D3F Announces 2024 Atticus Winners

3rd Annual Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F)

Announces 2024 Atticus Award Winners

Student & Dad-Created Winners to Screen with 2024 Sundance Award-Winning

Documentary Daughters at Live Daddying Film Forum in Philadelphia on May 17

CHEVY CHASE, MD – May 11, 2024 – The 3rd annual Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F), the first and only festival focused exclusively on promoting the importance of positive Dad/Dad figure involvement for kids and families, today announced its 2024 Atticus Award-winning films. And the winners are:

Best Elementary Student Film - 100 Subs by Eka Shukla (Singapore)

Best High School Student Film - Thank You, Moddy by Allison Rachel White (USA – Arlington, VA)

Best College Undergraduate Film - A Trace by Julietta Zamora Lam (USA – Los Angeles/Van Nuys, CA)

Roy R. Neuberger Prize for Best Dad-Created Film - Baked With Love by Brenden Guy (USA – Philadelphia/Havertown, PA)

D3F Men Caring Award for Best Dad-Figure Film - Hope for the Holidays by Nathan Cribari and Yuri Omar Shariff Williams (Short Film, USA – Los Angeles/Long Beach, CA)

Best Indie Feature Film - Two Lives in Pittsburgh by Brian Silverman (USA – Los Angeles/Sherman Oaks, CA)

Best Indie Short Film - DaddyHood Adventure - Island of Krk by Fran Karabaić and Matija Djanješić (Croatia)

Best Music Video/Musical Film - Loud in the Library by Jeff Klemm aka “Mr. Jeff” (USA – Cleveland/Akron/Cuyahoga Falls, OH)

Best Animated Film - My Dog’s Leg by Ashton Polak (USA – Pittsburgh/Cranberry Township, PA)

The virtual D3F presented more than 40 short and feature films focused on the importance of positive father-child relationships created by students (elementary through college undergrad), Dads/Dad figures, and indie filmmakers worldwide. Since its inaugural year in 2022, D3F has received submissions from filmmakers in 26 countries. Here is the complete list and descriptions for our D3F 2024 Official Selections.

Nearly 500 virtual D3F attendees on Eventive from 17 countries helped determine Atticus Award Winners by voting for their favorite films from among Finalist nominees in each award category. The 2024 D3F Atticus Awards were presented to winners on May 11, during a virtual awards ceremony via Zoom.

2nd ANNUAL LIVE DADDYING FILM FORUM – PHILADELPHIA

The in-person Daddying Film Forum will be in Philadelphia, PA, at the Parkway Central Library on Friday, May 17, from 4-8pm EDT, and at the iconic Mummers Museum on Saturday, May 18, from 10am - 3pm EDT. Passes to both D3F live events are FREE and available now on Eventive.

Highlighting this year’s live Daddying Film Forum Day 1 event on May 17 will be a special screening of Daughters, the 2024 Sundance Film Festival’s Audience Award winner for best U.S. documentary, winner for Sundance Festival Favorite, and an honorary D3F Best Feature Film Finalist. Directed by Natalie Rae and Girls For A Change founder Angela Patton, Daughters follows the lives of four young girls preparing for the first-ever father/daughter dance in a Washington, DC, correctional facility. Patton will attend the May 17 Forum for the film's Philadelphia premiere, participate in a live Q&A, and be introduced to attendees by her father, Harry Walker. The Forum screening will provide attendees a sneak peek at the award-winning film before it makes its Netflix premiere on August 14th.

On Day 2 of the Forum, the Mummers Museum will be open to Forum attendees and host screenings of selected D3F finalist features and short films.

WHAT’S IN IT FOR WINNERS & FINALISTS?

D3F student FINALISTS earned $250 for use toward an activity or project to enjoy with their Dad/Dad figure. Student WINNERS earn an additional $250. All D3F winners, including Dads/Dad figures and non-student, indie filmmakers, earn a custom-made “Atticus,” a statuette symbolizing Atticus Finch from the 1962 film based on Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird. Finch, an iconic single Dad, represents several ideal daddying qualities. Two special Atticus Aawards, the Roy R. Neuberger Prize for Best Dad-Created Film (sponsored by his daughter) and the D3F Men Caring Award for Best Dad-Figure Film (sponsored by Equimundo), grant winners a $500 prize that can be used for an activity or project with their child(ren).

D3F submissions are reviewed by student (elementary school - undergraduate) and adult preliminary jurors from around the U.S., trained in evaluating films by D3F staff. Atticus Award finalists are then selected with the help of a panel of VIP judges, who are experts in film production, the arts and entertainment industry, and academia.

OTHER D3F 2024 FINALISTS

Elementary Student Films

My Wonderful Dad by Alejandro Pereira (USA – Arlington, VA)
The Sockening by Sophia Linzie McDonald (USA – Salt Lake City/Ogden, UT)
My Loving Dad by Emmylou Skye Simkin (USA – Arlington, VA)
Our Dads by Zachary Walker Voyles and Simon Joseph Loughner (USA – Washington, DC)

High School Student Films

Dad’s Kitchen by Jack Chasen (USA – New York, NY)

College Undergraduate Films

My Dog’s Leg by Ashton Polak (Animated Film, USA – Pittsburgh/Cranberry Township, PA)
You Are Me by Damon Anthony (USA – Philadelphia, PA)

Roy R. Neuberger Prize for Best Dad-Created Films

How to Make a Film About My Son, Jack by Michael Plewa (USA – Los Angeles/Encino, CA)
From Now On by Aaron Scully (Australia)
Dear Black Dad by Tristan Barrocks (Canada)
Tess Is Not Alone by Bo Bigelow (USA – Falmouth, ME)

D3F Men Caring Award for Best Dad-Figure Films

Fits Just Right by Randy Sauer (Short Film, USA – Wichita/Hays, KS)
Nothing to Do by Mike Kravinsky (Feature Film, USA – Arlington, VA)
DadTalks by David Affholter (Short Film, USA – Huntington/Ft. Wayne, IN)
Loud in the Library by Jeff Klemm aka “Mr. Jeff” (Music Video, USA – Cleveland/Akron/Cuyahoga Falls, OH)

Indie Feature Films

Daughters by Natalie Rae and Angela Patton (USA – Richmond, VA/Washington, DC)The 2024 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award winner for best U.S. documentary and Festival Favorite, Daughters is an honorary D3F Finalist chosen by our VIP judging panel and D3F staff. Due to contractual obligations with Netflix, Daughters was unavailable to screen online during the virtual D3F and will screen ONLY at the LIVE Daddying Film Forum on May 17, at the Parkway Central Library in Philadelphia.
Forget Me Not by Olivier Bernier (USA – Brooklyn, NY)
Papi Ramirez vs. Giant Scorpions by Les Rivera (USA – Philadelphia, PA)
What We Find on the Road by Chaysen Beacham (USA – Los Angeles, CA)
Burst the Silence by Eric Schaeffer and Robbie Schaefer (USA – Los Angeles/Burbank, CA)
One Second at a Time: Battling the Monster of Addiction by Tim Searfoss (USA – Tampa, FL)

Indie Short Films

Dad Bod by Daniel Flahiff (USA – Seattle/Bellvue, WA)
DADICATION by Sheldon Candis (USA – Atlanta/Dunwoody, GA)
Dalgona by Jang Ha won (Republic of South Korea)
Black Fatherhood: Trials & Tribulations, Testimony & Triumph by Dr. Khalid White and Maia Porter (USA – San Francisco/Union City, CA)

Music Video/Musical Films

Fits Just Right by Randy Sauer (USA – Wichita/Hays, KS)
Juni Sings “Hello, Goodbye” by Jeff Klemm (USA)
Burst the Silence by Eric Schaeffer and Robbie Schaefer (USA – Los Angeles/Burbank, CA)

Animated Films

A Trace by Julietta Zamora Lam (USA – Los Angeles/Van Nuys, CA)
My Wonderful Dad by Alejandro Pereira (USA – Arlington, VA)

WHAT D3F IS ALL ABOUT

Our relationship with our father – in its presence or absence – is one of the most important relationships in our lives. Because a father's presence or absence most directly impacts kids, D3F offers them a creative outlet to freely express feelings about their relationships with their Dads or Dad figures and, likewise, we provide a complementary opportunity for dads. Student filmmakers (elementary – college undergrads), Dads/Dad figures, and indie filmmakers may submit films/videos, including music videos, documentaries, and animated films, that relate to one or more D3F themes:

A letter to my dad/father figure or my child(ren)
The most joyful/fun thing I ever did or wish I could do/have done with my dad/father figure or child(ren)
If I could make one wish come true for my dad/father figure or child(ren) it would be...
My Daddy dream: the most positive relationship I could imagine having with my dad/father figure or child(ren)
Men Caring: celebrating the many other faces of daddying, including men who play nurturing fatherly roles, inspire, and make a positive impact in the lives of children and youth. Examples include foster Dads, adoptive Dads, Granddads, older siblings, coaches, mentors, inspirational philanthropists/celebrities, “big brothers,” and other daddying role models.

ABOUT D3F

The Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F), is not your ordinary film fest. It is the world's first and only film festival focused exclusively on promoting the importance of positive Dad involvement for kids and families. D3F was created in 2022 by the DADvocacy Consulting Group’s Daddy Appleseed Fund (DAF) to offer children and youth a stage to express through film/video how they feel about the relationship they have or wish they had with their Dads or Dad figures. D3F also encourages Dads/Dad figures to submit their own films for consideration. D3F includes a live Daddying Film Forum (Philadelphia, PA, in 2024) to discuss themes from D3F-screened films and more directly improve the daddying experience for children and Dads alike. For more information about the D3F and how to get involved as a filmmaker, potential juror, sponsor/Circle of Friends member, or other collaborator, please contact D3F.

MEDIA CONTACT: To request an interview with D3F Founder Allan Shedlin or one of D3F’s Finalist nominees, please contact D3F Director of Comms Scott Beller at scott [at] daddyingfilmfest [dot] com