April 5, 2026
Don't Make Friends wins Outstanding Achievement at Mass IFF
On April 2nd, we premiered Don't Make Friends at the 2026 Massachusetts Independent Film Festival in Worcester. After two years of working on this thing, it was surreal to finally sit in a room full of people and watch it play. Hearing the audience react to kill scenes we stressed over using DIY practical effects, YouTube tutorials for the choreography, and amateur makeup was the best part of the night. Looking around and seeing familiar faces from the cast and crew made it even better. We're so grateful to all the friends and family who came out to see it for the first time.
After the screening, Joey did a Q&A where he got to talk about growing up on B horror movies, wanting to prove he could actually finish a script, and how wild it was to reconnect with friends from film school over a decade later who were still willing to drop everything and help make this thing.
Then on Saturday we went back for the awards ceremony and somehow walked out with the Outstanding Achievement Feature Film award.
Thanks to everyone at the Shawna Foundation for running the festival. And thanks to everyone who showed up on a Wednesday night to watch our crazy little movie. That meant more than the trophy.
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