For MASON MULE
- Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting – Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences
[View the Photo Gallery]
For THE BLACKLIST
- Winnner, EMA Award for Television Episodic Drama - Environmental Media Association
(Episode: "General Shiro", Season 6, Episode 7)
For BATKID BEGINS
- Audience Award - Cinequest Film Festival
- Audience Award - Omaha Film Festival
- Audience Award - Ashland Independent Film Festival
- Audience Award - Dallas Film Festival
- Audience Award - Rincon International Film Festival
- Golden Eagle, Best Independent Feature Documentary - CINE
For SHUFFLE
- Frank Capra Award
- Director's Spotlight Award – Cleveland International Film Festival
- New Visions Award – Cinequest Film Festival
- Best Picture & Best Director – Phoenix Film Festival
- Audience Award – Sedona International Film Festival
- Best Picture – Stony Brook Film Festival
- Best Picture – Garden State Film Festival
- Closing Night Film – Heartland Film Festival
- Audience Award – Santa Cruz Film Festival
- Audience Award – SFF-Rated Athens, Int'l Sci-Fi & Fantasy Festival of Athens, Greece
- Special Jury Award – Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Film
For DEAR ZACHARY
- One of the 100 Greatest Documentaries of All Time (#74) – PBS POV
- One of the Top 5 Documentaries of 2008 – National Board of Review
- Nominee, Best Documentary – Chicago Film Critics Association
- Nominee, Best Documentary & Breakthrough Filmmaker – Online Film Critics Society
- Best Documentary – Society of Professional Journalists
- Nominee, Best Documentary Score – International Film Music Critics
- Audience Award & Jury Award – Cinequest Film Festival
- Top 10 Audience Favorite (#3) – Hot Docs Int'l Documentary Film Festival
- Nominee, WGA Documentary Screenplay Award – Silverdocs AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Film Festival
- Audience Award – Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival
- Audience Award – St. Louis Int'l Film Festival
- Best Documentary – Orlando Film Festival
- Best Documetary (#3) – International Filmweekend, Würzburg, Germany
- Best Documentary (#3) – National Headliner Awards, Outstanding Achievement in Journalism
- Truly Moving Picture Award – Heartland Truly Moving Pictures
- CINE Masters Series Award (Best Feature Documentary)
- One of the Best Films of the Decade (#3) – Film School Rejects
One of the Best Films of 2008:
Ain't It Cool News * MovieFone * TimeOut Chicago * IFC.com * EfilmCritic.com * Cinematical
The Oregonian * MSN Movies * WGN Radio Chicago * ComingSoon.net * Top Ten Reviews
MetroMix * Times Herald-Record * Einsiders * Chattanooga Pulse * FirstShowing.net * JoBlo.com
NewCityFilm * Reel Talk Reviews * InContention.com * Slant Magazine * MovieWeb
Hollywood Chicago.com * Big Picture/Big Sound * News & Observer * Film.com
Tiny Mix Tapes.com * FilmCritic.com * DC Entertainment Examiner * Moving Pictures Magazine
For SLOW
- Crystal Heart Award – Heartland Film Festival
- Best Experimental Short Film – San Joaquin International Film Festival
For VALIDATION
- Best Narrative Short & Audience Award, runner-up – Cleveland Int'l Film Festival
- Crystal Heart Award, Best Short Film & Audience Award – Heartland Film Festival
- Audience Award – Hawaii International Film Festival
- Christopher & Dana Reeve Audience Award – Williamstown Film Festival
- Best Short Comedy – Breckenridge Festival of Film
- Best Short Film – Gen Art Film Festival, Chicago
- Best Short Film -- SoCal Independent Film Festival
- Best Narrative Short – Great Lakes Film Festival
- Best Narrative & Most Inspiring Film – Heart of Gold Film Festival, Australia
- Best Comedy & Audience Award, runner-up – Dam Short Film Festival
- Best Short Film – Omaha Film Festival
- Best Short Film – Sedona International Film Festival & Workshop
- Best Comedy (#2) – Marin County International Short Film & Video Festival
- Best Short Film – Idyllwild International Film Festival
For RENT-A-PERSON
- Audience Award – Cinequest Film Festival
- Best Narrative Short (Academy Qualifying Win) – Atlanta Film Festival
- Visual Excellence Award – Cleveland Int'l Film Festival
- Gold Special Jury Award – Houston Worldfest
- First Place – Pigeon Players Film Festival
- Audience Award – MethodFest Film Festival
- Audience Award – Marco Island Film Festival
- Best Comedy – Breckenridge Festival of Film
- Best Score – One Reel Film Festival (Bumbershoot, Seattle)
- Best Comedy & Audience Award – Dam Short Film Festival
For DRIVE-IN MOVIE MEMORIES
- Opening Night – 2001 Telluride Film Festival
- Best Editing (Kurt Kuenne) – Rhode Island Int'l Film Festival
- Gold Award – Worldfest Houston
- Best Documentary – Breckenridge Festival of Film
- Texas Award - USA Film Festival
- Best Documentary – Big Bear Lake Int'l Film Festival
- Texas Cinema Award - Deep Ellum Film Festival
For SCRAPBOOK
- 25 New Faces of Indie Film, Filmmaker Magazine (Kurt Kuenne)
- Audience Award Honorable Mention – Cinequest Film Festival
- Audience Award – IMAGEFest, San Francisco Bay Area
- Best Picture – Temecula Valley International Film Festival
For REMEMBRANCES
- 1995 Telluride Film Festival – “Filmmakers of Tomorrow: Resumes” section
- Silver Award - Worldfest Houston
- CINE Eagle
At USC
- Harold Lloyd Scholarship in Film Editing – USC School of Cinema-Television for First Impressions, Vanity, Filler and An American in Traffic.
Music Honors
- San Diego Symphony premiere of Cyrano de Bergerac (1925 – new score by Kurt Kuenne, May 1999)
- Second Prize, Search for New Musicals for The Looking Glass Wars (2013) - Academy for New Musical Theatre
- Nominee, Best Documentary Score for Dear Zachary (2008) – Int'l Film Music Critics
- Best Score for Rent-A-Person (2004) – One Reel Film Festival
- Best Score for Preston Tylk (2000) – Marco Island Film Festival
