What a great season this was! The theater was packed for almost every movie, and audience members declared it was our best season ever.
Our judges agreed. In fact, every one of our feature documentaries received at least one vote for “best in category” from our judges. And our audience found it just as difficult: Five films were separated by just one-hundredth of a point each for the Audience Choice award!
“Sight,” Andrew Hyatt’s exquisitely told story of Dr. Ming Wang’s journey from Mao’s Cultural Revolution to pioneering eye surgeon led the awards with Best Narrative Feature, feature-length Audience Choice, and the Anthem Grand Prize. And Dr. Wang was on hand to answer questions, sign autographs, and regale the audience with a performance on his “erhu,” (a traditional Chinese stringed instrument).
“The Bird and the Bee,” Matthew Pirrall’s hilarious tale of how a canceled joke at the Babylon Bee led to Elon Musk’s purchase of Twitter, was right behind, earning the Audience Choice for short films and Best Comedy. Joel Berry of the Bee was on hand for Q&A, and enjoyed the festival so much that he promised to return next year. Watch for him on the Main Stage!
Other celebrity panelists included Bret Weinstein of “The Reformers” and James Lindsay of “Beneath Sheep’s Clothing,” which won the Terry Wood Award for Best Documentary Screenwriting. Both said they would like to become FreedomFest regulars.
To see all the 2025 awards, as well as how you can view the films now, click on the “Awards” tab below.
