Max Romey Wins BEST of FEST at 2025 MY HERO International Film Festival

CONTACT: Jeanne Meyers                                                                                                                                              FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Co-founder/Director
The MY HERO Project
[email protected]

Max Romey's art, features in 'A Little Story About Forever' Max Romey

December 13, 2025 — Laguna Beach, CA

The MY HERO Project hosted Part One of Two of its 21st Annual International Film Festival Awards Ceremony on December 13, 2025. Hosted during activist and longtime friend of MY HERO Eva Haller’s renowned weekly salon series, the event celebrated filmmakers highlighting individuals and organizations working to better our world.

This year, MY HERO presented artist, filmmaker, educator and environmental advocate Max Romey with the BEST of FEST award, for his animated short A Little Story About Forever. In the film, Max and son Kip begin writing a book about what ‘forever,’ means. When Max becomes overwhelmed about the various issues that might affect forever such as forever chemicals, Mark Ruffalo steps in to offer some light in the darkness.

Accepting his award at the virtual event on Saturday, Romey spoke about the importance of hope and creativity in challenging times. Said Romey

It's so hard these days because it does feel like the world is so dark. In times like these, it takes those little stories, those little bits of creativity, and those little candles lit in the darkness to make a difference. Seeing what everybody's done here, I feel like I'm surrounded by those candles in the darkness.

MY HEROMax Romey attends the virtual MY HERO International Film Festival Awards Ceremony, Dec. 13, 2025.

Film festival director Santos Herrera thanked every filmmaker who submitted to the festival, explaining

Every story has such an uplifting message, and we really want to take a moment now to thank everyone who submitted to our festival, winners, finalists, official selections. Even if you weren't selected, the very act of putting yourself, your story, and your voice out there is an incredible act of love and kindness.

Romey is also pervious winner of the Sylvia Earle Ocean Conservation Award at the MY HERO Film Festival, for his short If You Give a Beach a Bottle. You can read an interview about the film and watch here.

Watch A Little Story About Forever here.

PART TWO - MY HERO International Film Festival's Virtual Awards Ceremony

Please join us online, Saturday, January 10, 2026, as the MY HERO International Film Festival announces and celebrates more winning filmmakers from the 2025 festival. Special Award categories include the Relationships First Award, presented by the Foundation for the Contemporary Family, the Animation Awards, presented by Wacom, the Mattie Stepanek Poetry Prize, the People's Choice Award, the Community Heroes Award and more.

Location: Virtual event

Date and time: Sat, Jan 10, 2026 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM PT

The MY HERO International Film Festival celebrates the power of media to inspire compassion, understanding, and action, while uplifting young voices committed to telling stories that matter.

About the MY HERO International Film Festival

The My Hero Film Festival is an annual event dedicated to showcasing films that celebrate the power of the human spirit. The festival provides a platform for filmmakers to share inspirational stories of everyday heroes. Thanks to generous sponsors, prizes are awarded to elementary, middle school, high school, college and professionals in a variety of categories including documentary, narrative, music video, animation, experimental, and more.

The festival aims to inspire audiences to recognize the heroism in their own lives and encourage positive actions in their communities. Learn more.