2019 Winners and Finalists
Special Recognition Awards
| Awards | Film Title | Creator(s) | School |
| Best of Show | Midwest | Robbie Gonyea, Lucas Coniaris | Bloomington South High School |
| Best Cinematography | Focus In | Nick Mammone, Caleb Long, Mason Bowers, Zach Leder, Grant Hollinger, Ryan Eatherton, Kyle Miller | Hilliard Darby High School |
| Best Screenplay | Midwest | Robbie Gonyea, Lucas Coniaris | Bloomington South High School |
| Most Inspirational | Live for Today | Jacob Young | Franklin High School |
Alternative Category
| Award | Film Title | Students | School |
| Golden Lion | How to Make a Movie | Gabe Schmidt | Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy |
| White Lion | Patient 8 | Rachel Michelman, Molly Smith | National High School Institute |
| Mountain Lion | Jimmy + Emily Wedding Video | Grant Toney | Homeschool |
| Finalist | Imagine | Liam Mohajeri Norris | Homeschool |
| Finalist | Nothing Gold Can Stay | Tyler Harding | Walled Lake Northern High School |
| Finalist | The Great Lakes Project | Rachel Goodman | Troy Athens High School |
Animation Category
| Award | Film Title | Students | School |
| Golden Lion | Stargazer | Kathryne Garrido | Gaston Day School |
| White Lion | Heroic | Gabe Schmidt | Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy |
| Mountain Lion | The Journey of Ase | Jordan Cornelisen | Kings High School |
| Finalist | The Chase | Uma Shenai | The Seven Hills School |
| Finalist | Unfolded | Lauren Matthews | Homewood-Flossmoor High School |
| Finalist | Bombs Away | Sam Richardson | Loveland High School |
Comedy Category
| Award | Film Title | Students | School |
| Golden Lion | The Newly Dead Game | Aaron Gallegos | Glenbrook South High School |
| White Lion | Soundtrack Syndrome | Amy Bushman, Rachel Michelman, Jake Groom, Suzie Spooner, Charles Clark and Annika Alper | The Seven Hills School |
| Mountain Lion | The Game of Life | Laine Immell | Ursuline Academy |
| Finalist | Suburban Wilderness | Jared Goudsmit | Kirkwood High School |
| Finalist | If It Ain’t Broke | Dan Tinaglia, Marie Nomandin, Aly Trunzo, Gavin White, Brennan Keeley, Bianca Franco, Ellie Compton | Maine South High School |
| Finalist | Bias | Jacob Goldberg & Devin Gorton | Homewood-Flossmoor High School |
Commercial Category
| Award | Film Title | Students | School |
| Golden Lion | Ichor Entertainment | Grant Toney | Homeschool |
| White Lion | St. Xavier High School Admissions Promo | Carter Nolan | St. Xavier High School |
| Mountain Lion | Chris Kaeppner, Ph.D. | Andrew Kaeppner, Adam Scalf, Ben Blavat | Anderson High School |
| Finalist | Thacker | Anni Newton, Emilie Maggard | Anderson High School |
| Finalist | Jason Saves! | Sabrina Badia, Jason Kemp, Jaden Makowski, Penelope Rampazo | Troy Athens High School |
| Finalist | Experience Modern Shakespeare | Ashley Austereng, Molly Ferencz, Suxin Guo, Cameon Wade | Troy Athens High School |
Informational/Educational Category
| Award | Film Title | Students | School |
| Golden Lion | How to Create a Stop-Motion Animation | Dan Tinaglia, Lucas Byron | Maine South High School |
| White Lion | Joshua’s Place | Avneet Dharni, Sarah Giesy, Grace Pansch | Kings High School |
| Mountain Lion | Room Decorating | Maeve VanEtten & Kelly VanEtten | Homewood-Flossmoor High School |
| Finalist | Warrior Run | Sydney Robb, Kathleen Hillman, Sean Scott, Mason Weber, Seth Mason | Anderson High School |
| Finalist | Intellectual Property | Sam Richardson | Loveland High School |
| Finalist | How to Make Crepes | Elizabeth Compton, Lily Haugen | Maine South High School |
Long Documentary Category
| Award | Film Title | Students | School |
| Golden Lion | “A Significant Step Forward”: The Tragedy and Triumph of the Equal Pay Act | Kaisal Shah and Madeline Price | Shaker Heights High School |
| White Lion | Titan Sports: Revival | Brendan Garvey, Natalia Cymbalisty | Glenbrook South High School |
| Mountain Lion | Surviving Chicago | Jahkeema Kimbrough | Homewood-Flossmoor |
Long Narrative Category
| Award | Film Title | Students | School |
| Golden Lion | Midwest | Robbie Gonyea, Lucas Coniaris | Bloomington South High School |
| White Lion | That’s Life | Max Kaplan, Christian Gentry | Homeschool |
| Mountain Lion | The Incident At The Pier | Abby Bright, Grace Joo | Troy Athens High School |
| Finalist | Sentiments | Elliot Hatch | Whitefish Bay High School |
| Finalist | She Is Us | Ariana DeJesus, Lauren Eager, Ava Keller, Abby Minnich, Maddi Olson | Hempfield High School |
| Finalist | The Goddaughter | Jared Goudsmit | Kirkwood High School |
Middle School Category
| Award | Film Title | Students | School |
| Golden Lion | A+ | Hayden Melvin, Carson Wulf, Adam Fields, Sam Meyer, Nolan Miller, Maxon Owens, Logan Marshall | The Underground Academy of Cinematic Arts Summer Film Camp |
| White Lion | Desperate Measures | Ethan Erdman | Mason Intermediate School |
| Mountain Lion | Copy Cat | Hayden Melvin | New Haven / Gray Middle School |
| Finalist | Cooking with Butta | Eddie Julious, Moriah Humphrey, Ra’Shyla Phillips, Keonte | Taft IT |
| Finalist | Follow Me | Kyra Goudsmit | Nipher Middle School |
| Finalist | Michael Lee | Eli Erb, Michael Lee, Alex Lange | Homeschool |
Music Video Category
| Award | Film Title | Students | School |
| Golden Lion | Waitin’ On the Weekend to Come Music Video | Claudia Wright, Mason Weber, Hailey Mauk, Jack Reid, Kathy Hillman, Andrew Mckey, Jack Chandler, Ben Thompson | Anderson High School |
| White Lion | As Luck Would Have It by Tom Rosenthal | Annika Alper | The Seven Hills School |
| Mountain Lion | Fake Flowers | Emily Munse & Gwen May | Homewood-Flossmoor |
| Finalist | Mardi Gras | Adam Shoreibah, Caleb Shin, Brandon Solari | Glenbrook South High School |
| Finalist | “SHE GOT IT” by Alex Angelo Live Music Video | Carter Nolan | St. Xavier High School |
News Story Category
| Award | Film Title | Students | School |
| Golden Lion | Viking Racing | Zac Lueder, Luke Venegas, Kenneth Powell | Homewood-Flossmoor High School |
| White Lion | Safety Day | Katie Yoder | Hempfield High School |
| Mountain Lion | Speech Team | Jaelyn White & Jonathan Kriarakis | Homewood-Flossmoor High School |
| Finalist | Indian Hill Elementary School: STEAM iLab Report by Sailor Betts. 11-7-18 | Sailor Betts | Indian Hill High School |
| Finalist | Maine South Student Takes Classroom Experience to the Real World | Toma Stojakovic | Maine South High School |
| Finalist | Plane Safety | Ava Keller & Abby Minnich | Hempfield High School |
Public Service Announcement Category
| Award | Film Title | Students | School |
| Golden Lion | If I Die in a School Shooting… | Aaron Gallegos, Natalie Kahan, James Scott | Glenbrook South High School |
| White Lion | Errands | Brendan Garvey, Zachary Bilimoria | Glenbrook South High School |
| Mountain Lion | Cybersecurity Privacy and Safety | Sam Richardson | Loveland High School |
| Finalist | The Wrong Wheels | Jason Kemp, Jaden Makowski, Penelope Rampazo | Troy Athens High School |
| Finalist | Put It Down | Jacob Goldberg & Ben Hamer | Homewood-Flossmoor |
| Finalist | Schreiber Pediatrics | Lauren Dague, Dana Greener with Taylor Hess | Hempfield High School |
Short Documentary Category
| Award | Film Title | Students | School |
| Golden Lion | No Pain No Gain: Opioids in Ohio | Joel Helmick | Maumee Valley Country Day School |
| White Lion | Chicago Colors | Tyler Neander, Andrew Duvall, Jalen Robinson, Sydney Anderson | Batavia High School |
| Mountain Lion | Upstanders | Jacob Goldberg | Homewood-Flossmoor |
| Finalist | Children of the Holocaust | Aaron Gallegos, Alison Krolopp | Glenbrook South High School |
| Finalist | From Terror Town to Nike Town | Jalen Robinson | Homewood-Flossmoor |
| Finalist | This is How It Ends | Sarah Mahaney, Austin Bally, Arianna Mauk, Jackson Reid | Anderson High School |
Short Narrative Category
| Award | Film Title | Students | School |
| Golden Lion | Darkness in a Lightroom | Sean Birkle, Felix Bangert, Gabriel LeCount | LaSalle High School |
| White Lion | Focus In | Nick Mammone, Caleb Long, Mason Bowers, Zach Leder, Grant Hollinger, Ryan Eatherton, Kyle Miller | Hilliard Darby High School |
| Mountain Lion | This Broken Mind | Claire Beseler | Loveland High School |
| Finalist | When Doves Fall | Kenneth Powell & Luke Venegas | Homewood-Flossmoor |
| Finalist | So I’m All. | Christopher Putlock | Father Gabriel Richard High School |
| Finalist | A Simple Moment | Trevor Cebulskie, Gabe Schmidt, Malcolm Vanderwoude, Jack Bolander | Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy |
Trailers Category
| Award | Film Title | Students | School |
| Golden Lion | Fall Sports Recap | Jacob Brase | William Mason High School |
| White Lion | ESPY’s Intro | Jacob Brase | William Mason High School |
| Mountain Lion | Official CometTv Trailer 2018 | Jacob Brase | William Mason High School |
| Finalist | Beat the Boro | Tyler Hopton and Callum Norrie | William Mason High School |
| Finalist | Chase Your Passion | Cameon Wade | Troy Athens High School |
| Finalist | The Incident At The Pier | Trailer | Abby Bright, Grace Joo, Zachary Sinutko | Troy Athens High School |