Charlie Dermody Wins Study Abroad Film Festival for "Maybe"

For the first time since its inception in 2014, the IES Abroad Study Abroad Film Festival was hosted internationally, returning to IES Abroad’s roots in Vienna on October 16, 2025! The milestone event honoring IES Abroad’s 75th Anniversary took place at Vienna’s most modern concert hall, Das MuTH Concert Hall. It was a history-making audience, packed with a record number of students and IES Abroad alums. The evening celebrated eleven years of powerful storytelling and unforgettable student experiences brought to life on the big screen.

The co-hosts of this year's festival were Tobi Sigmund, Head of Student Affairs at IES Abroad Vienna, who has been on the IES Abroad Vienna team for more than 20 years, and Harry Zuber, Academic Advisor at IES Abroad Vienna, is an IES Abroad Vienna alum who fell in love with study abroad and Vienna in the Spring of 2012. The screening kicked off with a throwback video that both Tobi and Harry starred in back in 2012.

Charlie Dermody (Indiana University, IES Abroad Milan, Fall 2024) took home the Grand Prize for his film "Maybe."

The award was presented by last year's winner Connor Sorg , an IES Abroad Milan alum, Study Abroad Film Festival Juror, and student filmmaker, music artist, and recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin.

Charlie received the $1,500 Grand Prize and secured the $5,000 IES Abroad Barbara Bobrich Annual scholarship for a future Indiana University study abroad student in financial need, made possible by a $600,000 donation by the late Barbara Bobrich.

Our Festival and Charlie received lots of love from the media including a segment on WGN Daytime Chicago! Check out all the media coverage.

“Each of these films reflect what study abroad is all about: learning resilience, exploring identity, building connections, and capturing the moments that change us forever. And there’s no better place to celebrate that than Vienna—a city that has been inspiring IES Abroad students for the past 75 years.”
Tobi Sigmund | Head of Student Affairs at IES Abroad Vienna | 2025 IES Abroad Study Abroad Film Festival Co-Host

Watch the 2025 Film Festival Event

Charlie Dermody is a recent graduate of Indiana University with a BA in Art History & Fashion Design, and an AA in Audio Engineering. He studied abroad with IES Abroad Milan during the 2024 Fall term where he had the opportunity to attend Milan Fashion Week. His film was awarded top honors based on votes by the public, who were able to watch the films online and vote for their favorite Finalist film.

Charlie's film, "Maybe," follows a student abroad who learns to see setbacks not as failures but as hidden blessings. Through challenges, losses, and unexpected turns, they discover self-acceptance, resilience, and gratitude. The film reflects on study abroad as a transformative journey, revealing peace in uncertainty and the power of embracing “maybe.”

Upon accepting the Grand Prize Winner Award, Charlie gave his winning speech saying:

"I didn't prepare anything because I already won by coming here. So thank you to the people who put this on and to everybody who made this possible. Vienna waits for you and it calls you back…Something about throwing myself into a country in a place that I didn't speak the language, I didn't know where to go or how to do it, or I'd have a cappuccino at any hour of the day, and I’d get looked at Italian from the talents like, ‘no, you get the cappuccino in the morning. You don't get it in the afternoon.’ And I don't care. But that opportunity planted something in me that to just throw yourself off the deep end is the only way - like life is happening right now. I spent so long just being so anxious. I didn't know how to make a film, but I think it was completely because of being able to go abroad, to just try it, to go to places, not knowing how or when or what was going to happen. It put something in me to just start doing and living right now, instead of thinking and sitting in the backseat hoping that one day my dreams will come true, you know what I mean? And I tried, and it worked."

- Charlie Dermody | Indiana University | IES Abroad Milan | Fall 2024

The Finalist films were viewed and narrowed down to three Finalist films by a prominent jury of directors, editors, producers and screenwriters, the majority of whom are either IES Abroad alumni or Film Studies faculty from IES Abroad’s international Centers.

This year’s Film Festival runners-up were:

"Las Bingueras" | by Anya Jiménez (University of Southern California) | IES Abroad Galápagos Islands (GAIAS) | Spring 2025

A love letter to a host family and community in San Cristóbal, "Las Bingueras" celebrates cultural immersion, compassion, and connection. Guided by the belief that art tells untold stories, the filmmaker transforms gratitude into storytelling—documenting a life-changing experience and honoring the unforgettable kindness that shaped their time abroad.

“Found Self” | Catherine Maher (Grove City College) | IES Abroad Rome | Summer 2024

"Found Self" reflects on the often-unspoken side of studying abroad: the solitude, the struggle, and the quiet growth that doesn’t make it to Instagram. It’s a reminder that the journey doesn’t end when you return home, and that sometimes, finding yourself means remembering who you’ve always been.

Naomi Seekings, Director, Producer & Editor, and Film Studies Faculty Member at IES Abroad London received the Standing Ovation Award for her dedication to the festival over the years. Naomi has been an IES Abroad Film Faculty member since 2009 and a Film Festival Jury member since 2014 when the Film Festival began.

“It means so much to me to be recognized by a film festival that gives students the opportunity to tell their stories and share their ideas ... Watching the films, the thing that strikes me most is study abroad's ability to change people. Sometimes that change is quiet and small, and sometimes it's transformative, and it's really beautiful to see. It's remarkable to see how living and studying in another country can shape not only people's stories, but how they see themselves and others.”
Naomi Seekings | Director, Producer & Editor | IES Abroad London Film Studies Faculty Member

The IES Abroad Study Abroad Film Festival gave attendees the opportunity to engage with students and alumni, while highlighting the life-changing power of study abroad, and celebrating IES Abroad's 75th anniversary. The red-carpet event showcased incredible students and their enriched educational experiences through their films.

Through these visual journeys, the Film Festival helps increase the awareness of the benefits of studying abroad to new audiences, as well as helps raise IES Abroad scholarship funds to send even more students abroad.

Congratulations to Charlie and all the Finalists! Learn more about the IES Abroad Film Festival and you can still watch the livestream from the event!