The kudos keep rolling in for “The Miracles on Honey Bee Hill,” the latest independent short film from MTSU professor Dr. Bob Pondillo and his crew of students and alumni.

The 23-minute film, which was two years in the making, has been an official selection at nearly 40 film festivals worldwide. It was translated into Czech and shown Nov. 8-14 at the Mezipatra Film Festival in the Czech Republic.

The latest honor is the “Best Short Narrative” award, which was presented Nov. 16 at the Big Mini-Film Festival at Long Island University in Brooklyn, N.Y.

On Nov. 10, “Miracles” captured “Best Film” honors at the ARTLightenment Film and Arts Festival in Nashville. In addition, the movie won six technical awards for best art direction, sound, costumes, visual effects, makeup and sound design.

Other top awards for “Miracles” include:

• the “Best Achievement, Short Screenplay” award at the 2010 SoCal Film Festival in Huntington Beach, Calif.;
• “Outstanding Short Film,” “Outstanding Actress in a Short Film (Lucy Turner),” and “Outstanding Short Screenplay,” Northwest Ohio Independent Film Festival, Lima, Ohio, July 8, 2012;
• “Best GLBTQ Film,” Best Shorts Competition, La Jolla, Calif., July 16;
• “Best Romantic Comedy-Short Film,” 16th annual International Indie Gathering Film/Music Festival, Cleveland/Hudson, Ohio, Aug. 17-19;
• “Special Jury Award: Social Change,” Social Media Film Festival, Las Vegas, Nevada, Sept. 8-9;
• “Best Director—Short Film (Bob Pondillo),” Long Beach QFilm Festival, Sept. 14-16; and
• “Best Short Film,” “Best Director—Short Film (Bob Pondillo),” “Best Movie,” Mississippi International Film Festival, Oxford, Miss., Oct. 26-28.

Nikki DeCroce of NDTV interviews MTSU’s Dr. Bob Pondillo outside the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville May 8 before the premiere of “The Miracles on Honey Bee Hill.” (MTSU photo by News and Media Relations)

Each of these awards is the result of the film’s acceptance by each festival as “official selections” from among hundreds of entries. The judges deemed those “official selections” superior to other films in their respective categories.

Pondillo, a professor in the Department of Electronic Media Communication, enlisted colleague Cosette Collier, a recording industry professor, in engineering the film’s song, “My Special Someone.” Another recording industry professor, Dr. Bob Wood, composed the score.

With a mostly juvenile cast, “Miracles” tells the story of Millie, who is beloved by everyone in her church until she introduces the congregation to her soulmate, Ed.

A DVD of “Miracles” is available for a $15 donation to the Tennessee Equality Project at www.wepay.com/donations/595625. More information is available at http://miraclesonhoneybeehill.com as well as on Facebook and Twitter.

— Gina K. Logue (Gina.Logue@mtsu.edu)