See also AWARD WINNERS OF DECEMBER 2025: TECHNICAL CATEGORIES
Best Short of the Season (Special Jury Award)
Salem Not Salem by Omar Farooq (Bahrain)
Award of Excellence (Special Jury Mention)
Paranoyya by Mike Glover (UK)
Award of Excellence (Special Jury Mention)
Watching Walter by Mitch Yapko (USA)
Award of Excellence (Special Jury Mention)
Where The Shadows Wait by Riley Robbins (USA)
Best Short of the Season – Runner-up (Special Jury Mentions)
Ditto by Suresh G (India)
Strange Ava by Zixuan Xiang (China)
The Sequence by Joe Bandelli (USA)
Unruly by David Ernesto Herrera (UK)
Best Indie Short: Salem Not Salem by Omar Farooq (Bahrain)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Indie Short): For My Ela by Mallika Prasad (India)
Best Drama Short: Watching Walter by Mitch Yapko (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Drama Short): Unruly by David Ernesto Herrera (UK)
Honorable Mention (Drama Short): Cane Creek by Josh Coates (USA)
Best Student Short: The Wren in the Wood by Emma Baker (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Student Short): On The Other Side by Andréas Freisse Correa (France)
Honorable Mention (Student Short): Quietus by Kristal Sum (UK)
Best Documentary Short: The 3100 by Mark Fisher (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Documentary Short): The Big Lie, Eritrea and Back by Francesca Ronchin (Italy)
Honorable Mention (Documentary Short): Tarpuna: Keepers of Cacao — Part 1: Water by Pilar Egüez Guevara (Ecuador)
Best Comedy Short: Fit For Sale by Yongmyung Yi (South Korea)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Comedy Short): Mort by Larry Ziegelman and Terry Ziegelman (USA)
Honorable Mention (Comedy Short): Let There Be Light by Igor Poptsov (Russia)
Best Romantic Comedy Short: Cottonmouth by Ama Anane (USA)
Best Dark Comedy Short: Paranoyya by Mike Glover (UK)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Dark Comedy Short): Bad Fences by Luke Howe (USA)
Honorable Mention (Dark Comedy Short): Magas (Fly) by Ashkan Nasseri (USA)
Honorable Mention (Action Short): Shin Rashomon by Kaz Kobayashi and Keita Hagiwara (Japan/USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Crime Short): The Trade by Stanislav Svetlichny (USA)
Honorable Mention (Crime Short): Welcome Home by Matthew Morley Daniel (USA)
Best Thriller Short: Where The Shadows Wait by Riley Robbins (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Thriller Short): Thank You for the Ride, Aileen by JP Pullings (USA)
Honorable Mention (Thriller Short): Mesmera by Brendyn Gilbert (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Film Noir Short): A Lamb, Drowning by Lisa Laudieri (Italy/UK)
Best Mystery Short: Red Lilies by Benjamin Knoebl (USA)
Best Horror Short: The Sequence by Joe Bandelli (USA)
Honorable Mention (Horror Short): Deep Down by Piotr Matyja (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Sci-Fi Short): Alvis Helvig Space Viking by Ethan David Henry (USA)
Honorable Mention (Sci-Fi Short): Wake Up, Dolores! by Dan James Rathke (USA)
Best Fantasy Short: In Pursuit of the Loong by Jacky Xiao (China)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Fantasy Short): Let There Be Light by Igor Poptsov (Russia)
Honorable Mention (Fantasy Short): The Forgotten Door by Anzor Mulkoev (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Animation Short): What Could Have Been by Amanda Barakat and Sam Chou (Canada)
Honorable Mention (Animation Short): Pieces of Me by Tzuyu Tung (USA)
Honorable Mention (Children Short): Curious (The Story of Pie) by Jeong Jin Kim (South Korea)
Best Women Short: The Moon I Stole by Tinghan Zhou (China)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Women Short): Bolbol by Lucianna Kyriacou (UK)
Honorable Mention (Women Short): The Worth of Things by Jane Ballentyne (New Zealand)
Best LGBTQ Short: Cottonmouth by Ama Anane (USA)
Honorable Mention (LGBTQ Short): Meet Frankie by Steven Kunis (UK)
Best Microfilm: The People, United by Ellen Gavin (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Microfilm): Modena Balsamic Genius by Carlo Guttadauro (Italy)
Honorable Mention (Microfilm): Ikigai by Garrett Glassell (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Experimental Short): Magas (Fly) by Ashkan Nasseri (USA)
Honorable Mention (Experimental Short): La Jet by Chris Merrill (USA)
Best Music Video: Single for Life – Ava Della Pietra by Luke Orlando (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Music Video): Oopsy! by Sijin Liu (Taiwan/UK)
Honorable Mention (Screendance Short): Reverium by Kostis Tsiamagkas (Greece)
Best Web Series/TV Pilot: 3 To Die by Mitch Yapko and Allen Rueckert (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Web Series/TV Pilot): Tarpuna: Keepers of Cacao — Part 1: Water by Pilar Egüez Guevara (Ecuador)
Honorable Mention (Web Series/TV Pilot): Blood in the Pines by David Borges (USA)
Honorable Mention (Web and New Media): Jail Tales by Ori Evans (USA)
Honorable Mention (Mobile Short): The Noise Beneath by Anastasia Aleksandrova (Indonesia)
Honorable Mention (Parody Short): The Ugly Resistor by James Parente (USA)
Honorable Mention (Trailer/Teaser): The Immunity Project by Morgan Grice (USA)
Best Short Script: By Some Chance by Vincent Marano (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Short Script): Happy Father’s Day by Anzu Lawson (USA)
Honorable Mention (Short Script): Tiramisu by Fresna Shakur (USA)
See also AWARD WINNERS OF DECEMBER 2025: TECHNICAL CATEGORIES
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