The Bjo Awards (formerly The Independent Star Trek Fan Film Awards) is a set of annual awards to recognize achievement in excellence among independent Star Trekfan films released to the Internet during the previous calendar year. Inspired by the Hugo and Nebula Awards and based loosely on the Emmy, Oscar and Tony Awards, the Bjo Awards are presented at the annual Treklanta convention in Atlanta, Georgia. Created and produced by Treklanta founder and chairman Eric L. Watts, the Bjo Awards is a juried competition judged by a panel of industry professionals with established credits in the Star Trek franchise and/or notable Star Trek fans with professional experience in the entertainment industry.[1]
Bjo Trimble—who coordinated the letter-writing campaigns that successfully saved the original Star Trek series from cancellation at the end of its second season[2] and petitioned President Gerald R. Ford to rename NASA's first space orbiter "USS Enterprise"[3] and who also wrote The Star Trek Concordance—and her husband John were guests of honor at the 2016 Treklanta and presenters of awards at that year's Independent Star Trek Fan Film Awards ceremony. At the end of the ceremony, Mrs. Trimble told Watts how impressed she was with the awards program, thanked all those who were involved in their creation, production and presentation, and graciously agreed, at Watts' request, to lend her name to them. The announcement of this name change was made at the 2017 awards ceremony and fully implemented by the time of the 2018 ceremony.
The actual award is an 8 x 10 wall plaque on a cherry wood board with a color back plate and sublimated inscription plate. Each plaque includes the award category; series name, episode title and name(s) of the winners; and date of the award inscribed on the inscription plate.
Eligibility requirements
To be eligible for consideration in each year's awards, an independent Star Trek fan film must:
Be a live-action dramatic presentation set in the Star Trek universe, not animated or CGI, nor a satire or parody of Star Trek
Have "Based upon Star Trek, Created by Gene Roddenberry" (or similar) in the title sequence, opening credits or closing credits [a]
Have been released to the Internet (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) during the previous calendar year, and
Have an entry on IMDb.com with full cast and crew credits listed [b]
Although not explicitly stated as a requirement, only films in English or with English subtitles have been included in these awards due to the practical matter of judges not speaking the language of foreign-language films which otherwise meet all four eligibility requirements.
2015
Sixteen independent Star Trek fan films released in calendar year 2014 with a total running time of eight hours, five minutes were deemed eligible for consideration for the 2015 Independent Star Trek Fan Film Awards.
Based loosely on the Emmy, Oscar and Tony awards, the original nine categories were Best Production Design; Best Visual Effects; Best Soundtrack; Best Original Story or Screenplay; Best Supporting Actor or Actress; Best Actor or Actress; Best Director; Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form (30 minutes or less); and Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form (31 minutes or longer).
Stefan Bellersheim, Al Dinelt, Adam Howard, Tommy Kraft, Koji Kuramura, Thomas Loeder, Chris Martin, Jennifer Marx, Oliver Nikelowski, Tobias Richter, Ali Ries, Arnold Sakowski, Trent Smith, Greg Stitz, Dan Uyeno, Enrico Weinert
Roland Baron, Matt Boardman, Aurore de Blois, Daniel Dod, Doug Drexler, Brian Q. Kelley, Gary Kerr, Gabriel Köerner, Ali Ries, Roland Shaw, Kenneth Thomson Jr., Juvenal Vique
Dennis Bailey, Matt Bellemare, Neil Breakwell, Bill Grant, Jimm Johnson, Chet Polo, Art Retallick, Joel Sarchet, Patricia Sasser, Thomas Sasser, Michael Struck, Kenneth Thomson Jr., Mel Vavaroutsos, David Weiberg, Zane Yarbrough
Finalist
Starship Valiant
Brady Foster, Craig Frey Jr.
Finalist
colspan="3" ! style="text-align:left; width: 33%;" | Best Soundtrack
Star Trek: Axanar won six of nine awards (Best Production Design; Best Visual Effects; Best Soundtrack; Best Original Story or Screenplay; Best Director and Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form), Star Trek Continues won two awards (Best Actor or Actress and Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form) and Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II won one award (Best Supporting Actor or Actress).[4][5][6][7]
2016
Eighteen independent Star Trek fan films released in calendar year 2015 with a total running time of six hours, fifty minutes were deemed eligible for consideration for the 2016 Independent Star Trek Fan Film Awards.
For 2016, the category of Best Visual Effects was broadened to include Special Effects and renamed Best Special & Visual Effects, and Best Actor or Actress was renamed Best Lead Actor or Actress. Additionally, the Best Soundtrack category was split into Best Original Music and Best Sound Design, Editing & Mixing; and categories for Best Guest Actor or Actress, Best Costuming and Best Makeup & Hairstyling were added, increasing the total number of categories from nine to thirteen.
Bing Bailey, Roland Baron, Keith Beltramini, Matt Boardman, Chris Dawson, Keaira Finlay, Justin Gates, Adrianne Grady, Marc Hampson, Tommy Kraft, Gina Lockhart, Jon Macht, Jose L. Marin, Julie McCartney, Kevin Quattro, Tobias Richter, Ali Ries, Michael Struck, Ronnie Ursenbach, Yoshi Vu, Jesse Woodward
Rick L. Baker, Jacqueline Goehner, Lisa Hansell, Kwame Head, Corina Hernandez, Ryan T. Husk, Jyll King, Ana Laverde, Christy Maurer, Monique Paredes, Tommy Pietch, Calli Rammel, Vyvy Tran, Tim Vittetoe, Cody J. Wilkins, Aubriana Zurilgen
Star Trek: Renegades won seven of thirteen awards (Best Production Design; Best Special & Visual Effects; Best Sound Design, Editing & Mixing; Best Makeup & Hairstyling; Best Costuming; Best Director and Best Original Story or Screenplay), Star Trek Continues won five awards (Best Original Music; Best Guest Actor or Actress; Best Supporting Actor or Actress; Best Lead Actor or Actress and Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form) and Starship Tristan won one award (Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form).[8][9][10][11]
2017
Thirty-three independent Star Trek fan films released in calendar year 2016 with a total running time of eleven hours, forty-nine minutes were deemed eligible for consideration for the 2017 Independent Star Trek Fan Film Awards.
For 2017, the category of Best Production Design was deleted, decreasing the total number of categories from thirteen to twelve.
Tamar Bannink, Matthijs de Boer, Jordy de Lat, Gwen Demulder, Peter Freling, Robin Hiert, Ronald Janse, Mark Rademaker, Martin van Buuren, Nicole van den Berg
Star Trek Continues won six of twelve awards (Best Sound Design, Editing & Mixing; Best Makeup & Hairstyling; Best Costuming; Best Guest Actor or Actress; Best Supporting Actor or Actress and Best Director), Star Trek: Horizon won four awards (Best Special & Visual Effects; Best Original Music; Best Original Story or Screenplay and Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form) and Needs of the Many won two awards (Best Lead Actor or Actress and Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form).[12][13][14][15][16]
2018
Twenty-one independent Star Trek fan films released in calendar year 2017 with a total running time of eight hours, fifteen minutes were deemed eligible for consideration for the 2018 Bjo Awards.
For 2018, no changes were made to the previous year's twelve award categories.
Genie Bolet, Crystal Broedel, Amanda Denkler, Lisa Hansell, Monique Paredes, Thomas E. Surprenant, Matthew Turull, Tim Vittetoe, Aubrey Warner, Randilee Warner, Hillary Warren
Genie Bolet, Crystal Broedel, Amanda Denkler, Lisa Hansell, Monique Paredes, Thomas E. Surprenant, Matthew Turull, Tim Vittetoe, Aubrey Warner, Randilee Warner, Hillary Warren
Star Trek Continues won ten of twelve awards (Best Special & Visual Effects; Best Sound Design, Editing & Mixing; Best Makeup & Hairstyling; Best Costuming; Best Guest Actor or Actress; Best Supporting Actor or Actress; Best Lead Actor or Actress; Best Director; Best Original Story or Screenplay and Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form), The Federation Files won one award (Best Original Music) and The Derelict won one award (Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form).[17][18][19]
2019
Twenty-six independent Star Trek fan films released in calendar year 2018 with a total running time of six hours, thirty-nine minutes were deemed eligible for consideration for the 2019 Bjo Awards.
For 2019, because only two of the twenty-six eligible films had running times longer than thirty minutes, the categories of Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form (30 minutes or less) and Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form (31 minutes or longer) were combined into a single category, Best Dramatic Presentation, decreasing the total number of categories from twelve to eleven.
The panel of judges for the 2019 awards included Rigel Ailur, Diana Dru Botsford, Andrew Greenberg, Jason P. Hunt, William Schlichter and Andrew Wallace. The awards ceremony was held at Treklanta on May 26, 2019, hosted by Eric L. Watts and Marc B. Lee. Awards presenters included Aron Eisenberg, Bill Blair and Nichole McAuley.
colspan="4" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Special & Visual Effects
Series Name or Film Title
Episode Title
Special & Visual Effects Designer(s)/Artist(s)
Result
Avalon Universe
"Ghost Ship"
Samuel Cockings, Earl Hale
Winner
Last Survivor
Matthew Lee Blackburn
Finalist
The Adventures of the USS Parkview
"The Bunny Incident"
Robert McConnell
Finalist
The Federation Files
"Galaxy Hopper"
Samuel Cockings, Josiah Reynolds, Dan R. Reynolds
Finalist
colspan="4" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Sound Design, Editing & Mixing
Series Name or Film Title
Episode Title
Sound Designer(s)/Editor(s)/Mixer(s)
Result
Last Survivor
Matthew Lee Blackburn
Winner
Starship Antyllus
"247"
Jack Finlay, Doug Grindstaff, George Kayaian, Joseph G. Sorokin
Finalist
Starship Deimos
"Shattered Sky," "The Deimos Factor," "Where They Have Gone, We Follow," "The Monolith, Part One," "The Monolith, Part Two"
Randall Landers
Finalist
The Federation Files
"Galaxy Hopper"
Lonnie P. Howard, Dan R. Reynolds
Finalist
colspan="4" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Original Music
Series Name
Episode Title
Musician(s)
Result
The Adventures of the USS Parkview
"The Bunny Incident"
Kevin Croxton
Winner
Avalon Universe
"Ghost Ship"
Nicholas McFarland
Finalist
Battlecruiser Kupok
"Spirit in the Star"
Anthony Johnson, Tony Lunn
Finalist
Last Survivor
Roland Mair-Gruber
Finalist
colspan="4" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Makeup & Hairstyling
Series Name or Film Title
Episode Title
Makeup Artist(s)/Hairstylist(s)
Result
Avalon Universe
"Ghost Ship"
Lezlie Sawyer
Winner
Last Survivor
Matthew Lee Blackburn
Finalist
Starship Triton
"The Crown Jewels of Xantharus"
Ann Elliott Drew, Renda Carr, Lezlie Cohen, Tilcia Furman, Randall Landers, Heather Spates
Finalist
The Adventures of the USS Parkview
"The Bunny Incident"
Audrea Martin, Lindsay Jerden
Finalist
colspan="4" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Costuming
Series Name or Film Title
Episode Title
Costumer(s)
Result
Good Men and The Fall of Starbase One
Gina Vanderkley
Winner
Starship Triton
"The Crown Jewels of Xantharus"
Lezlie Cohen, Ann Elliott Drew, Tilcia Furman, Sara Jean
Finalist
The Adventures of the USS Parkview
"The Bunny Incident"
Dottie Smith
Finalist
The Federation Files
"Galaxy Hopper"
Emma Patricia Roberts
Finalist
colspan="5" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Guest Actor or Actress
Actor or Actress
Character
Series Name
Episode Title(s)
Result
Shelton E. Walker
Commodore Alwine
Starship Endeavour
"The Monolith, Part One" and "The Monolith, Part Two"
Winner
Lezlie Cohen
Commander Mona
Starship Triton
"The Crown Jewels of Xantharus"
Finalist
James Dougherty
Jim Graham
Starship Antyllus
"247"
Finalist
Tilcia Furman
Commander Mona
Hospital Ship Marie Curie
"The Beast"
Finalist
Tom Hagale
Governor Cruz
Starship Endeavour
"The Monolith, Part One" and "The Monolith, Part Two"
Finalist
Sarah Tompkins
Karas
Starship Deimos
"Prodigal Daughter"
Finalist
colspan="5" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Supporting Actor or Actress
Actor or Actress
Character
Series Name
Episode Title(s)
Result
Lezlie Sawyer
Communications Officer
Avalon Universe
"Ghost Ship"
Winner
Jose E. Cepeda
Engineer Ramses
The Federation Files
"Galaxy Hopper"
Finalist
Jack Ryan
MACO Soldier
The Fall of Starbase One
Finalist
Cheryl Sahawneh
Romulan Commander
Starship Triton
"The Crown Jewels of Xantharus"
Finalist
Abby Shepherd
Yeoman
The Adventures of the USS Parkview
"The Bunny Incident"
Finalist
Sarah Tompkins
Navigator Anaya
Starship Deimos
"Shattered Sky," "Where They Have Gone, We Follow"
Finalist
colspan="5" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Lead Actor or Actress
Actor or Actress
Character
Series Name or Film Title
Episode Title(s)
Result
Daniel Buckle
Ambassador Sultek
The Fall of Starbase One
Winner
Rachel Kahan
Mackenzie
The Fall of Starbase One
Finalist
Victoria Fox
Lt. Amanda Beck
Avalon Universe
"Ghost Ship"
Finalist
Ben Peer
Captain
The Adventures of the USS Parkview
"The Bunny Incident"
Finalist
colspan="5" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Director
Director
Series Name or Film Title
Episode Title
Result
Aaron Vanderkley
The Fall of Starbase One
Winner
Kevin Croxton
The Adventures of the USS Parkview
"The Bunny Incident"
Finalist
Joshua Michael Irwin
Avalon Universe
"Ghost Ship"
Finalist
Aaron Vanderkley
Good Men
Finalist
colspan="4" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Original Story or Screenplay
Author(s)/Writer(s)
Series Name or Film Title
Episode Title
Result
Kevin Croxton
The Adventures of the USS Parkview
"The Bunny Incident"
Winner
Joshua Michael Irwin
Avalon Universe
"Ghost Ship"
Finalist
Alex McVey, Aaron Vanderkley
Good Men
Finalist
Aaron Vanderkley
The Fall of Starbase One
Finalist
Glen L. Wolfe
The Federation Files
"Galaxy Hopper"
Finalist
colspan="4" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Dramatic Presentation
Series Name or Film Title
Episode Title
Executive Producer(s) (or Equivalent)
Result
Avalon Universe
"Ghost Ship"
Joshua Michael Irwin
Winner
Last Survivor
Katie Blackburn, Matthew Lee Blackburn, Daniel McIntyre
Finalist
The Adventures of the USS Parkview
"The Bunny Incident"
Kevin Croxton
Finalist
The Fall of Starbase One
Aaron Vanderkley
Finalist
Summary
Avalon Universe, "Ghost Ship" won four of eleven awards (Best Special & Visual Effects, Best Makeup & Hairstyling, Best Supporting Actor or Actress, Best Dramatic Presentation); The Adventures of the USS Parkview, "The Bunny Incident" won two awards (Best Original Music, Best Original Story or Screenplay); The Fall of Starbase One won two awards (Best Lead Actor or Actress, Best Director) and shared one with Good Men (Best Costuming); Last Survivor won one award (Best Sound Design, Editing & Mixing); and Starship Endeavour, "The Monolith, Part One" and "The Monolith, Part Two" won one award (Best Guest Actor or Actress).[20][21]
2020
Thirty-three independent Star Trek fan films released in calendar year 2019 with a total running time of ten hours, nine minutes were deemed eligible for consideration for the 2020 Bjo Awards. Eleven of these films were one-half of a two-part film. Because the casts and crews of these eleven films are identical in both parts, the ballot listed them as single two-part films in order to not pad the ballot with double entries for essentially the same film. (One film, the 16-minute first half of a two-parter, was withdrawn from the ballot because the second part was not released until 2020, reducing the total run time of the remaining films to nine hours, fifty-four minutes. This excluded film will be included on the 2021 ballot.) As a result, the remaining ten films, each one half of an episode, became five two-parters, with two of them exceeding 30 minutes in running time. There were also five single-part films that exceeded 30 minutes, bringing the total number of films, as listed on the ballot, that exceeded 30 minutes to seven. Accordingly, the category of Best Dramatic Presentation was once again divided into two categories: Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form (30 minutes or less) and Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form (31 minutes or longer), bringing the total number of award categories back up to twelve. The remaining ten unchanged categories were Best Original Story or Screenplay; Best Director; Best Lead Actor or Actress; Best Supporting Actor or Actress; Best Guest Actor or Actress; Best Costuming; Best Makeup & Hairstyling; Best Original Music; Best Sound Design, Editing & Mixing; and Best Special & Visual Effects.
The panel of judges for the 2020 awards included Rigel Ailur, Troy Bernier, Michael A. Burstein, Melissa Carter, Matthew M. Foster, Andrew Greenberg, Robert Greenberger, Mark McCray, Jeremy Roberts, William Schlichter and Andrew Wallace. The awards ceremony was held at Neutral Zone Studios in Kingsland, Georgia, on December 11, 2021, hosted by Eric L. Watts and Pixi "Ilia" Nereid. The awards presenter was Pixi "Ilia" Nereid.[22][23]
colspan="4" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Costuming
Series Name or Film Title
Episode Title
Costumer(s)
Result
Line of Duty
Gina Vanderkley
Winner
Avalon Universe
"Avalon Lost"
Joshua Michael Irwin, Victoria Fox
Finalist
Avalon Universe
"Demons" Part 1 and Part 2
Victoria Fox, Glen L. Wolfe
Finalist
The Federation Files
"The Equinox Effect"
Glen L. Wolfe, Emma Patricia Roberts
Finalist
Tales from The Neutral Zone
"The Looking Glass" Part 1 and Part 2
Stephanie Mann
Finalist
colspan="5" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Guest Actor or Actress
Actor or Actress
Character
Series Name
Episode Title(s)
Result
John Laws
James Laws
Avalon Universe
"Demons" Part 1 and Part 2
Winner
David Butler Agrinsonis
Excalibur Helmsman
Avalon Universe
"Demons" Part 1 and Part 2
Finalist
Lillian Cole
Captain Gaia Starr
Battlecruiser Kupok
"A Matter of Trust"
Finalist
Tracie Frank
Lt. Commander Pyper
Dreadnought Dominion
"Redemption at Red Medusa"
Finalist
Glen L. Wolfe
Captain Harris
Avalon Universe
"Demons" Part 1 and Part 2
Finalist
colspan="5" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Supporting Actor or Actress
Actor or Actress
Character
Series Name
Episode Title(s)
Result
Paul Walencamp
Captain
Line of Duty
Winner
Victoria Archer
Engineer Jamie Archer
Avalon Universe
"Avalon Lost"
Finalist
Victoria Fox
Bartley/T'Xi
Break Free
Finalist
Victoria Fox
Lt. Mary Bartley
Shakedown
Finalist
Emma Long
Commander Eleanor
Star Trek: Unity
"The Lewis Inquiry"
Finalist
Jessica Niven
Fletcher
Line of Duty
Finalist
Sankari Sivaramalingam
Doctor
Line of Duty
Finalist
Gill Sutton
President Jillian/Laura Lee
Star Trek: Unity
"The Lewis Inquiry"
Finalist
colspan="5" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Lead Actor or Actress
Actor or Actress
Character
Series Name or Film Title
Episode Title(s)
Result
Juliet Godwin
Hero
Line of Duty
Winner
Hannaj Bang Bendz
Commander Boltzmann
The Holy Core
Finalist
Mary Jane Blystone
Janessa Mitchell
All Roads Lead to Home
Finalist
Marcus Churchill
Ensign Sam Harriman
Temporal Anomaly
"Part 1" and "Part 2"
Finalist
Victoria Fox
Commander Beck
Avalon Universe
"Demons" Part 1 and Part 2
Finalist
Will Leach
Charlie
Line of Duty
Finalist
colspan="4" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Original Story or Screenplay
Author(s)/Writer(s)
Series Name or Film Title
Episode Title
Result
Paul Laight, Gary O'Brien
The Holy Core
Winner
Joshua Michael Irwin, Victoria Fox
Avalon Universe
"Avalon Lost"
Finalist
Aaron Vanderkley
Line of Duty
Finalist
Randall Landers
Starship Deimos
"Children of Eberus"
Finalist
Samuel Cockings
Temporal Anomaly
"Part 1" and "Part 2"
Finalist
colspan="5" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Director
Director
Series Name or Film Title
Episode Title
Result
Aaron Vanderkley
Line of Duty
Winner
Joshua Michael Irwin, Victoria Fox
Avalon Universe
"Avalon Lost"
Finalist
Victoria Fox
Avalon Universe
"Demons" Part 1 and Part 2
Finalist
Gary O'Brien
The Holy Core
Finalist
Samuel Cockings
Temporal Anomaly
"Part 1" and "Part 2"
Finalist
Lawrence Fleming
To Have Boldly Gone
"Part 1" and "Part 2"
Finalist
colspan="4" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form
Series Name or Film Title
Episode Title
Executive Producer(s) (or Equivalent)
Result
Line of Duty
Aaron Vanderkley
Winner
Avalon Universe
"Avalon Lost"
Joshua Michael Irwin, Victoria Fox
Finalist
Eleventh Hour
Vance Major
Finalist
Starship Deimos
"Children of Eberus"
Randall Landers
Finalist
colspan="4" ! style="text-align:left;" | Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form
Series Name or Film Title
Episode Title
Executive Producer(s) (or Equivalent)
Result
The Holy Core
Alexander Mayer
Winner
Avalon Universe
"Demons" Part 1 and Part 2
Joshua Michael Irwin, Victoria Fox
Finalist
Temporal Anomaly
"Part 1" and "Part 2"
Samuel Cockings, Alex Nikitin, Glen L. Wolfe
Finalist
Summary
Line of Duty won seven of twelve awards (Best Special & Visual Effects; Best Makeup & Hairstyling; Best Costuming; Best Supporting Actor or Actress; Best Lead Actor or Actress; Best Director; Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form); Avalon Universe, "Demons" Part 1 and Part 2 won three awards (Best Sound Design, Editing & Mixing; Best Original Music; Best Guest Actor or Actress); and The Holy Core won two awards (Best Original Story or Screenplay; Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form).
^This requirement may be waived under certain circumstances at the sole discretion of Treklanta management. To date, the only film to be exempted from this requirement is "Prelude to Axanar" due to its "mockumentary" format
^For awards presented to individuals, nominees must be listed on those films' IMDb page