Fest- Fire

Winning Without A Stage

Awards are cool. Seeing your work get recognized? Even cooler. But winning at a festival you don’t actually get to attend? That’s a trip.

This past year, my films burned through the festival circuit—racking up Best Actor wins at Top Shorts, LAFA, BADA, NYFA, and others. Huge honor. But here’s the thing: most of these festivals were online. No red carpets, no packed theaters, no post-screening Q&As where you read the room and feel the impact. Just an email saying, “You won.”

Don’t get me wrong—I’m grateful. Deeply. But it got me thinking: what does a win actually mean? If no one hands you a trophy, if there’s no audience reaction to feed off of, does it hit the same? Or is it just another line on a resume?

Here’s where I landed: the fire isn’t in the festival—it’s in the work. The roles I take, the risks I live for, the stories I throw myself into. It’s in the moment between “Action” and “Cut,” where nothing else exists. The validation? Nice. The art? That’s the point.

Whether it’s a virtual festival, a major studio, or an underground indie that barely sees the light of day, I’ll keep doing what I do—pushing, evolving, setting fire to expectations. Because in the end, the real win isn’t the trophy. It’s the work that makes you forget the world exists, if only for a moment.

Festivals are great, recognition is nice, but at the end of the day, I’d be doing this whether there was a prize at the end or not.

That said, if the next one happens to come with a stage, an open bar, and maybe a gal holding one of those big envelopes? I’m not saying no.