‘Bandit,’ ‘The Last Place On Earth’ Triumph As Dances With Films: LA Presents Awards – Full List

EXCLUSIVE: Dances With Films: LA, the independent-focused film festival, has wrapped its 29^th edition with the presentation of awards.

Banditdirected by Brian L. “BLT” Tan, won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Feature. Wafda Saifan Lubis, Roy Sungkono, T. Rifnu Wikana, and Claresta Taufan star in the action-thriller from Indonesia and the U.S. Logline: “With nothing left to lose, two desperate friends steal an abandoned G-Wagon for a quick score. What they didn’t count on? A corpse in the trunk — and the people who put it there.”

Dances With Films: LA hosted the world premiere of Bandit. Tan’s previous directing credits include Murder Below Deck (2024) and the 2025 Indonesian TV series Theo & Ruza.

An Honorable Mention in the Best Narrative Feature category went to Angelenodirected by Jay Diaz.

Earning the festival’s Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature was The Last Place on Earthdirected by David Booth Gardner. The film is described as “a journey into Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem – where tigers, elephants, rhinos, and orangutans still roam free – that follows a group of wildlife activists who risk everything to save this untouched wilderness from illegal deforestation.”

Gardner, Nanang Sujana, and Shayne McGrath produced The Last Place on Earthwhich held its world premiere at Dances With Films: LA.

Two films earned Honorable Mentions in the Best Documentary Feature category: Boaz Dvir’s To Kill a Nazi (narrated by Jason Alexander), and Jon Bolerjack’s Stan Lee: The Final Chapterabout the late comic book master and efforts to cash in on his likeness and legacy.

Godpowerdirected by Geoff Browne, took the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Short. Honorable Mentions in that category went to Cornermandirected by Sam Findlay, and Dropping Offdirected by Will Mayo and Ian Scott McGregor.

The Grand Jury prizes are determined by previous winners of the festival. DWF also presents Industry Choice Awards, which are selected by “industry powerhouse executives like Steve Wegner (Alcon Entertainment) and JC Spink (BinderSpink),” according to the festival website. The Industry Choice Awards are chosen from among all films in the festival, including features and shorts in all sections.

The Industry Choice Award (under 40’) went to The Expiration of Darius Campbellwritten and directed by Charlie Roth. David Hemphill, Tony Nevada, and Paula Rhodes star in the comedic short. Logline: “In a retro-futuristic ‘Revitalization Suite,’ a woman pays for her dead husband to be resurrected for thirty seconds so she can confront him about his infidelity and get the closure she needs.”

The Industry Choice Award (over 40’) went to the aforementioned documentary Stan Lee: The Final Chapterdirected by Jon Bolerjack. The film is investigative in nature.

“A story of mistreatment and duplicity, this is the tale of how comic book legend Stan Lee landed in the middle of a scandal as dramatic as any superhero saga,” reads the Dances With Films: LA website. “The events are chronicled by filmmaker Jon Bolerjack, who became an assistant to Lee and a fixture of his inner circle. Jon gained unprecedented access and filmed everything he saw. What he uncovered was a thriving market where Lee’s signatures and memorabilia were converted into huge sums of money, while rival figures and competing interests battled for influence over Lee’s fortune and legacy. After years spent documenting these events and trying to bring the story to light, Bolerjack is ready to share this shocking and deeply heartbreaking story with the world.”

Littermatesdirected by Scott Tinkham and Michael Woloson, won the Competition (Narrative) Feature Audience Award. The Documentary Feature Audience Award was shared by two films: My Name Is Gittadirected by Beatrix Ryle, and Tell Me About Tomorrowa film about late TikTok star Cooper Noriega, directed by Brad Alexander.

Dances With Films: LA unfolded at the TCL Chinese 6 complex within Ovation LA in Hollywood. These are additional awards presented Sunday night:

MIDNIGHT AUDIENCE AWARD

PHYSICAL TOUCH

Director: Jesse Montagna; Writer: Kendra Baude; Producers: Marki Yaccino and Jesse Montagna

FUSION FEATURE AUDIENCE AWARD

FACE LOVE

Director/Writer: Gerald Fillmore; Producers: Jorge Alonzo, Victor Corales, Gerald Fillmore

DOWNBEAT AUDIENCE AWARD

MONEY

Director/Writer: Jordyn Apostolache; Producers: Moving Media, Dani Mejía

DANCES WITH KIDZ PRO AUDIENCE AWARD

I GOT NEXT
Director/Writer: Christopher Baxter; Producers: Angel Williams, Andrew Pilkington, Ramfis Myrthil,  Keonia Williams, McKarah Dreyfous and Christopher Baxter

SERIES AUDIENCE AWARD

PEOPLE OF THE WEST
Directors: Christopher Nataanii Cegielski, Phillip Montgomery, Josh Baker

Writers:  Maya Rose Dittloff, Bradley Jackson, Marilyn Thomas, Diego D. Moreno, Kris L. Crenwelge
Producers: Brad Munoa, Nico Magee, Joseph Eardly, Edward Hambleton, Rachel Wasserman, Amanda Erickson and Gemma Jordan

COMPETITION (NARRATIVE) SHORTS AUDIENCE AWARD

YOU COULD’VE BEEN A NURSE
Director/Writer: Meg Mateo; Producers: Jaymar Cabebe and Dianne Que

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS AUDIENCE AWARD

DUAL WIELDER
Director: Julia Boyd; Producers: Julia Boyd, Marissa Paiva, Barrett Thomas, Meredith Stein

FUSION SHORT AUDIENCE AWARD

PLASTIC PASTURES
Director/Writer: Darren Rubin; Producer: Dariush Ghaffari