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• SPIRIT OF MOONDANCE AWARD
This award category is for women writers and filmmakers. Men may be co-writers or co-filmmakers, but the entry must be submitted by a woman.

• MOONDANCE SEAHORSE AWARD
This award category is for men writers and filmmakers. Women may be co-writers or co-filmmakers, but the entry must be submitted by a man.

• MOONDANCE SANDCASTLE AWARD
This award is for male and female writing or filmmaking teams where both men and women or a man and woman work as a team on the project.

• MOONDANCE COLUMBINE AWARD
Films and writings may be submitted by either a man, a woman, a male/female team or a young person 18 and under. The work must reflect non-violent conflict resolution, alternatives to violence, or show why violent resolution to conflict is counter-productive. The submitted material should not contain gratuitous violence.

• MOONDANCE DOLPHIN AWARD
This award is for young people 18 years of age or younger, male or female. Moondance accepts submissions for this award in the genres of short narrative, documentary, multi-media, music videos, or animation video film, as well as short screenplays, short stories or short stageplays.

• MOONDANCE CALYPSO AWARD
This award is to encourage a spirit of enterprise in saving the environment, habitats and wildlife by creative individuals from around the world. The award is presented to the person who expands knowledge of our world, seeks to improve our quality of all life on the planet, and contributes to the betterment of humankind.

• MOONDANCE GAIA AWARD
This award is to encourage and inspire contemplative, meditative, spiritual and inspirational films and scripts. The award is presented to the person who seeks to elucidate and improve the spiritual quality of all life on the planet, and contributes to the betterment of the world spirit.

• MOONDANCE NEPTUNE AWARD
This unique award is presented to a male or female writer or filmmaker, over the age of 75, who has created either a single work of the highest quality or a body of quality work, and who continues to strive for excellence in his or her career in the entertainment industry, and who inspires and encourages others by his or her example.

• MOONDANCE-DGA DIRECTOR'S AWARD
This award is presented annually to the filmmaker who's film is screened at Moondance and who is selected by both the DGA and the Moondance executive director to win this coveted award

• CINEMA PIONEER AWARD
This award is in special recognition of a living pioneer in early cinema; a person who had a significant role in contributing a body of work to the silent-film era, or early film and television, either as a writer, director, producer, cinematographer, film editor, or actor.

• MOONDANCE ANGEL AWARD
This special award is presented to the exceptional person who has made a very important contribution to the continuing success of the Moondance International Film Festival.

• MOONDANCE ATLANTIS AWARD
This award is for writers, filmmakers & composers who have submitted projects from a foreign country outside the US.

• MOONDANCE STARFISH AWARD
This is an award for comedy projects submitted by writers and filmmakers.

• MOONDANCE ONE WORLD CITIZEN AWARD
The One World Citizen crystal globe award is presented to a director, producer or actor to pay tribute to his or her outstanding work on behalf of our planet and its people. We honor the recipient particularly for a body of work with the vital message, via film, that humanity has arrived at a crucial moment when a change in course is not only necessary for our survival but also more possible than ever. We believe in the unique power of the international entertainment industry to inspire and encourage great social and environmental change. It is in this spirit that we have launched this new honorary award at Moondance International Film Festival to commend outstanding world citizens who, through their positive actions, inspire and encourage others to become involved in the steps necessary for the Earth’s and humanity's survival.

• LIVING LEGACY AWARD
The award is presented annually to honor and recognize women in the film industry who have contributed most to insuring that women's work is recognized and appreciated for its worth, who help women achieve success in film, and who have themselves contributed a vital body of work, and who and continue to contribute to this vital effort. The pearl in the award is a symbol of women's efforts to make something meaningful and valuable from our struggles to overcome that "grain of sand" women often encounter, when trying to express themselves and succeed within the international film and entertainment industry. The resulting lovely pearl is a reminder of what beautiful things women can accomplish.

(Not all awards are presented every year.)