Trekzone and MTM are proud to once again present to you our second ‘Best of’ list.
It has been a very interesting year for fan films and here are just a few of the many events, Starfleet Legends got its third act, Potemkin Pictures has been producing the goods all year long, Jeff Nord released another classic style fan film, Matthew Lee Blackburn has taken crossovers to new heights, Farragut Forward threw everything they had into their fan film, Nature’s Hunger released the longest fan film in years with ‘Bomber Girl‘ clocking in at 2:05:49, Axanar is looking for more than the 292,000 reasons that they already have to start playing nice with CBS and Paramount and the word is of the year is Conspiracy.
Without further ado, here is our ‘Best of 2024 List’.
Best Actress
Miri Lux as Ensign Alana Kosh in The Legacy of the Archein
Donna Chaney as Captain T’Lema in Assault on Pax 12
It came down to what we believe is two strong performances and as the hours ticked down to the publication of this list, they were unable to be split and so Miri Lux as Ensign Alana Kosh and Donna Chaney as Captain T’Lema are our choices for 2024.
Best Actor
This was another tough category for us, we had Markus Bennewart, John Broughton and Thomas Raube in our top three options and after a lot of thinking, Markus got the nod for Best Actor.
Having a role like Captain Pike is a big responsibility and Markus does it well, he has the captain’s look about him and the way he speaks is one of authority just like you would expect from a captain.
Best Director
Jeff Nord for Defenders of the Federation
It has to be a big challenge for a filmmaker to make a movie that looks like it fits in a time period that is not in the present day and make it a gripping watch, Jeff Nord managed to pull it off quite well with ‘Defenders of the Federation’ and we can’t wait to see what he tries to pull off next.
Best Music
Justin Bell for Defenders of the Federation
A good film needs good music to add to the actions and emotions that we see on our screens, and Justin Bell delivers in ‘Defenders of the Federation’
Best Crossover
Indiana Jones and Star Trek, what a great combination of an idea from Matthew Lee Blackburn and those who work on fan films with him, two powerhouse franchises of Paramount Pictures, a win-win of storytelling.
Best Fan Film
The Legacy of the Archein is still our choice of fan film despite the number of fan film releases surging late into the year, there’s plenty of good fan films out there but The Legacy of the Archein has the right number of plots and details plus performances that really get our attention.
Best Short Fan Film
This year has seen an expansion in running times, more fan films are being released over the thirty-minute guideline, and this created an imbalance, so the definition of short fan film was moved up to 20 minutes and under.
Defenders of the Federation whilst short makes every minute count, it looks like, the music is great, and the suspense is high, we’re very happy with this selection.
Best Story
Assault on Pax 12
Potemkin Pictures fan films have a reputation for creating stories that are not straightforward, there is always something thrown in to add another dimension to the story and ‘Assault on Pax 12’ is no exception.
Best Re-imagined Character
Markus Bennewart as Captain Christopher Pike
Pike, Pike, he’s our man, if he can’t do it, no-one can! Markus Bennewart once again put in a solid performance in Starfleet Legends Act III and was an easy choice for being Best Re-imagined Character.
Best Ground Fight Scene
Captain Pike, Captain Garth and Commodore April vs. The Klingons in Starfleet Legends Act III.
What a scene this was in Starfleet Legends Act III, our Starfleet Legends were really up against it in this fight and sometimes you just got to bring a Klingon Disrupter to a d’k tahg (or Daqtagh) fight.
Best Trailer
The trailer for The Final Mission is intriguing, what is FSFilm preparing for us all in the future? Can’t wait to find out when it comes out but we’re going to have to wait until 2026 before that happens.
Best Production House
Potemkin Pictures
They work hard, they come up with new ideas, they spend what they need to spend out of their own pocket, and they get things done, what more can any of us ask for?
Best VFX
Farragut Forward
Farragut Forward was armed to the teeth in terms of money raised and they got the best possible VFX without hiring a bunch of big-time professionals to do the work
Best Costume
This one was a tough one, there is a nice mix of uniforms to choose from for example ‘The Battle of Midnight‘, ‘Formication‘ and ‘Farragut Forward‘ all have different options, but we believe that the uniforms in ‘The Third Option’ fit the bill quite nicely.
Best Hero Ship
USS Sagittarius
The USS Sagittarius isn’t she a beauty? it is nice when designers of starships take chances with a design of the saucer section, most ships are a complete circle or oval, but the Sagittarius is different, and it is something that we really dig.
Best Space Villain
The Klingons in Farragut Forward
The Klingons wanted to blow the crew of the USS Farragut into the coldness of space, but they were rudely interrupted by the USS Corponious who came in spill more blood in the fight.
Conclusion of Trekzone and MTM’s Best of 2024 List
That concludes ‘Trekzone and MTM’s Best of 2024 List’ we are very proud of the work we’ve put into this list; everybody has earned their place on this list and
Will people completely agree with our choices? Probably not but that’s part of the fun of lists and awards, to make people think about what they think fits where perhaps somebody has a perspective not thought about before.
Thank you for being with us in 2024, we hope to see you again in 2025.
Mentioning Trekkie Mentions 
Thanks for the kind words. I’m glad you enjoyed Assault on Pax-12.
Bobby
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Yes, it was a great fan film, I do like the fan films with something thrown in to make it not so simple of a story.
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It’s not so much that I disagree as I’m sincerely curious how you came to your decision on best costumes.
“Farragut Forward” featured the following different kinds of Trek uniforms from the Wrath of Khan era:
1) Monster maroons (at least twelve of them)
2) Starfleet cadet jumpsuits (at least two)
3) Medical uniforms (four)
4) Starfleet bomber jacket
5) Engineering radiation suit
6) Starfleet vests (including one damaged variant)
7) Five Klingon uniforms
8) An original costume design for the main villain Preston
9) About two dozen prisoner uniforms for various extras
10) Martia’s fur coat
These costumes were hand-crafted (not bought online), and most were custom tailored for each actor’s unique measurements. Literally thousands of man-hours (and woman-hours) went into the careful construction of these costumes…according to my video interview with John Broughton.
As for “The Third Option” (which, for the record, was a wonderful fan film with solid acting, elegant lighting, and strong camera work), it featured a total of only three uniforms, each of the same style…although two different department colors. The quality and tailoring were splendid, to be sure, but I would doubt that even 100 total hours went into crafting them–and certainly not thousands of hours.
So what was yours and Matt’s reasoning on deciding to give the costuming award to FSF and not Farragut? I ask only because I’m curious…no other ulterior motive. (If I had an ulterior motive, I’d publish a blog.) 😉
Anyway, I am happy to see you two lifting your–shall we say, blood feuds?–if only a slightly, to include a fan film crediting two of the “cabal” members you had previously shown such resentment for. Joshua Irwin and Sam Cockings both did visual effects for Farragut Forward (and Josh will be directing the sequel), but you still included the film. So good for you guys!
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We decided what we decided because that is what we decided and we’re happy with what we decided.
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Doesn’t really answer my question, but we all make choices in life.
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Don’t you worry about how we do things, you just worry about how you do things.
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So many grate responses from our now annual look back at the year of fan films.
Thanks for your hard work in putting this together MTM!
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