As fans begin ramping up to celebrate 30 years of the Star Wars saga next year, the Star Wars Fan Film Awards reached a milestone of its own today, celebrating its fifth year of showcasing the talent and dedication of Star Wars-inspired filmmakers.

Late last year, atomfilms.com put the call out for submissions to their fifth annual Star Wars Fan Film contest, yielding scores of videotapes and DVDs brimming with the best filmed shorts fandom has to offer. Ten finalists were chosen and posted at atomfilms' official website, inviting the fan community to vote for its favorite submission as the Audience Choice Award. Other awards included the Spirit of Fandom Award, Best Commercial Parody, Best Comedy, and the esteemed George Lucas Selects Award. Each winner is given the coveted SWFFA trophy plus $1,000, with the George Lucas Selects winner receiving $2,000.

Presented by Lucasfilm Event Manager Mary Franklin, the Spirit of Fandom Award went to Michael Q. Yowhan's endearing Memoirs of a Padawan, which captured some grainy super-8 moments from the '70s that are familiar to most old-school fans -- opening Star Wars action figures at Christmas and batting around suspended empty bleach bottles with a plastic bat-turned-lightsaber. Of course, the saber effect added to the pint-sized Jedi wielding it was likely the clincher for the judges on this one.

Next, the Best Commercial Parody Award was given away by LucasArts' Matt Shell to William Grammer for Blue Milk, which put a Star Wars spin on the classic grape juice commercials. In Grammer's ad, a tot in classic Leia duds and doo sings the praises of pure Bantha blue milk (not to be confused with the swill churned out by the Imperial refineries). Unfortunately, the Empire gets wind of this pirated ad from the private sector, and moves in swiftly to "adjust" the messaging.

Dustin Roberts' first official act as new Star Wars Fan Club President was to present the Best Comedy Award, which went to Brian Silva for Sith'd. Inspired by MTV's Punk'd, this Star Wars incarnation pits a Jedi against Sith, with the Jedi ending up with the short end of the stick.

atomfilms.com's Chris Albrecht presented this year's Audience Choice Award, which went to Shane Felux for Pitching Lucas. Felux, who directed last year's well-received Revelations, delivered this highly-polished short which spins Star Wars characters and themes into campy '70's TV shows -- "The Sith Million Dollar Man", "DIPs" (after CHIPs), and "George's Angels". Felux pulls out all the stops, incorporating scores of costumed characters, lavish sets, compelling effects, and even the ubiquitous Wilhelm scream.

For all these reasons and more, Felux's Pitching Lucas also received the coveted George Lucas Selects Award, presented by Lucasfilm Senior Director of Marketing, Tom Warner.

Here's the list of this year's winners:

George Lucas Selects -- Shane Felux, Pitching Lucas

Audience Choice Award -- Shane Felux, Pitching Lucas

Spirit of Fandom Award -- Michael Q. Yowhan, Memoirs of a Padawan

Best Comedy -- Brian Silva, Sith'd

Best Commercial Parody -- William Grammer, Blue Milk

To watch the films from all the 2006 Star Wars Fan Film finalists, click here.

As a special treat, attendees were treated to the world premiere of Trey Stokes' and Amy Earhart's second volume of Return of Pink Five, which (almost) concludes the saga comprised of the original Pink Five, Pink Five Strikes Back, and Return of Pink Five Volume I. Yes, there will be a Volume 3!

Also, fans got to see a second world premiere of sorts -- the creators of the upcoming film Fanboys were on hand to deliver a four-minute montage of scenes from their new film, which follows the exploits of four fans bent on granting their friend's dieing wish -- to see Episode I at Skywalker Ranch. According to the filmmakers, fans can expect to see the Star Wars-inspired comedy next Spring.