EXCLUSIVE: Director Ashley Eakin has been introduced because the winner of Greatest New Filmmaker, the highest honor on the 13th Annual Better of NFMLA Awards.
NewFilmmakers Los Angeles, the nonprofit arts and tradition group behind the awards, introduced winners in 16 classes at present, chosen by juries from amongst 130 nominees. Eakin’s award comes with a $2,500 NFMLA Anthony Rhulen money grant offered by NFMLA, a full-frame Blackmagic Cinema Digicam 6K, and a three-ton, two-week G&E truck package deal from Cinelease.
Eakin, a disabled author and director, has directed fiction and nonfiction movies, together with a 2018 quick starring Henry Golding and Awkwafina and a 2022 episode of the Disney+ sequence Rising Up, starring Brie Larson. In 2017, Eakin appeared in a SoulPancake video discussing her uncommon bone situation, Olliers illness and Maffucci Syndrome, a video that tallied over 50 million views.
Filmmaker Ashley Eakin
AshleyEakin.com
“Having over 14 years of expertise within the TV and Movie business, Ashley is keen about diversifying the narrative of how disabled individuals are portrayed in media,” notes a launch asserting the 13th Better of NFMLA Awards.
‘This Physique Is a Shell,’ directed by Ashley Eakin
NFMLA
“I’m extremely honored to obtain this award, particularly from NFMLA, which has supported two of my tasks and helped construct each business connections and a way of neighborhood,” Eakin mentioned in an announcement. “I created my experimental movie This Physique Is a Shell to discover the very intimate but common journey of getting physique disgrace to radical self-acceptance, drawing from private expertise in a method that resonated with others. At a time when disabled filmmakers and our tales are nonetheless combating for area within the mainstream, impartial movie gives a uncommon freedom to discover identification absolutely, while not having permission. It reconnects me to the guts of why I grew to become a storyteller; to permit my neighborhood to really feel seen, create empathy and broaden the narrative surrounding incapacity.”
‘Riley‘
NFMLA
Amongst different winners of the Better of NFMLA Awards, Greatest Characteristic Movie went to Riley, a drama directed by Benjamin Howard and produced by Benjamin Howard, Tommy Anderson, and Laura Scarano. Greatest Documentary Movie was claimed by Not possible City, directed by Meg Griffiths and Scott Faris and produced by Meg Griffiths, Brandon Hill, and Alia Mansoori. Honorable Point out within the Greatest Documentary Movie class went to The Stroll, directed by Oscar nominee Tamara Kotevska and produced by Harri Grace, Oscar winner Orlando von Einseidel, David Lan, and Tracey Seaward.
‘Not possible City’
NFMLA
Scroll for the complete record of awards recipients. The winner of Greatest Characteristic Movie may also obtain a one-ton, one-week G&E truck package deal from Cinelease. The recipient of the Greatest Documentary Characteristic Movie award can be given a full-frame Blackmagic Cinema Digicam 6K and a one-ton, one-week G&E truck package deal from Cinelease. Winners within the classes of Greatest Quick Movie Drama, Greatest Quick Movie Comedy, Greatest Worldwide Quick Movie Drama, Greatest Worldwide Quick Movie Comedy, and Greatest Characteristic Movie will obtain a package deal of Leisure Companions’ Film Magic Scheduling and Budgeting software program.
Juries deciding on the awards consisted of a gaggle of 36 business consultants and creatives. Amongst them — Lexie Chu, a key member of the artistic improvement group at Skydance Animation.
“The 2025 Better of NFMLA Award alternatives have been a masterclass in artistic braveness — globally attuned storytellers who’re redefining what’s attainable throughout codecs, genres, and borders,” Chu commented. “This yr’s slate mirrored the type of daring, globally resonant storytelling I’m at all times looking for as a producer — fearless filmmakers who take narrative and emotional dangers whereas crafting wealthy, character-driven tales. Every movie felt like a window into a unprecedented world I didn’t need to go away. It’s uncommon to come across so many fearless, distinctive storytellers in a single place, sharing unapologetic, globally related tales that transfer you and stick with you. NFMLA continues to be an important platform for championing rising international filmmakers and the long-term development of Hollywood’s artistic ecosystem, bridging the subsequent wave of artistic management with the way forward for the leisure business.”
Julia Iglesias, director of manufacturing and improvement at Focus Options, additionally served on this yr’s Better of NFMLA Awards Jury. “Organizations like NFMLA play an important position in elevating and showcasing thrilling new voices, as seen on this spectacular lineup,” Iglesias noticed. “It’s each an honor and a pleasure to serve on the jury and interact with the varied and galvanizing work of those filmmakers.”
That is the complete record of the 2025 Better of NFMLA Awards Winners:
Greatest New Filmmaker
Ashley Eakin
Greatest Characteristic Movie
Riley – Directed by Benjamin Howard and Produced by Benjamin Howard, Tommy Anderson & Laura Scarano
Greatest Documentary Characteristic Movie
Not possible City – Directed by Meg Griffiths, Scott Faris and Produced by Meg Griffiths, Brandon Hill & Alia Mansoori
Honorable Point out:
The Stroll – Directed by Tamara Kotevska and Produced by Harri Grace, Orlando von Einseidel, David Lan & Tracey Seaward
Greatest Quick Movie, Documentary
Woyane – Directed by Jonathan Stern and Produced by Jonathan Stern & Adam Fried
Greatest Quick Movie, Comedy
Golden Baby – Directed by Hannah Levin and Produced by Hannah Levin & Gracie Catanzarite
Greatest Quick Movie, Drama
When Huge Individuals Lie – Directed by Gianfranco Fernández-Ruiz and Produced by Gus Murray & Kouxiao Amy Zhang
Greatest Worldwide Quick Movie, Comedy
Nea – Directed by Alex Ulises & Nelson G. Navarrete and Produced by Jesus Peña
Greatest Worldwide Quick Movie, Drama
The Steak – Directed and Produced by Kiarash Dadgar
Greatest Quick Movie, Animated
The Outdated Younger Crow – Directed and Produced by Liam LoPinto
Greatest New Media & Experimental
Harlem Fragments – Directed by Cameron Tyler Carr and Produced by Flor Tejada, Collin Meath, Ben Thompson & Salma Qarnain
Greatest Screenplay
A Nice Divide – Written by Jeff Yang, Jean Shim & Martina Nagel
Greatest Efficiency, Comedy
Carmen Sylvestre, Lumen
Greatest Efficiency, Drama
Rubab Rasheed, Eid Mubarak
Greatest Cinematography
Jonathan Stern, Woyane
Greatest Movie Modifying
Fatima Wardy, Hair Care
Greatest Sound Design
Abdolreza Heydari, The Steak
Greatest Rating
Dan Deacon, A Physique Known as Life
