Award Winners: April-May 2026

Best Short of the Season (Special Jury Award)
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Run Outs by Dhillon Shukla (UK)

Award of Excellence (Special Jury Mention)

All the Colours by Leo De Haan (UK)

Award of Excellence (Special Jury Mention)

Ivanko’s Childhood by Vera Graziadei (UK)

Best Short of the Season – Runner-up (Special Jury Mentions)

1020 by Julie Goldstone (USA)

Clinical Case by Ksenia Ishoot (Russia)

Cows Come Home by Katie Uhlmann (Canada)

Peony Fever by Charlie Hao (USA)

Seed by Martin Lohse (UK)

The Black Bart of Taco King #17 by Rickey Larke (USA)

You Don’t Say by Juliet Colyer (USA)

Best Indie Short: Seed by Martin Lohse (UK)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Indie Short): The Listeners by Joslyn Rose (USA)

Honorable Mention (Indie Short): Perfectly Normal People by Tobias Nathan (USA)

Best Drama Short: Ivanko’s Childhood by Vera Graziadei (UK)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Drama Short): The Settler’s Paths by José Gregorio Liz (Colombia)

Honorable Mention (Drama Short): Five Things to Love by Makenna Perkal (USA)

Best Student Short: Clinical Case by Ksenia Ishoot (Russia)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Student Short): Swine by Claire Delany (USA)

Honorable Mention (Student Short): The Fear of Ending by Andong Zhang (China)

Best Documentary Short: National Inventors Hall of Fame docuseries: A Lifetime of Inspiration: The Ted Hoff Story, Printing What’s Possible: The Chuck Hull Story, and Cultivating Solutions: The Barbara Liskov Story, by Andrew Blike; and Laser Focus: The Kumar Patel Story by Marc Haas (USA)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Documentary Short): Up Hayes, A New York City Story by Russell Dinallo (USA)

Honorable Mention (Documentary Short): Kamla Devi by Suresh Joshi (India)

Best Comedy Short: 1020 by Julie Goldstone (USA)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Comedy Short): See You Next Tuesday by Whitney Moore and Marques Mallare (USA)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Romantic Comedy Short): The Way Things Used 2 B by Ciara Naughton and Kurstin Moser (USA)

Honorable Mention (Romantic Comedy Short): Together Forever At Last by Lucia Bellini (USA)

Best Dark Comedy Short: Grampa by Justice Smith (USA)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Dark Comedy Short): The Gift by Alexandra Gavillet (USA)

Honorable Mention (Dark Comedy Short): Your Excellency by Musaed Alqudifi (Kuwait)

Best Crime Short: The Black Bart of Taco King #17 by Rickey Larke (USA)

Best Thriller Short: Run Outs by Dhillon Shukla (UK)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Thriller Short): All the Colours by Leo De Haan (UK)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Film Noir Short): Dangerous Eyes by Du “Travis” Yi Zhang (Canada)

Honorable Mention (Film Noir Short): The Mid Life Crisis by Howard Bowler (USA)

Best Horror Short: Flora by Sam Zheng (USA)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Horror Short): Stretched Thin by Jeremy Greenberg (USA)

Honorable Mention (Horror Short): Who Goes There? by Gage Looney (USA)

Best Fantasy Short: Savannah’s Curse by Tamara Lisa Cook (Australia)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Fantasy Short): Prospero by Tyler Orsak (USA)

Honorable Mention (Fantasy Short): Dor by Bob Banday Shryock (USA)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Western Short): When The Moon Goes Down by Trever Riney (USA)

Best Animation Short: Reflection by Daniel Robichaud (USA)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Animation Short): Flamingo in the Garden by Xinhui Ma (USA)

Honorable Mention (Animation Short): Time Squares by Tim Hamilton (Australia)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Children Short): Small Flowers by Milla Martha Kime (Australia)

Honorable Mention (Children Short): Darling Angel by Blay Armah (Canada)

Best Women Short: You Don’t Say by Juliet Colyer (USA)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Women Short): Call Me Crazy by Olivia Ormond (USA)

Honorable Mention (Women Short): Shaken by Millie Rose Evans (USA)

Best LGBTQ Short: Peony Fever by Charlie Hao (USA)

Outstanding Achievement Award (LGBTQ Short): Nice Jewish Girl by Carly Brand (Australia)

Best Experimental Short: Raven’s Room by Jawsh Ojeda (USA)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Experimental Short): Body Count by Malhar Abhijit Talwalkar (USA)

Honorable Mention (Experimental Short): C.Y.N.D. by Ju Conci (Brazil)

Best Microfilm: Mapo Tofu by Yinhan (Louis) Zu (USA)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Microfilm): Just Being Nice by Jeronimo Geldart (Argentina/USA)

Honorable Mention (Microfilm): Despite It All by Bridget Avildsen (USA)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Screendance Short): Want You by Tavia Christina (Canada)

Honorable Mention (Screendance Short): Alter Ego by Laurien Van den Broeck (Belgium)

Best Music Video: Love & Sugar by Met Kid Hao (France)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Music Video): The Deeper It Cuts by Colby Hulet and Evan Harris (USA)

Honorable Mention (Music Video): MerryGo by John Laww (USA)

Best Web Series/TV Pilot: Cows Come Home by Katie Uhlmann (Canada)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Web Series/TV Pilot): It Takes A Village by Maggie Drahovska (Czechia/Slovakia)

Best Web and New Media: Awful Dreams by Michael Hess (USA)

Honorable Mention (Trailer/Teaser): Loaded by Surya Simha Pulipati (USA)

Best Short Script: Blood Enough by Saeid Ghasemi (Turkey)

Outstanding Achievement Award (Short Script): Upstate by Theo Stockman (USA)

Honorable Mention (Short Script): The Kickback by Keshia Thomas (USA)

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