WIFVNE Board member Rachel Thomas-Medwid (left) at the Shawna Shea Film Festival. 

Rachel was one of the winners of the Shawna Spirit Award.

The Shawna Shea Film Festival (SSFF) took place Septemebr 20-23, 2023 with four packed days of films and events. Multiple WIFVNE members took home awards from the festival, which celebrates independent films and the people who make them. Established in 2012 as a program of the Shawna E. Shea Memorial Foundation Inc., SSFF honors Shawna's unique independent spirit by bringing audiences films that share the same quality.

Congratulations to all the filmmakers and screenwriters!  WIFVNE members who were winners are listed below: 

Shawna Spirit Award Winners

Individual

• Rachel Thomas-Medwid

Feature length movie

• Wallie's Gals by Mary C. Ferrara

Short movie

• Ocean Child by Marilyn Swick

Screenplay

• Jaw by Miriam Olken

Best Local Horror Short

• The Devil on Derby Street by Luke St. Germaine

Best Mobile Device

• One Room by Rachel S. Thomas-Medwid

Short Length Screenplay

• Jaw by Miriam Olken

Feature Length Screenplay

• Girl Aloud by Mary C. Ferrara