See also AWARD WINNERS OF AUGUST 2026: TECHNICAL CATEGORIES
Best Short of the Season (Special Jury Award)
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The Thing That Washed Up by Maggie Shore (New Zealand)
Award of Excellence (Special Jury Mention)
Break Away by Michael McCracken (USA)
Award of Excellence (Special Jury Mention)
Mateo by William Michael Anderson (Austria/USA)
Best Short of the Season – Runner-up (Special Jury Mentions)
Blockhaus by Virginie Bluzat (France)
Eerie by Dileep VT (India)
One Last Drive by Trevvor Riley and Matthew Hayward (USA)
Best Indie Short: Break Away by Michael McCracken (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Indie Short): Eerie by Dileep VT (India)
Honorable Mention (Indie Short): When Cheese Is on Sale by Ash Kelliher (New Zealand)
Best Drama Short: Mateo by William Michael Anderson (Austria/USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Drama Short): Blockhaus by Virginie Bluzat (France)
Honorable Mention (Drama Short): The Perfect Stranger by Steven Ford (USA)
Best Student Short: Recollection by Bogna Jastak (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Student Short): We’re Not The Same by Claire Elyse de Vries (USA)
Honorable Mention (Student Short): Graduation by Nayon Lee and Alicia Tang (Hong Kong)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Documentary Short): Sonmat, a Rantan Story by Emanuele segre (Italy)
Honorable Mention (Documentary Short): Love Thy Neighbor by Isabella Urrutia (USA)
Best Comedy Short: One Last Drive by Trevvor Riley and Matthew Hayward (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Comedy Short): Get Comfy by Jacob David McNulty (USA)
Honorable Mention (Comedy Short): Down And Out In The Valley by Mari Walker (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Romantic Comedy Short): Tasting by Mazie Hyams (USA)
Honorable Mention (Romantic Comedy Short): Plastic Leaves by Alexander Schroeder (France/USA)
Best Dark Comedy Short: Ron’s Night Out by Jenna Covarrubias (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Dark Comedy Short): Outsourcing Rhapsody by John Wang (China)
Honorable Mention (Dark Comedy Short): Bless You by Kevin Tosi and Gwynn Ballard (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Action Short): Geri-Action by Jack Carlsen (USA)
Best Thriller Short: The Grove by Jack Morningstar (Canada/USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Thriller Short): dAIsy by Erin Pyle (USA)
Best Film Noir Short: The Law of Series by Sousana Maragkou (Greece/USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Film Noir Short): The Montenegro Affair by Fernanda Ávalos, César Camán, and Alonso Montoya (Canada)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Mystery Short): The Silence Protocol by Humberto Dias Fernandes Pacheco (Brazil)
Honorable Mention (Horror Short): Mr. Happy by Carter Bowden (USA)
Best Sci-Fi Short: Lockdown by Megean McBride Sanchez, Vik Chopra, John Shaw, Rony Celis, Chris Gates, Michiel Oakes, Shawn Cooke, and Bryce Huber (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Sci-Fi Short): Fallen From Grace by Fernando Zabaneh (Mexico)
Best Fantasy Short: Wish I Were a Phoenix by Sierra Brogmus (USA)
Best Western Short:Taffy, Rita and The Rattlesnake by Greg Poppa (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Animation Short): The Golden Grouper by Maz Joachin (Bahamas)
Honorable Mention (Animation Short): Kinderspiracy by Tiffany Seong and Sinyoung Lee (USA)
Best Women Short: Child Check by Natalia A Warchol (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Women Short): Madame Amérique by Ella Teresa Bogan (USA)
Honorable Mention (Women Short): Three Arugula Salads by Laura Messer Jackson (USA)
Best LGBTQ Short: You Seeing Someone? by Molly Power (New Zealand)
Outstanding Achievement Award (LGBTQ Short): Tasting by Mazie Hyams (USA)
Best Microfilm: One Beat at a Time by Garrett Glassell (USA)
Best Experimental Short: Deep Plate by Daria Pyshna (Ukraine/UK)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Experimental Short): Pins In Her Eyes by Ingrid Elizabeth Nachstern (Ireland)
Honorable Mention (Experimental Short): Telly by Valentina Vignoli (Italy)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Music Video): Chess Club – Wedding of the Year by Adam Mark Chase (USA)
Best Screendance Short: Canon Event by Carmen Cecilia Halphen (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Screendance Short): Pressed to Fit by Sara Silkin (USA)
Best Web Series/TV Pilot: Quimera by Fernando Corta and Andrés López (Spain)
Honorable Mention (Web Series/TV Pilot): Keepers of the Door by Folasade (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Web and New Media): And So, It Begins by Jocelyn Robert (Canada)
Honorable Mention (Web and New Media): Why Trump’s Ballroom is Really Dystopian by Philip Brain and Harry Clennon (USA)
Best Parody Short: The Dark Knight Waxes by Esther Kim (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Trailer/Teaser): Madame Amérique by Ella Teresa Bogan (USA)
Honorable Mention (Trailer/Teaser): I/O (Input-Output) by Molly Vernon (USA)
Best Short Script: Where You Are by Yanghuixiao Gao (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Short Script): I Missed You by Michaelle Lee (USA)
Honorable Mention (Short Script): Graduation by Nayon Lee (Hong Kong)
See also AWARD WINNERS OF AUGUST 2026: TECHNICAL CATEGORIES
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