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.
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 [note 1]
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 [note 2]
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[]
Original logo for the Independent Star Trek Fan Film Awards, 2015-2017
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).
The panel of judges for the 2015 awards included Diana Dru Botsford, Peter David, Keith R. A. DeCandido, Michael DeMeritt and Susan Sackett. The awards ceremony was held at Treklanta 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.
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
Finalist
Star Trek New Voyages: Phase II
Bing Bailey, Ryan Block, Daren Dochterman, Jeff Forsythe, Pony R. Horton, Tobias Richter, Lee Stringer
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
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.
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. The awards ceremony was held at Treklanta on April 17, 2016, hosted by Eric L. Watts and Brian Holloway. Awards presenters included Tracee Lee Cocco, Jack Stauffer, Carel Struycken and John & Bjo Trimble.
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.
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, Cheralyn Lambeth and Archie H. Waugh. The awards ceremony was held at Treklanta on April 30, 2017, hosted by Eric L. Watts and Brian Holloway. Awards presenters included David Gerrold, James Horan, Gary Graham and John G. Hertzler.
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.
The panel of judges for the 2018 awards included Rigel Ailur, Diana Dru Botsford, Dr. Meldrena Chapin, Keith R. A. DeCandido, Andrew Greenberg and Geoffrey Thorne. The awards ceremony was held at Treklanta on May 27, 2018, hosted by Eric L. Watts and Brian Holloway. Awards presenters included Conrad Coates, Gary Graham and Robert O'Reilly.
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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]
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
