Congratulations to filmmaker Niels Bourgonje of the Netherlands for winning the Love Your Shorts Film Festival’s 2018 Best of the Fest award for his film Bridge, about what happens when two drivers enter a single-lane bridge from opposite ends.

The film also won the comedy block to advance to the final judging for the top award in Sanford.

The other 2018 block winners of Monroe Awards were:

Opening Night

Impression, Joseph Simmons, UK, 11:37 (Drama)
An entrepreneurial man tries to get a large-scale business off the ground without financial support as he works at a car wash to make ends meet.

E for Everyone

Safety Net, Andrew Rudd, USA, 17:18
Jerry tries to save his home from foreclosure just before his wife gives birth to their first child.

Animation

In a Heartbeat
Beth David, Esteban Bravo, USA, 4:05
A student runs the risk of being outed by his own heart after it pops out of his chest to chase down the boy of his dreams.

Documentary

A Simpler Way
Michael Snyder, USA, 26:00
Four university students journey to a remote village in Uganda to discover a radically simple solution to an urgent global problem.

Comedy

Bridge
Niels Bourgonje, Netherlands, 4:21
Who will cross the single-lane bridge first?

Sci-Fi / Horror

The Son, the Father
Lukas Hassel, USA, 13:14
The events on a young boy’s birthday have twisted consequences far into his future.

Drama

Caliber
Tanner Cusumano, USA, 15:54
After a domestic-violence call goes haywire and someone is shot, an officer fights to keep the victim alive, no matter what the cost.

Florida Flavor

For Luck
TL Westgate, Orlando, 7:07
The wrong guy goes into the wrong place at the wrong time. What could possibly go right?

Specialty Awards

Best Cinematography

Star People
Adriano Giotti, Italy, 14:57
Lucio and Luna are in love and they are anorexic. When she decides to move to Lucio’s home, their love will be confronted with their disease.

Best Musical Score

Charleene Closshey in Perception
Kevin O’Neill, USA 7:08
A couple visit a special forest where magical things happen.

Best Male Actor

Christopher Watson in Caliber
Tanner Cusumano, USA, 15:54
After a domestic-violence call goes haywire and someone is shot, an officer fights to keep the victim alive, no matter what the cost.

Best Female Actor

Ashlynne Lopez in An Orphan in Time
Dale Metz, USA, 8:14
How far would you go if you could change everything?

Best Director

Talk
Fred Zara, USA, 16:00
Eight lives intersect at a coffee shop one afternoon. Some are enjoying a fresh new start, some are at a crossroads, and some may be in the midst of a painful ending.

Best Screenplay

Talk
Fred Zara, USA, 16:00
Eight lives intersect at a coffee shop one afternoon. Some are enjoying a fresh new start, some are at a crossroads, and some may be in the midst of a painful ending.

Best Scene

The “What barn?” passage from This is Home
Jason Patrick Schumacher, USA, 17:53
A coming-of-age story about a 10-year-old boy who realizes how flawed his parents are.