The Vashon International Film Festival closed out its fourth annual edition Sunday night with the presentation of its Red Bicycle Awards, where DJ Ahmet and Racewalkers emerged as the night’s biggest winners.

Following four days of screenings at the historic Vashon Theatre — featuring nine narrative features and 15 shorts — filmmakers and festivalgoers gathered under the island night sky for the awards party. Feature films competed for the Quartermaster Award for Excellence in Filmmaking, Red Bicycle Awards for individual achievement, and the Audience Award, while shorts contended for the Burton Award and their own audience prize. Local projects in the fest’s shortCUTZ program vied for the Mickey’s Chair Award.

The jury — composed of VIFF alumni Jewerl Keats Ross (Sujo), Olivia Blue (Juniper), Jonathan Hsu (Starring Jerry as Himself) and Nick Richey (1-800-Hot-Nite) — handed DJ Ahmet the coveted Quartermaster Award, with helmer Georgi M. Unkovski also taking Best Director. The film additionally earned a Best Actor nomination for Arif Jakup and recognition in cinematography.

Racewalkers was another major winner, with Phil Moniz taking Best Actor, and the writing team of Moniz, Evan M. Landry, and Kevin Claydon nabbing Best Screenplay. Racewalkers was also a crowd favorite earning the Audience Award for Best Feature. In addition, Kevin Claydon landed a Best Supporting Actor nomination, making Racewalkers one of the most decorated titles of the night.

In shorts, Pizza Purge claimed the Mickey’s Chair Award for best shortCUTZ entry, while Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting walked away with the Burton Award for Excellence in Short Filmmaking.

Full list of 2025 VIFF Award Winners and Nominees

Quartermaster Award – Excellence in Feature Filmmaking
Winner: DJ Ahmet

Best Actor
Winner: Phil Moniz – Racewalkers
Nominees: Agathe Rousselle – A Second Life; Ari Gold – Brother Verses Brother; Ethan Gold – Brother Verses Brother; Arif Jakup – DJ Ahmet; Chaïmaa Zineddine Elidrissi – Gamma Rays

Best Supporting Actor
Winner: Alex Lawther – A Second Life
Nominees: Carmen Ramos – The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box); Dora Akan – DJ Ahmet; Chris Kanyembuga – Gamma Rays; Kevin Claydon – Racewalkers

Best Director
Winner: Georgi M. Unkovski – DJ Ahmet
Nominees: Ari Gold – Brother Verses Brother; Henry Bernadet – Gamma Rays; Brittany Shyne – Seeds; Benjamin Flaherty – Shuffle

Best Screenplay
Winner: Evan M. Landry, Kevin Claydon, Phil Moniz – Racewalkers
Nominees: Laurent Slama, Thomas Keumarian – A Second Life; Ari Gold, Ethan Gold – Brother Verses Brother; Ernesto Martínez Bucio, Karen Plata – The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box); Henry Bernadet, Nicolas Krief, Isabelle Brouillette – Gamma Rays

Best Cinematography
Winner: Brittany Shyne – Seeds
Nominees: Laurent Slama – A Second Life; Frazer Bradshaw & Stefan Ciupek – Brother Verses Brother; Odei Zabaleta – The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box); Naum Doksevski – DJ Ahmet

Best Editing
Winner: Ernesto Martínez Bucio, Karen Plata, Odei Zabaleta – The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box)
Nominees: Keita Ideno – Coroner to the Stars; Souliman Schelfout – A Second Life; Malika Zouhali-Wirral – Seeds; Jules Saulnier – Gamma Rays

Mickey’s Chair Award – Best shortCUTZ
Winner: Pizza Purge

Burton Award – Excellence in Short Filmmaking
Winner: Em & Selma Go Griffin Hunting