2026 WINNERS

 ​2026 BEST OF FESTIVAL

*  **details coming soon.

​​​

​NARRATIVE FEATURE 2026: DRAMA

GOLD AWARD: Blood and Remorse; Director: Gamito Fumane - Mozambique

GOLD AWARD: The Widow​; Director: kotobukiichisan - Japan

SILVER AWARD: Maya; Director: Aditya Ingale - India

BRONZE AWARD: Midnight Sun​; Directors: Samuel GUERRIER, Shupei TANG - France

HONORABLE MENTION:

Mongol Invasion of Vietnam; Director: Eng Teck Lau - Singapore

Murphy Vs Christmas; Director: Alex Fegan - Ireland

The Perfect Escape; Director: Antoine Brewington - United States

DAD'S DREAM; Director: CLEMENT AROCK - United States

Les Fractures Invisibles; Director: Jean-Michel delphin LOUTOBY - France​

​​​

NARRATIVE FEATURE 2026: COMEDY

GOLD AWARD: Who Is It?; Director: Jim Menza - United States

SILVER AWARD: EnAbeling Cain​; Director: Jim Menza - United States

BRONZE AWARD: Directors' Commentary; Director: Joel David Santner - United States

​​

NARRATIVE FEATURE 2026: HORROR

GOLD AWARD: Beyond Mamushi; Director: Martin Daniels - United Kingdom

HONORABLE MENTION:

Martindale; Director: Joshua Lou Friedman - United States

​​​​​​​​​​

FEATURE DOCUMENTARY 2026:

GOLD AWARD: American Yodel; Director: Tristan Miquel - Switzerland

SILVER AWARD: TWA800: The Full Story - A Navy Whistleblower Comes Forward; Director: Brian Lerch - United States

​

NARRATIVE SHORT 2026: DRAMA

GOLD AWARD: Muted​; Director: Siqi Zhang - China

GOLD AWARD: Hopscotch, Director: Alicia Betty Fall - France

SILVER AWARD: Yuletide Cowboys; Director: Lucy Hong - United States

BRONZE AWARD: North Latitude 39 degree​; Director: Menglu Sun - China

BRONZE AWARD: Piz Tri. The Voice of the Mountain.; Director: Francesco Pedrazzi - Italy

HONORABLE MENTION:

Awards Ceremony; Director: Shlomit Rub - Israel

At the Mercy of Faith; Director: Andrew Arguello - United States

MUHAMED; Director: HOMELAND ALBANIA shpk - Albania

Final Days; Director: Vincenzo LaPilusa - United States

The Last Bloom; Director: Sanelle Sibanda - Zimbabwe​

​​​​

NARRATIVE SHORT 2026: COMEDY

HONORABLE MENTION:​

All In; Director: Nick Zannitto - United States

​

NARRATIVE SHORT 2026: HORROR

GOLD AWARD: Bridges​; Director: Michal Marks - Poland

SILVER AWARD: The Countess​; Director: Man Sumarni - United States

SILVER AWARD: "A Vampire's Kiss"​; Director: Mark Francis - United States

BRONZE AWARD: Little Mishaps; Director: Nicole Proschek - Germany

HONORABLE MENTION:

Die Laughing; Director: Steven Lawson - United States

I AM WHAT ISN’T; Director: Nixon Kwak - United States

​​​​​​​​

​DOCUMENTARY 2026: SHORT

GOLD AWARD: Concealed Manner; Director: Shelby Nicole Thompson - United States

GOLD AWARD: Robin Cecilia Wheat; Director: Carson Crow - United States

SILVER AWARD: Actually, We Were Revolutionaries; Directors: Vera Zoricic - Canada

SILVER AWARD: Mentors of the Sky; Director: Zhi Zhu - United States

HONORABLE MENTION:

Legacy; Director: Dennis Rollins - United States

I am 47; Director: Menglu Sun - United States

Shadows of State Violence: Testimonies of the Survivors; Directors: Seo Eun Kim, Jun Lee - South Korea

Paper Birds; Director: A.C. Brooke - United States

 

NARRATIVE SHORT 2026: LGBTQ

GOLD AWARD: Mask and Heart​; Director: Evelyn Dilani Raja - Italy

​​​

NARRATIVE SHORT 2026: SCI-FI

GOLD AWARD: SAMURAI Rebirth; Directors: Ji Lin - Japan

SILVER AWARD: Motherhood; Director: Anca Damian - Romania

BRONZE AWARD: The Persona Prompt; Director: Valya Lyne - Austria

​

MOVIE TRAILER 2026:

GOLD AWARD: Trailer: Echo Rhyme; Directors: Caleb Johnson, Jeff Johnson - United States

SILVER AWARD: Trailer: Limited Slip; Directors: Clint Calvert, Caleb Johnson - United States

HONORABLE MENTION:

Street Tied; Directors: Angi Thompson, Irving Lambert, Brandon "Writerboy" Washington - United States

​​

MUSIC VIDEO 2026:

GOLD AWARD: Colloquium​; Director: Jocelyn ROBERT - Canada

SILVER AWARD: Ode to Madness; Directors: AFNAN KHAN - United Kingdom

BRONZE AWARD: Une sur mille; Director: Alexandra Farrensteiner - Germany

HONORABLE MENTION:

Roots in Flight; Directors: Jose Angel Ramirez, Manuel Ruperto Paez - United States

Fuel the Infinity Pool of Suicidal Empathy; Director: Michael Kent Schrengohst - United States

Round & Round Tonight - Music Video; Director: Michael Jue - United States

Chaton - We Are Invincible (Official Music Video); Director: Marcus CB Soori - United States

​​​

STUDENT FILM 2026:

GOLD AWARD : The Gilden Guard; Director: Joanna Farrow - Norwich University of the Arts, United Kingdom

SILVER AWARD: Reprocess​; Director: Alice MH Stanley-Smith - Falmouth University , Cornwall, United Kingdom

SILVER AWARD: Liars; Director: Guancheng Feng - School of Visual Arts, United States

BRONZE AWARD: Sighting; Director: Kyle Smith - University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Film and International Studies program, United States

BRONZE AWARD: Echoes of War; Director: De'Ontae Brooks - Arizona State University, United States

BRONZE AWARD: Domino Effect; Director: Ethan Gadekar - University of Miami, United States

BRONZE AWARD: Pink Skies; Director: Ayden Dunn - Western Kentucky University, United States

HONORABLE MENTION:

I AM WHAT ISN’T; Director: Nixon Kwak -  Notre Dame High School, California, United States

A Great Friend; Director: Alicia Lee - North Gwinnett High School, Georgia, United States

Voices In Limbo; Director: Lucas Naylor - Skyline High School, Washington, United States​​​