rises to power. With the world in upheaval, a young girl with a bounty on her head and abilities she doesn't understand collides with a mysterious stranger who will do whatever it takes to find what he's lost.

Actual Play (Podcast)

Acting the Part

A closeted nonbinary young adult goes on a first date that makes them face their insecurities and the world around them

Short Film - All Genres

Family Tradition

Two siblings decide to visit their relatives for the first time. But, things are not as they seem.

Short Film - All Genres

Drag Heals season 4 episode 1 'Ain't She Sweet'

Drag Heals season 4 episode 1 'Ain't She Sweet' A new group of Kings, Queens, and Monarchs begin crafting their personal stories into a stage show by asking themselves, "What was a pivotal moment in my life and how did I change because of it?" Tracey Erin Smith spends time with her mom, Jodi in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Drag Heals is a hybrid stage workshop and documentary TV series that follows six drag artists over an intensive month long workshop to build their own show. In each workshop, a guest coach joins stage director Tracey Erin Smith in exploring soul-deep story sharing techniques as well as the unique talents and skills required from a drag performer. Over the course of the intensive workshops and story crafting, the participants dive deep into their personal lives to unearth lessons learned and bring them back to the audience as a gift. They are both the pirate and the pirated, the island and treasure. The resulting stories are emotional and cathartic, both for the drag artists and the audience who share in the experience.

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

Oneiro - 360 VR Movie

The film's narrative satirically portrays the interaction of artificial intelligence programs with the average user, from the perspective of the program, offering insights into how it perceives humans, their relationship to the planet, and their relationships between themselves.

Best Virtual Reality Content

Department of Paranormal Affairs

You know all of the monsters from scary stories? They’re totally real, but they’re just trying to get by like the rest of us. Department of Paranormal Affairs is a secret branch of the government whose purpose is to deal with the day-to-day problems of vampires, werewolves, ghosts, goblins, and anything else that goes bump in the night. It's employees Jenny Hicks and Scott Power, led by Director Greg LeGrow, are the civil servants dedicated to dealing with the ordinary problems of extraordinary beings. Scott does things by the book, Jenny’s never read a book, and Greg couldn’t care less what either of them does - but they’ll all have to work together if they’re going to keep the paranormal world safe.

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

COMPANY CHRISTMAS THE RADIO PLAY

It's Christmas Eve and Betty and Ted's families are meeting for the first time. They have romance on their mind but secrets and spies get in the way in this Cold War spy comedy set in 1961.

Audio Fiction (Standalone)

Jason

Intimidated after moving to the city to go to university, a rez Indian explores his new world by making choices that test his values and push his boundaries, sometimes against his family and friends wishes.

Best Dramedy Series or Short Film

Dark Dice

Dark Dice is the horror actual-play D&D podcast that uses immersive soundscapes and intense editing to create added layers of immersion.

Actual Play (Podcast)

We're Alive: Scout's Honor - Audio Submission Reel

Lord of the Flies, meets Zombies…. Stranded on Catalina Island after the outbreak, a small group of Venture Scouts confront the “Infected", testing their mettle and the strength of their friendships. This immersive audio drama is a heart-pounding blend of horror and adventure as these preteens, armed with only determination and their Scout Rules, navigate the rugged island, discovering the essence of courage and sacrifice in the face of an apocalypse. Bonds are tested, innocence is lost, and the scout motto “Stay Alert, Stay Alive” takes on a whole new, dark significance in this stand-alone new audio drama from the creators of We’re Alive.

Best Podcast - All Genres

STILL...?!

Cori & Danielle of Via Brooklyn Theatre Co., both in their 30's, realize they are about to age-out of their lifelong dream of ever starring in a teenage rom com on the CW, so instead these elderly millennials have started a podcast about all the crap STILL going on in the entertainment industry for female-identifying artists.

Best Podcast - All Genres

Just Keep L-I-V-I-N

The people of earth have become depressed and disillusioned. With no where else to turn, Angel Johnny Marfa is called to come down from honkey tonk heaven, and make sure everything is alright, alright, alright.

Best Music Video

algor mortis

An illustrated actual play run in D&D 5e. Four super-powered teens form a club to hunt down the strange, the occult, and the unexplained. After finishing an out-of-town job, their drive back home is interrupted by a strange accident, and they find themselves stranded in a mysterious old house.

Actual Play (Video)

Hurt (Season 3)

Stone, a young, gay, autistic man, journeys through a series of genres with a diverse cast of characters as he searches for the meaning of life.

Best Dramedy Series or Short Film

Pulp Air

Pulp Air (Season Series)

At gate number 24 of the tiny airport in Carballo, you can find the most eccentric and colorful airline of all. Welcome to Pulp Airlines! This mockumentary series shows the daily life of this peculiar company after a new recruit joins the airline.

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

The Wooden Bowl

An age old tale, is reimagined in this modernized dramatic narrative about Michael Critelli who moves his frail old father, who suffers from dementia, into his families home. When the care required is much more than expected and causes relationship issues between Michael and his wife Catherine, one act by their son, 7 year old Bobby, turns the situation around enabling the Critelli family to find peace and happiness in their home once again.

Short Film - All Genres

ASMmurderR - Cheers To Control

In "ASMmurderR - Cheers To Control" Candace, grappling with the woes of modern dating, navigates awkward encounters, familial expectations, and the meddling advice of her roommate('s girlfriend), Tanner. Disenchanted with dating apps, she reluctantly agrees to try group speed dating. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Candace, the seemingly ordinary ASMR podcast she finds solace in has a chilling real-world counterpart. As Candace faces the uncertainties of love, friendship, and self-discovery, things take an unexpected turn...

Audio Fiction (Standalone)

Dr Goodvibes

Every week, Hal Kitchener serves up sizzling advice on love and lust as the charismatic host of 'The Late Shift with Dr. Goodvibes'. But when a mysterious caller exposes the doctor's darkest secrets live on air, Hal is entangled in an ever-expanding web of intrigue and deceit. Is it mere déjà vu, a sinister echo from his past, or the reckoning he's long feared?

Best Podcast - All Genres

The Angry Man

A young woman returns to the place of a family tragedy to face her imaginary childhood fears, only to realize they may not be so imaginary after all.

Short Film - All Genres

Table Read Podcast

Table Read Podcast has taken the perfunctory Hollywood table read and made it immersive and accessible to all. Each screenplay is a new adventure in several episodes, taking you behind the scenes of the creative process- as though you’re sitting right at the table reading the script with the cast. Editors even leave in occasional slip-ups, guffaws, and happy accidents by the performers, creating a right-at-home feel for the listener, even amidst undeniable talent and skill.

Best Podcast - All Genres

Anywhere But Now - A Doctor Who Actual Play Podcast

Time Travel, Sci-Fi Adventures, and Risky Rolls of the Dice lie ahead! Brace yourself for an Actual Play TTRPG podcast in the key of DOCTOR WHO! Join players Brand Osorio, Cate MacCoyne, Pandora Beatrix, and your GM Casey Jones for a spooky, fun-filled thrill-ride across Time & Space! Say hello to the Fixer and his companions, Maeve Sullivan & Calamity Hap. The Fixer is a Time Lord in his senior year of *The Doctoral Program*: an offshoot of the Time Lord Academy on Gallifrey, to train young Time Lords to see the Universe and, well, fix it up a bit! Encounter classic monsters of Doctor Who, and get ready to meet some new ones! Experience a love letter to a timeless series based on compassion, a dash of cleverness, and discovering the New. This is Anywhere But Now.

Actual Play (Podcast)

Desaventureiros - Temporada 3

Unadventurers - Season 3

How much can change in four years? The storm in which Vic and Vicky were kidnapped had a name and degree of kinship: Valquíria, their mother, triumphed and is now Mother of All. With her inconvenient bard children out of the way, electing herself Democratically Elected Queen was simple. In oppressive shadow and silence, her government thrives. Geburath and Shura are determined to bring back the music that can bring her down.

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

Poscoito

An anthology series which portrays different situations and conflicts that can occur after having sex. Every episode is standalone, with different story, cast and tone that shares postcoitus as a common theme.

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

Creatures of the Noise (podcast)

A troubled 12-year old girl forges a bond with an ancient creature who feeds on the sound of her voice. Together, they face off against a dangerous covert military task force tasked with capturing them.

Audio Fiction (Standalone)

Olga Knows Best?

If Larry David and the Kardashians had a one-night stand, “Olga Knows Best?” would be their lovechild. Olga X tackles everyday issues like immigration, LGBTQ, sex…and of course drug smuggling, tax evasion and the Mafia. Olga knows best...even when she doesn’t. Olga-X is an ex-actress, ex-mathematician, and two-time ex-wife who came to America to fix everyone and everything: friends, family, boyfriend, and most importantly, Reality TV, by putting herself in her own show. Just a few small problems: Olga knows nobody in show business, speaks almost no proper English, knows nothing about men, and even less about American culture. What could possibly go wrong?

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

Dating Unlocked S2

In Dating Unlocked, hopeful romantics from the LGBTQ2S+ community move beyond curated social media and dating profiles to find love in real life, and potentially share the key to their hearts. From the traditional to more radical, there are daters from all walks of life who share the same goal - to find a hook-up, a date or their one and only. In each episode, our lead dater selects someone they’d like to continue the romance with – by choosing between three prospective dates. To assist these love seekers in creating a connection with the lead dater, each episode involves games, activities and intimate moments tailored to showcase their personalities and interests. After weighing their options, the lead dater extends a secret invite for a second date. Will the chosen person unlock those fuzzy, flirty feelings and show up or leave them alone behind the door? There is only one way to find out!

Best Dramatic Web Series or Short Film

Paper Line: Bragging Rights

Two years after the events of the first film, Spring 2022 pledges Rodney and Eddie challenge Big Brother Desmond and charter member Raheem to a 2 on 2 match to determine the top martial artists of Alpha Omega Sigma fraternity.

Short Film - All Genres

Angie

With the spirit of his sister's recent death looming over them, Jack's friends gather at the family cabin to celebrate his 50th birthday.

Short Film - All Genres

Safe Society

An influential woke entrepreneur develops an irrational OCD, making him the ideal puppet for a fearmongering lobbying organization. He must break free before the nation's children, including his own, are irreversibly modified by the mob he's helping create.

Best Podcast - All Genres

The Count of Monte Cristo

The sixth episode in our seven episode Part 1. An investigation turns private secrets public.

Best Podcast - All Genres

Dark Arcadia

Love. Revenge. Rebellion. Dark Arcadia is a story about love. A story about revenge. And a story about the validity (or not) of taking justice into our own hands. Examining the colliding worlds of rebelling teenagers and the adults charged with their care, inspired by world events and gender politics, this gothic fantasy is the next project from the universe of the internationally award-winning Shakespeare Republic, written and directed by Australian actor/writer/director, Sally McLean. Dark Arcadia … something wicked this way comes … ABOUT THE SERIES Using Shakespeare’s original text, we meet seventeen different characters from seven different plays over a 24 hour period, set in the microcosm of an Australian high school, exploring power, relationships, the idea of outrage culture, #FakeNews and the Elizabethan equivalent of a Grimm’s faerietale. Primarily utilising the perspective of Generation Z, Dark Arcadia features some of Shakespeare’s most iconic characters played by a range of talented established and emerging actors. With a focus on female, culturally diverse, disabled and LGBTQI+ (including trans) talent, using his undiluted, original words, we journey into human relationships and their consequences with a touch of magic realism and a dash of food for thought. This digital series creates a cohesive world built from a range of Shakespeare texts, threading together scenes from several of Shakespeare’s plays, as written, to create a multiple story strand structure set in the 21st Century. ----------------------- To watch all episodes, and find out more about the series visit: https://www.darkarcadia.com ----------------------- Shot in 4k. Dark Arcadia is produced by Incognita Enterprises and funded via grants from the City of Melbourne, the British Shakespeare Association, Creative Victoria, and Creative Australia through an Australian Cultural Fund BOOST Grant, as well as tax deductible donations from the general public via the Australian Cultural Fund.

Best Dramatic Web Series or Short Film

Rosemary Street Web Series - Eps 1, 2 & 3

This is a series about life in North Baltimore. Multiple plots run through the series as we follow two families and their neighbors on or near Rosemary Street. About two families, a black family, and a white family that raise their children a few houses away from each other over a 40 year span of time. About Life in North Baltimore, amongst the painted lady Rowhouses. The cast includes Parijita Bastola (Petra Baskola), who was on Team John Legend during the 22nd season of The Voice, and her real life boyfriend, Kique Gomez (Joey Duskin), who was on Team Gwen Stefani during the 22nd season of The Voice. We also have actor Johnny Alonso (Asher Daniels), who has had reoccuring characters on Dawson's Creek, One Tree Hill, and Gotham. Newest Cast Members: 90s R & B Singer Christopher Williams from New Jack City will be playing Ed Slater, the vocal teacher who's working with the senior class for their graduation performances. We'll be seeing him in the 4th episode!

Best Dramedy Series or Short Film

The Party

When a new player joins their D&D campaign under false pretenses, five friends must battle shifts in the group dynamic and navigate the perils of both the fantasy game and real life.

Best Dramedy Series or Short Film

Stori Strong (Season One)

Finally, a web series for kids in LGBTQ+ families! Nine-year-old protagonist Stori Strong has two moms… and a donut! Well, that’s what she thought when she was little. It turns out she has a “donor,” not a “donut,” and a “donor” is someone who helped her parents create their family. Stori thinks her donor might have superpowers. Her moms support her creative vision. While hosting a bake sale, gardening, and celebrating her 10th birthday, Stori is fiercely proud to discover and share her story: Stori’s story! Fiction. Narrative. Web Series.

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

Spiked Eggs Podcast- Episode "Bingo After Dark"

Spiked Eggs Podcast- Episode "Bingo After Dark" We meet Ellen, a loyal bingo player of St. Clementines parish in the Bronx. Ellen's game is interrupted by a call from her young assassin Camille. After some confrontation between the two, Ellen orders Camille to dispose of a body. "No questions asked." Camille is forced to bring along an inexperienced "Tommy G" on this late night mission to teach him "the ropes." The scene shifts to a remote swamp somewhere between NYC and New Jersey. The assassin and the "rookie" drag a bag with a body through this muck filled swamp. In a scene reminiscent of The Sopranos Pine Barrens episode, the two complain and bicker about breakfast cereal, communion and snakes. When they finally reach the dumping spot, the real cat-and mouse begins between the killer and "the student."

Audio Fiction (Standalone)

The Fades of Papineau

Jojo, a widower and single father, divides his time between the barbershop and his sons Olivier and Randy. When his life turned upside down again, he will have no choice but to confront his reality. Inspired by the memories and words of a loving mother, the trio will try to rebuild.

Best Dramatic Web Series or Short Film

ASM Murder R

In "ASMmurderR - Cheers To Control" Candace, grappling with the woes of modern dating, navigates awkward encounters, familial expectations, and the meddling advice of her roommate('s girlfriend), Tanner. Disenchanted with dating apps, she reluctantly agrees to try group speed dating. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Candace, the seemingly ordinary ASMR podcast she finds solace in has a chilling real-world counterpart. As Candace faces the uncertainties of love, friendship, and self-discovery, things take an unexpected turn...

Best Podcast - All Genres

Unbalanced Encounters: Rally

On the edge of a primordial forest, a remote logging village is on the brink of collapse. And these four idiots probably won't be able to save it. —-- Unbalanced Encounters is an award-nominated narrative play podcast. We use TTRPGs to tell heartfelt, twangy stories. Each session is highly edited into a well-paced, cinematic episode. Our first season, Rally, has so far been nominated for: - Best Actual Play (LAWEBFEST & T.O. WebFest ‘24) - Best Ensemble Cast (LAWEBFEST ‘24) - Best Use of Safety Tools (CRiT ‘24) - Best Player - Emily Greymoore (CRiT & T.O. WebFest ‘24)

Actual Play (Podcast)

The Wooden Bowl

An age old tale, is reimagined in this modernized dramatic narrative about Michael Critelli who moves his frail old father, who suffers from dementia, into his families home. When the care required is much more than expected and causes relationship issues between Michael and his wife Catherine, one act by their son, 7 year old Bobby, turns the situation around enabling the Critelli family to find peace and happiness in their home once again.

Best Dramatic Web Series or Short Film

Cardboard Titanics

Delusional people build, row, and race boats made solely of cardboard and duck tape in an insane effort to recapture the American Dream.

Best Dramatic Web Series or Short Film

The Chaos Protocol: Arc One

THE CHAOS PROTOCOL is a dark fantasy multi-system Actual Play series that weaves drama with poeticism, grief with hope, and revolution with power. Our campaign follows three agents of the Transplanar Reification and Nourishment Syndicate (TRANS) as they answer distress calls across the multiverse -- and unravel a mystery that will unmake the very fabric of reality. Our story explores what it means to be chosen by Fate; how we can accept the ghosts that haunt us; what pursuing true justice looks like; and the relationship between destiny and chaos. Strike Team Nova is comprised of Seir, played by Valiant Dorian, a brooding omenspeaker; Lumièra, played by Samm Star, a healer dabbling in forbidden Time magic; Xainan Esch, played by Cai Kagawa, the lone survivor of a dead world and a reluctant mentor; and Sing, played by GM Connie Chang, the Chosen One and the heart of the party. In Arc One, Strike Team Nova travels to The Wildsea in search of a missing princess, grappling with their own flaws and demons along the way. During the grand finale, Sing sacrifices herself to save the princess. This choice throws the rest of Strike Team Nova onto an irrevocable path of grief, vengeance, and revolution. THE CHAOS PROTOCOL is produced by and hosted on Transplanar RPG, an all-transgender, people of color-led actual play channel telling stories set in an original noncolonial, antiorientalist multiverse. Transplanar centers trans narratives, uplifts the voices of people of color, and reclaims dark fantasy by cultivating hope in apocalypse. Our show is performed live on Twitch, with live music mixing and immersive, animated overlays produced by Sea Thomas. Each stream is broken into two podcast episodes, which are mixed, mastered, edited, and scored by our podcast editor, Marisa Ewing. CHAOS is planned to encompass 8 Arcs with each Arc hosting 16 episodes. Each Arc uses a different TTRPG system and is set on a different plane in our original multiverse. Arc One utilizes the Wildsea RPG system and features guest player Austin Taylor.

Actual Play (Video)

Weed Wars "Maryland's Monopoly And The Fight For Free Markets

"Weed Wars: Maryland's Monopoly & The Fight For Free Markets" is a provocative documentary that exposes the deep-seated issues within Maryland's legalized cannabis market. Directed by Nicholas Patrick, the film reveals how restrictive policies and monopolistic practices stifle competition and maintain economic and social disparities, rather than fostering an industry with equitable market access. Through interviews with advocates from the Maryland Healthy Alternatives Association, Maryland Cannabis Equity Collective, Maryland Hemp Coalition, and Maryland NORML, the film delves into the manipulation, collusion, and corruption that underpin the current system. This documentary challenges viewers to reconsider the framework of cannabis legislation and advocates for reform towards genuine economic liberty and justice.

Feature Film and Feature Documentary Category

The Cellar

A group of young workers at a run down liquor store come of age in this hilarious, heartwarming comedy.

Best Podcast - All Genres

Los Aspirantes -The Applicants-

It is a hilarious comedy set in an office called Holliwood where everything turns into a desaster. Every single person in the office is tempted into getting a better job and they compete with the applicants for that purpose. Most of the situations a really surrealistic and funny so you never know what is going to happen.The more jobs offered, the more situations to laugh at. Who needs the job?.

Best Dramatic Web Series or Short Film

LA TERRE APPELLE MATHILDE

Mathilde, a 17-year-old with a passion for astronautics, suffers an accident while trying to tinker with a homemade rocket prototype. Mathilde, who had set her sights on becoming the next Valentina Terechkova (the first woman to fly in space), now finds herself missing an arm. Forced to spend the next few weeks in a rehabilitation center for young amputees, Mathilde will be confronted with the various stages of rehabilitation, before finally learning to thrive despite her handicap. LA TERRE APPELLE MATHILDE is a comedy-drama with a strong personality, dealing with human nature, its missteps and the transition to adulthood. 6 X 12 minutes | ROMEO & FILS, 2024 | Montreal, QC, Canada

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

Relic (Part 2)

A no-nonsense medical student finds her life upended when she's bonded to the soul of a long-dead dragon. Part 2 comprises chapters 3 through 5.

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

The Mysteries of Ravenswood

It all starts with a missing friend and a set of strange journal filled with cryptic notes. They all say that your friend just ran away, you all know this isn't true. Four students at Ravenswood Academy must work together to solve the mystery of what happened to Juniper Novak. In doing so they will come into contact with factions that threaten to tear the fragile peace of the school apart.

Actual Play (Video)

Les Chroniques de Gliwensbourg - Saison 1

The Gliwensbourg Chronicles - Season 1

Winter 1915, Northern France, a French trench is shelled and all the soldiers are buried, leaving only one survivor. Underground, he manages to crawl out into a hole leading to a tunnel. There begins a journey that takes our soldier to the mysterious village of Gliwensburg in 1925... The soldier arrives, amnesiac, in the middle of a booty hunt between clans living reclusively in the marshes, a marsh that has been plagued by a curse for a decade. The loot hidden in a mine during the war is their ticket out, but the threatening presence of mysterious creatures makes underground expeditions perilous... As one problem never comes alone, an agent of the State arrives in Gliwensbourg to shed light on the County's finances in the midst of a national policy of economic recovery. The noose is tightening around these unsociable people. Lala, the Elder and Shaman of the 'melons' community, warns the soldier about this announced agent of the State whose fate is linked to his own. He absolutely must find out what mission the Djinns have entrusted him with, and the clock is ticking...

Best Dramedy Series or Short Film

I WILL BURY YOU

I Will Bury You is a Canadian, dark comedy series that follows two brothers as they attempt to carry out their mother’s final wishes by scattering her ashes in the places she loved… if only they can figure out where that might be. Dealing with issues of grief, loss, and sibling rivalry, this genre defying series mixes comedy, drama, and hilarious stupidity into a single package.

Best Dramedy Series or Short Film

ULTRA VIDEO

UltraVideo is an actual play DnD YouTube series set in neo-feudalist Pittsburgh a hundred years in the future. We use the UltraModern variant of 5th Edition to devise and explore a speculative future world of megacorporations, weird tech, and holographic waifus. All rolls and combat are completed using an in-house game engine built specifically for our campaign. All art and sprite design is 100% custom and designed around actual locations and events in each session. All jokes are stolen from funnier people but hey can’t win them all. Have you ever wondered what throwing a martini at a robot dog servant would be like?? Join us on this adventure and find out!

Actual Play (Video)

Queen of Battle

In 2010, six women embark on a groundbreaking journey to become infantry soldiers. Under the rigorous training of Drill Sergeant Rodriguez, they push their limits, facing physical and emotional challenges. Tragedy strikes, but they forge an unbreakable bond. Deploying to a warzone, they confront new obstacles, including a replacement soldier and a reporter with ulterior motives. As the war intensifies, their resilience and sisterhood are tested, as they fight to prove their worth and rewrite history.

Audio Fiction (Standalone)

Alpha 8

E.T. meets The Princess Diaries with a Freaky Friday twist is this new series from award-winning writer Stephanie Elie. Alpha 8 is a sci-fi adventure fiction podcast that explores what happens when a desperate alien from another planet swaps places with a struggling mom to understand the meaning of family so she can save her own kind from extinction. This award-winning eight-episode series sheds light on the inequalities and struggles working moms face daily, all wrapped up in a fun, heartfelt sci-fi adventure that evaluates the question - what does it mean to be a good parent?

Best Podcast - All Genres

Dumb-Dumbs & Dragons

Dumb-Dumbs & Dragons is a podcast where improvisers who’ve never roleplayed before journey into the world of Dungeons & Dragons. The series is hosted by our dungeon master, Tom McGee, and features our regular players - the sneaky Tyler Hewitt, the brilliant Laura Hamstra, and the flatulent Ryan LaPlante - alongside a rotating cast of special guests. Featured on Spotify, ScreenRant, Lifehacker, and the official Dungeons & Dragons podcast Dragon Talk, Dumb-Dumbs & Dragons is regularly in the top 10 comedy fiction podcasts around the globe and ranked #2 of the top 50 fiction podcasts (and #72 of ALL podcasts) on Spotify in the USA. ScreenRant said of the show, "There's nothing better for beginning players!" So, join our heroes and find out why Dumb-Dumbs & Dragons has been downloaded more than 4 million times!

Actual Play (Podcast)

As Easy As Closing Your Eyes

Academy Award-nominee Abigail Breslin presents: As Easy As Closing Your Eyes. The story of a grieving mother who battles her addiction to a black-market drug that gives her life-like dreams about the son she lost. SUBTITLED LINKS (password: Amesten) ENGLISH: https://vimeo.com/951282392 SPANISH: https://vimeo.com/951298911 ITALIAN: https://vimeo.com/952515352 FRENCH: https://vimeo.com/951629032

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

Arcane Corps Series

There are things in this world that defy human explanation. The natural world goes beyond the boundary of the mundane... and can be extraordinarily beautiful, as well as terrifying. The Arcane Corp is a secret underground organization, based in New York City, that is run and operated by those who have gazed into other realms and traveled through the abyss and back. These individuals have dedicated themselves to finding, researching, and hunting beings of these supernatural realms, whether by means to help them or destroy them. Follow Seeker cell, S12, as they as they delve into the mysteries of the supernatural, as well as the mysteries that connect them all together. The Arcane Corps series is a Monster of the Week actual play that is streamed on Othersider Studios.

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Black Pines

A young woman named Lana has a chance encounter with a creature born out of nightmares while hunting in the woods. After barely escaping with her life, Lana returns home only to find out that something has followed her, and that her battle is far from over...

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

The Meteorites

The Meteorites delves into the life of two black sisters of Haitian origin, Léna and Maëlle, placed by Quebec's Youth Protection Services in a white foster family. The stories of the family members intertwine and weave the web of their daily adventures in Montreal during summer 2002.

Best Dramatic Web Series or Short Film

Tears for the Bird

A woman named Patricia has the ability to speak to birds and falls in love with one; her parents don't understand this relationship and do their best to "fix" her.

Best Animated Web Series or Short Film

Bad Heroes

What do a haughty sorceress, an aloof druid, an exiled bard and a shady barbarian have in common? Nothing, except they all work for the queen now. Welcome to Vyer. Bad Heroes is a fantasy tabletop actual play podcast about a group of unlikely heroes forced to hunt deadly curses for the villainous ruler of a realm bound to Hell. Follow the misadventures of Gydeon Greyfrost, Tonreir Ceni, Ira Clawstrike and Rihva Ashren as they try to bluff, reason, charm, intimidate and fight their way out of increasingly dangerous predicaments while surviving their own bad choices.

Actual Play (Podcast)

Power Up

Araia, 15, is an adolescent girl grappling with the typical challenges of her age – bullied, coping with divorced parents, and navigating the complexities of teenage romance, all while struggling in various aspects of her life. However, everything takes an unexpected turn when she discovers she has been endowed with superpowers from an old Arcade VideoGame Machine.

Best Dramedy Series or Short Film

FUNeral

After the loss of their father when they were young, siblings Max and Robin have always been close. When their mother got sick, they shared the responsibility of caring for her. Now, on the day of her funeral, the siblings lean on one another as the events unfold in unexpected ways.

Short Film - All Genres

Ray of Sunshine

The year is 1999. Ray (16), along with his adopted siblings Anna (16), and Florence (11), lives with their abusive foster parents, Miranda and Father. After years of trauma and turmoil, the kids have had enough. They soon embrace a dark and supernatural force to give them all they need.

Short Film - All Genres

Replace.Me

Derrick Weems, a stressed-out father and husband, turns to artificial intelligence to help him better grasp a healthy work-life balance. What starts out initially as a generally positive experience turns into something far more serious and unexpectedly dire.

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

Quest Friends!

Skeletons! Zombies! Angry, angry mushrooms! Even the most average day is filled with excitement when the afterlife is only a plane ride away. Join five best friends as they tell improvised tabletop adventures in a ghostly world inspired by cartoons like Amphibia, The Owl House, and Gravity Falls.

Actual Play (Podcast)

(mis)placed - block 2

(mis)placed - block 2 is an anthology series about the intersecting lives of twenty-somethings, all searching for love, work, and meaning in the world today. Block 2 is a new collection of stories. In " After Thoughts & Prayers" a young alcoholic confronts the root of his drinking in search of a life beyond it.

Best Dramatic Web Series or Short Film

The Big Oil Alliance

The Big Oil Alliance is on a charm offensive to save their billion dollar industry while appearing to be a part of the climate solution. Through boardroom jockeying, revealing interviews, an anti-wind commercial and a PSA for a crisis line serving beleaguered oil execs, the Big Oil Alliance fights for your love at the expense of your future.

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

Hovering

When multiple residents of an Australian country town report seeing a strange object in the night sky, skeptical local cop Kyle Grinham takes upon himself to investigate. But as he does, Kyle stirs up all kinds of secrets in this sleepy coastal village - some of which are his own.

Best Podcast - All Genres

You're Never Alone

You're Never Alone is the darkly comic story of Maggie, a recently-widowed accountant in her 30s. After her outdoor-enthusiast husband forages a deadly mushroom, Maggie must steady herself to face the loneliness ahead. But then there’s a knock on the door. Her in-laws have decided to stay with her during this time of grief. Against her better judgment she lets them move in with her and turns her life upside down to accommodate the quirks of her husband's critical mother, stoic father, and strangely combative sister. Their relationships were never good to begin with but under the strain of grief and too much togetherness, Maggie struggles to assert herself against this team of in-laws trying to control her under the guise of kindness. But it’s three against one and they’re making themselves comfortable and turning Maggie into a stranger in her own home. How much can she put up with before it’s time to take a stand?

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

Reimagined Volume III: Young Thang

Inspired by “The Woman with Two Skins” of Southern Nigeria, the story follows Young Thang, a human girl living within The Community, a place where humans are forbidden; deemed dangerous and ugly. To blend in and survive, Young Thang’s guardians urge her to wear a second skin to transform her appearance. After the pressure to conform pushes Young Thang to the brink, she unknowingly puts her beloved guardians and The Community in peril. Can Young Thang find the courage to reveal her full self and save the very beings that discriminate and suppress her?

Best Virtual Reality Content

LA DERNIÈRE COMMUNION

After the sale of their monastery, Pierre, Paul and Jean, three religious brothers, decide to break away from the Church and reinvent their lives in old age. With no savings and no plans for the future, they take refuge with Paul's friend Aïcha, where they try to navigate the modern world. In the course of their misadventures on the Way of the Cross, what seemed like the apocalypse for these three ex-religious men turns out to be the long-awaited redemption. 7 X 18 minutes | ROMEO & FILS, 2024 | Montreal, QC, Canada

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

DAY BY DAY

Day by Day is an audio drama series that tracks the heartfelt stories of six people of different ethnicity and sexual orientation battling and succeeding over drugs and alcohol, under the guidance of a counselor of her own.

Best Podcast - All Genres

Sounds & Pressure: Reggae in a Foreign Land

At the height of the golden age of reggae, some of Jamaica’s brightest stars left their homeland behind to shine their light in an unlikely hub of Caribbean creativity: Toronto. Sounds & Pressure: Reggae in a Foreign Land follows the journeys of these icons. Through rare archives and infectious beats, this captivating five-part anthology series takes you from Kingston to Kensington Market to see and hear how reggae made roots in Canada against all odds.

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

Protected Space

In the midst of a military operation and under constant missile attack, a group of Israeli college students is determined to maintain sanity and live their lives to the max.

Best Web Series - Comedy Series or Comedy Short Film

Blink Space Blues

"Blink Space Blues", a homebrew neo-noir actualplay series inspired by Cowboy Bebop and Gundam, uses the Lancer TTRPG system. Follow the crew of the Hot Potato as they try to make ends meet while blinking around a galaxy on the cusp of war.

Actual Play (Video)

The Brooklyn Butcher

Amidst the backdrop of a serial killer terrifying the city, the residents of a Brooklyn apartment building learn a new meaning of the word terror.

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