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 Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

fan films A fan film is a film or video inspired by a film, television program, comic book, book, or video game created by fans rather than by the source's copyright holders or creators. It is a form of fan fiction. Fan filmmakers have traditionally been ...

released to the Internet during the previous calendar year. Inspired by the Hugo and

Nebula Awards The Nebula Awards annually recognize the best works of science fiction or fantasy published in the United States. The awards are organized and awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA), a nonprofit association of pro ...

and based loosely on the

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People and fictional and mythical characters * Oscar (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters named Oscar, Óscar or Oskar * Oscar (footballer, born 1954), Brazilian footballer ...

and Tony Awards, the Bjo Awards are presented at the annual

Treklanta Treklanta is an annual ''Star Trek'' convention based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States that places special emphasis on fan-based events, activities, programming and productions. It hosts the annual Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant and Bjo Aw ...

convention in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, 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.

Bjo Trimble Betty JoAnne Trimble (née Conway; born August 15, 1933), known as Bjo (, ), is an American science fiction fan and writer, initially entering fandom in the early 1950s. Introduction to fandom Trimble's introduction to science fiction fandom ...

—who coordinated the letter-writing campaigns that successfully saved the original ''Star Trek'' series from cancellation at the end of its second season and petitioned President

Gerald R. Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...

to rename

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

's first space orbiter "USS ''

Enterprise Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to: Business and economics Brands and enterprises * Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company * Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company * Enterpris ...

''" 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 # 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 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

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). The panel of judges for the 2015 awards included Diana Dru Botsford,

Peter David Peter Allen David (September 23, 1956 – May 24, 2025), often abbreviated PAD, was an American writer of comic books, novels, television, films, and video games.Buxton, Marc (March 29, 2014)"From 'Future Imperfect' to '2099': Peter David's Grea ...

, Keith R. A. DeCandido, Michael DeMeritt and Susan Sackett. The awards ceremony was held at

on April 26, 2015, hosted by Eric L. Watts and Brian Holloway. Awards presenters included Jason Carter, Keith R. A. DeCandido, Sean Kenney and Anne Lockhart.

Films eligible for consideration

Winners & finalists by category

Summary

'' 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 ''Star Trek Continues'' is an American Fan labor, fan-made web series set in the ''Star Trek'' universe. Produced by the nonprofit Trek Continues, Inc. and Dracogen, and initially co-produced by Far from Home LLC and Farragut Films (who previous ...

'' 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).

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. The panel of judges for the 2016 awards included Diana Dru Botsford, Keith R. A. DeCandido, Ken Feinberg, Matthew M. Foster, Andrew Greenberg, David Orange, Emmett Plant and

Rick Sternbach Richard Michael Sternbach (born July 6, 1951) is an illustrator who is best known for his space illustrations and his work on the ''Star Trek'' television series. Early years Born July 6, 1951, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1969 Sternbach enr ...

. The awards ceremony was held at

on April 17, 2016, hosted by Eric L. Watts and Brian Holloway. Awards presenters included Tracee Lee Cocco,

Jack Stauffer Jack Stauffer (born December 3, 1945) is an American actor of film, television, and theater. He is also a director of theater productions. Career Stauffer played the original Chuck Tyler, Charles "Chuck" Tyler on the daytime soap opera ''All My ...

Carel Struycken Carel Struycken (; born 30 July 1948) is a Dutch actor. He is known for playing the Giant/Fireman in the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017), the occasional guest role of Mr. Homn in '' Star Trek: The Next Generation'' (1987– ...

and John & Bjo Trimble.

Films eligible for consideration

Winners & finalists by category

Summary

'' 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), ''

'' 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).

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. The panel of judges for the 2017 awards included Diana Dru Botsford, Keith R. A. DeCandido, John DeSentis, Matthew M. Foster, Andrew Greenberg,

Robert Greenberger Robert Greenberger (born July 24, 1958) is an American writer and editor known for his work on ''Comics Scene'', ''Starlog'', ''Weekly World News'', the novelization of the film ''Hellboy II: The Golden Army#Novelization, Hellboy II'', and for ...

, Cheralyn Lambeth and Archie H. Waugh. The awards ceremony was held at

on April 30, 2017, hosted by Eric L. Watts and Brian Holloway. Awards presenters included

David Gerrold David Gerrold (born Jerrold David Friedman; January 24, 1944)Reginald, R. (September 12, 2010)''Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, Volume 2'' Borgo Press p. 911. Archived at Google Books. Retrieved June 23, 2013. is an American science fict ...

, James Horan,

Gary Graham Gary Rand Graham (June 6, 1950 – January 22, 2024) was an American actor. With a career spanning five decades beginning in the 1970s in television and movies, he is perhaps best known for his starring role as Detective Matthew Sikes in the tel ...

and John G. Hertzler.

Films eligible for consideration

Winners & finalists by category

Summary

'' 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).

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. The panel of judges for the 2018 awards included Rigel Ailur, Diana Dru Botsford, Meldrena Chapin, Keith R. A. DeCandido, Andrew Greenberg and Geoffrey Thorne. The awards ceremony was held at

on May 27, 2018, hosted by Eric L. Watts and Brian Holloway. Awards presenters included

Conrad Coates Conrad Coates (born July 12, 1970) is a British-born Canadian actor and teacher. He is best known for his roles as Headmaster T. Monk in ''The Zack Files'' (2001–2002), as Jimmy Brooks' father in '' Degrassi: The Next Generation'' (2004–20 ...

and

Robert O'Reilly Robert O'Reilly (born March 25, 1950) is an American film, stage, and television actor who has appeared in a variety of roles. He appeared in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for over ten years, primarily in his recurring role on '' Star Trek: The Ne ...

Films eligible for consideration

Winners & finalists by category

Summary

'' 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).

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

on May 26, 2019, hosted by Eric L. Watts and Marc B. Lee. Awards presenters included

Aron Eisenberg Aron Eisenberg (January 6, 1969 – September 21, 2019) was an American actor and podcaster known for his role as Nog on '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. Early life Eisenberg was born January 6, 1969. He was born with only one partially f ...

, Bill Blair and Nichole McAuley.

Films eligible for consideration

Winners & finalists by category

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).

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,

, 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.2020 Bjo Awards Virtual Ceremony
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Films eligible for consideration

Winners & finalists by category

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).

References

Notes

IMDb listings

{{notelist-la Star Trek fandom American film awards Awards established in 2015 Fan films based on Star Trek