SCAD Savannah Film Festival Wraps Another Incredible Year

November 4, 2025

We’ve spent the past week on the red carpets, catching glimpses of stars, filmmakers, and first time directors as they made their way into Savannah’s theaters. But once the lights dimmed and the chatter fell away, it all came down to the films themselves. This year’s SCAD Savannah Film Festival delivered a lineup that ran the gamut from world premieres to hard hitting documentaries, proving once again why it’s one of the most important stops on the road to awards season.

Netflix’s Frankenstein, directed by Guillermo del Toro, won the Audience Award, a fitting nod to its spellbinding visuals and emotional pull. Rental Family (Searchlight, dir. Hikari) followed as runner up, and Park Chan wook’s No Other Choice (Neon) claimed the International Audience Award. These were the titles that kept people talking in line and spilling out onto Broughton Street afterward, buzzing with what they’d just seen.

In the competition categories, Charliebird earned Best Narrative Feature, while Richard Ladkani’s Yanuni pulled off a rare double win for Best Documentary Feature and Best Director. Rise (dir. Jessica J. Rowlands) was named Best Professional Short, All the Empty Rooms took home the Jury Award for Social Impact, and Beyond Silence was honored for Ensemble Acting.

The student side of the festival hit just as hard. Isabella Sullivan’s Drag Me to Church won the Katie Spikes Legacy Award and its $7,500 scholarship, while Breastmilk (dir. Ifeyinwa Arinze) and Dragfox (dir. Lisa Ott) topped the Student Short and Animation categories. It was a reminder that some of the most powerful stories of the week came not from Hollywood veterans, but from young filmmakers cutting their teeth right here at SCAD.

All told, more than 160 films screened this year, including world and U.S. premieres, each one playing to packed houses across downtown. From Spike Lee’s Legend of Cinema tribute to the emotional resonance of new independent voices, the festival once again managed to balance prestige with genuine discovery.

If you missed this year’s screenings, many of these films are now beginning their theatrical runs or will soon land on major streaming platforms. Keep an eye out at your favorite Savannah theater or cue them up at home, you’ll be watching the same films that had this city on its feet all week long.