Garen Scribner’s Ridiculously Specific Awards

It’s awards season. Cue the envelopes, the standing ovations, and the wildly specific categories no one asked for, but everyone is getting. This year, we’re rolling out the red carpet for Garen Scribner’s Ridiculously Specific Awards, a lovingly wacky celebration of standout performances streaming on Marquee TV. 

We invited Garen Scribner, Artistic Director of San Francisco Dance Film Festival and all-around creative icon, to comb through the Marquee catalogue and bestow eight gloriously niche awards on the films and performances that made him laugh, gasp, swoon, and occasionally clutch our armrest. Consider this your front-row seat to awards season, no dress code required. 

About Garen Scribner

Garen Scribner is a producer, creative director, and former world-class dancer whose career spans Broadway, ballet, film, and television. A former soloist with San Francisco Ballet and artist of Nederlands Dans Theater 1, he went on to star in An American in Paris on Broadway and co-create the Emmy-nominated broadcast and streaming series Broadway Sandwich, in addition to producing feature films like Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber’s Waiting Places and Tiler Peck: Suspending Time for PBS’s Great Performances. 

Without further ado, let’s get into this year’s winners. 

Ekman’s Concise Guide to Natural Movement 

Winner: Best Watermelon Explosion

Why Garen Loves it: “Just stunningly produced. I think T.M Reeves is a genius, I think Ekman is a genius, and the San Francisco-based dancers in this film really embrace Ekman’s mandate for finding original creative movement. It feels as much like a research project as it does a fully realised film. It’s an investigation into movement, and it’s like nothing else I’ve ever seen. Plus, there’s a watermelon explosion.”

About the Winner: Created and directed by Alexander Ekman and filmmaker T.M Rives, this wildly inventive short film feels like a movement experiment that has escaped the lab. Commissioned by Dance Film SF, Ekman’s Concise Guide to Natural Movement blends humor, philosophy, and physical investigation into something unmistakably Ekman: curious, precise, and joyfully absurd. It’s less a “guide” than an invitation to rethink how bodies move, with surprises (and flying fruit) along the way. 

Una Notte a Napoli 

Winner: Best One Take Dance Film – That Makes Me Feel Happy, Sexy, and Terrified All at The Same Time

Why Garen Loves it: “This is a great pick if you’re a cinaphile. This video is beautifully filmed. It’s shot done in one continuous take, which is so impressive. It takes a lot of work to pull that off. This requires coordination from the dancers, director, DP, and everybody on set to get this incredible connected shot.” 

About the winner: Set to the irresistible song by Pink Martini, Una Notte a Napoli is a cinematic dance film that unfolds in one continuous, stunning take. Directed and choreographed by Lucia Lopez Sanchez, the film glides through moments of romance, humor, and quiet suspense, never quite revealing where it’s headed, and that’s part of the thrill. Very playful and a little unsettling, this is a short film that reveals exciting and unexpected moments with each watch. 

An American in Paris 

Winner: Best Live Capture of a Broadway Show that I was in, But I’m Not in This One

Why Garen loves it: “I was in An American in Paris on Broadway, and I did the National Tour, and did over 1,000 performances (yes, 1,000, I counted) of this production as Jerry. I’m not in this capture, but I can’t help but feel nostalgic. Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope are absolutely incredible as Jerry and Lise. 

This production is directed and choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, one of the most prolific director/choreographers of our day. It is stunning, the music is all Gershwin, and you cannot go wrong. You’re going to love it.”

About the Winner: Christopher Wheeldon’s Tony Award-winning production brings the romance of postwar Paris to the stage in this beautiful live capture. Featuring Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope, the musical blends Gershwin’s iconic score with Wheeldon’s iconic choreography and painterly design inspired by Monet and Matisse. Overflowing with joy, longing, and, of course, dance, An American in Paris is pure theatrical escapism, best enjoyed from the comfort of your own couch, champagne optional. 

JA Robot Club

Winner: Best Short Featuring Dancing Robots

Why Garen Loves it: “What’s not to love about dancing robots? This film features six dancers and six dancing robots. Seriously, it is genius. 

JA Collective is made up of Jordan Johnson and Aiden Carbury, who met at USC Kaufman. They have a distinct style that incorporates street dance, contemporary movement, tutting, whacking, and voguing. Their voices are wholly original in the dance world for those reasons. So to see that choreographic style translated to robots that they have programmed along with the dancers, is certainly worth a watch.” 

About the Winner: What happens when street-influenced contemporary dance meets programmable robots? JA Robot Club answers that question with wit, technical precision, and infectious energy. Created by JA Collective, the film pairs six dancers with six robots in a playful choreography of control, response, and surprise. As the mechanical and human performers interact, the line between operator and collaborator begins to blur. 

Rebels on Pointe

Winner: Best Documentary about Drag Queen Prima Ballerinas

Why Garen Loves it: “This documentary is about Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, which has been going on since the 70s. The film really feels like an old-school documentary, really verité. It looks at a company that is so bound by community, humor, wit, and trauma. The documentary really captures the spirit of this group and manages to strike an amazing balance of heartwarming, impactful, and hilarious stories.”

About the Winner: This award-winning documentary goes inside the extraordinary world of Les Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo, the all-male drag ballet company that has delighted audiences for decades. Blending archival footage, behind-the-scenes moments, and joyful performances, filmmaker Bobbi Jo Hart captures the artistry, humor, and resiliency behind the tutus and mascara. From pointe shoes to personal struggles, Rebels on Pointe is as moving as it is hilarious. This is a love letter to ballet, community, and fearless self-expression.

Still Got It

Winner: Best use of Puppetry, Farm Animals, and Trains 

Why Garen Loves it: “The Seaweed Sisters — Dana Wilson, Megan Lawson, and Jill Meyers — are some of the quirkiest and most original dance makers on the scene today. Their film, “Still Got It,” really exemplifies their partnership and feels like being transported to an entirely other world. 

They’re so creative about their use of location, moving trains, farm animals, puppets… even the designs on the bottom of their shoes are pretty unique.”

About the Winner: Charming and quietly profound, Still Got It is a short dance film by The Seaweed Sisters that playfully explores aging, friendship, and persistence. Through elderly puppet characters, unexpected locations, and impeccable comic timing, the film turns everyday moments into something gently magical. It’s funny, inventive, relaxing, and surprisingly moving. 

Giselle – The Royal Ballet 

Winner: Best Live Capture of a Full-Length Ballet about an Army of Dead Virgin Brides

Why Garen Loves it: “Giselle is one of the most iconic ballets in the repertoire. The music, by Adolphe Adam, is some of the most beautiful ballet music, and the story is something everyone can relate to. It’s about heartbreak and the urgency of love and loss. The ballet was created in 1841, and it’s just as impactful now as it was back then. 

I like to think of classical ballets, which have been around for a very long time, as being in a really long preview period. They’ve just been perfecting the story and technique, and with every performance, they get closer and closer to the true essence of the story. And this Royal Ballet capture with Marinala Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov is one of the best.”

About the Winner: A cornerstone of the classical ballet repertoire, Giselle is as devastating, beautiful, and timeless as ever. In Peter Wright’s celebrated production for The Royal Ballet, the tragic love story unfolds with supernatural intensity. Starring Marianela Nuñez and Vadim Muntagirov, this performance captures the full emotional sweep of Romantic ballet, from the pastoral joy of Act I to the ghostly moonlit forests of Act II. 

 Prayers

Winner: Best Music Video shot at the LA River

Why Garen Loves it: “This is such a cool music video. It features some of the best dancers in Los Angeles, many of whom are from the Los Angeles Dance Project. It’s directed and choreographed by Or Schraiber, who is one-half of the choreographic partnership of Bobbi Jene Smith and Or Schraiber. 

Their style is really distinctive. Having danced together at Batsheva Dance Company under the direction of Ohad Naharin for many years, they’ve now created their own raw, urgent, passionate movement that is informed by many styles… including folk dancing, ballet, and contemporary dance.

The dancers who work with Bobbi and Or, it’s clear they have found a deep sense of their own personal freedom of movement, and it comes across really beautifully in this film.” 

About the Winner: Directed and choreographed by Or Schraiber, Prayers transforms the stark landscape of the L.A River into a charged emotional arena. Featuring some of Los Angeles’ most revered dancers, the film pulses with raw, grounded movement shaped by years of shared history and global influence. It’s a dance short where each step carries weight, resistance, and release. 

And there you have it. Eight wildly specific awards, zero acceptance speeches, and countless reasons to press play. Whether you’re in the mood for some short dance films, full-length ballets, or brilliant Broadway captures, these picks are a reminder that great performances don’t need trophies, just an audience. Stream all of Garen’s Ridiculously Specific Award Winners, and check out the full lineup of San Francisco Dance Film Festival Shorts on Marquee TV.