See also AWARD WINNERS OF SEPTEMBER 2026: TECHNICAL CATEGORIES
Best Short of the Season (Special Jury Award)
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Hallo Johann by Joshua Mueller (Germany)
Award of Excellence (Special Jury Mention)
Stolen Reins by Nolan Tondreau (USA)
Award of Excellence (Special Jury Mention)
The Third Dream by Mohammadhossein Nikzad (Iran)
Award of Excellence (Special Jury Mention)
What Remains of Calico Hill by Mya Akhina (UK)
Best Short of the Season – Runner-up (Special Jury Mentions)
360 cc by Maria Dyrby Voigt (USA)
Scary Lullaby by Daria Lebedeva (Russia)
Signal by Riley Vitale (USA)
Sygfried by Betty Maggie Ballhorn (Germany)
Best Indie Short: The Third Dream by Mohammadhossein Nikzad (Iran)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Indie Short): 360 cc by Maria Dyrby Voigt (USA)
Honorable Mention (Indie Short): Joni by Bigi Jackson (USA)
Best Drama Short: What Remains of Calico Hill by Mya Akhina (UK)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Drama Short): Crime or Care by Roozbeh Kalbasi (USA)
Honorable Mention (Drama Short): Whispers of Escape by Danny Szam (UK)
Best Student Short: Signal by Riley Vitale (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Student Short): Loon by Brad E Kins (USA)
Honorable Mention (Student Short): Last Stop Wonder Valley by Finlay Maxwell Salvador Higgins (USA)
Best Documentary Short: Decarb by Roel Swierenga (Netherlands)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Documentary Short): Echoes of Rebirth by Leib Kopman (Canada)
Best Comedy Short: Battle Of Mole Hill by Joey Brooks (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Comedy Short): Blitz by Evan Smith (USA)
Honorable Mention (Comedy Short): Luck by Sherman Fraser JR (USA)
Best Romantic Comedy Short: Scary Lullaby by Daria Lebedeva (Russia)
Honorable Mention (Romantic Comedy Short): No More I Love You’s by Tia Matza (USA)
Honorable Mention (Dark Comedy Short): Roundabout by Patrick Demitras (USA)
Best Action Short: Homecoming by Jaimoe Kaiser (Germany)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Action Short): Predation Black Serum by Timur Örge and Sebastian Fisher (Switzerland)
Honorable Mention (Crime Short): The Godson by Taylor Smith (USA)
Best Thriller Short: Asf1xia by Álvaro Benítez (Spain)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Thriller Short): Car 117 by Adam Judd (USA)
Honorable Mention (Thriller Short): A Crimson Reflection by Camila Sanz (Colombia)
Best Film Noir Short: Hallo Johann by Joshua Mueller (Germany)
Honorable Mention (Film Noir Short): Two of Us by Zachary David (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Mystery Short): Old Well by Andrés Hernández Covarrubias (Mexico)
Honorable Mention (Mystery Short): Utopia by Edoardo Bocchi (Italy)
Best Horror Short: Tales of the Macabre by James Steele Haney (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Horror Short): Twilight of the Undead by Leonardo Daccarett (USA)
Honorable Mention (Horror Short): We’ll Be Right Back by Lorena Stefania De Maddalena (Switzerland)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Sci-Fi Short): The Last Version by Adham AlMajed (Egypt)
Honorable Mention (Sci-Fi Short): Among Those Hidden by Hannah Sulak (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Fantasy Short): The Candyshop Girls by Mel Blake (UK)
Honorable Mention (Fantasy Short): Nix Figment by Cassandra Dawn (USA)
Best Western Short: Stolen Reins by Nolan Tondreau (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Animation Short): Her Own Hand by Zhuofan Li (China)
Honorable Mention (Animation Short): Fido by John Norris Ray and Maria Victoria Sanchez (USA)
Best Children Short: Shorts by Qiaoyin Wang (China)
Best Women Short: Wasabi by Uhoman Blonded Baby Moltok (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Women Short): The Candyshop Girls by Mel Blake (UK)
Honorable Mention (Women Short): First Ladies by Yuanting Tina Luo (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (LGBTQ Short): The Usual by Adam Guerino (USA)
Honorable Mention (LGBTQ Short): Only Bears by Billy Clift (USA)
Best Microfilm: No One Else Will Do by Charlize Zamora (USA)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Microfilm): Scatterbrain by Alessandro Salvatore Cuorvo (USA)
Honorable Mention (Microfilm): ADHD by Giulia Lopes Mazzu (UK)
Best Experimental Short: Sygfried by Betty Maggie Ballhorn (Germany)
Honorable Mention (Experimental Short): Safe Zone by Ahmad Alameldeen (Egypt/Italy/USA)
Best Music Video: Lähiöbotox – Kyläveli Keijo by Pekka Ollula (Finland)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Music Video): Flooded Realms by Virginie Bluzat (France)
Honorable Mention (Music Video): Firestarter by Rik Zak (Canada)
Honorable Mention (Screendance Short): Tuesday the Thirteenth by Julien Peck (USA)
Best Web and New Media: Pillow Men by Jacky Wong (China)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Mobile Short): A Patriot’s Saturday by Sonal Paran Fernandes (India)
Best Short Script: Khaos by François-Eric Sage and Vincent Le Gal (Switzerland)
Outstanding Achievement Award (Short Script): Butterfly by Edwin Jair Nájera (Mexico)
Honorable Mention (Short Script): The Palm of My Hand by James Austin Black (USA)
See also AWARD WINNERS OF SEPTEMBER 2026: TECHNICAL CATEGORIES
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