Award Winners
Their work captured exactly what our festival exists to celebrate: bold vision, originality, and outstanding craft. The Winter 2026 Award Winners stand as a powerful reflection of the very best in independent cinema, and their achievements point to an exciting future for film.
Purple crab
Western Film
Jeromy Desjarlais
Canada
Flashing Back
Thriller Screenplay
JJ Brent
United States
Imbroglio
Thriller Film
Ian Sciacaluga
United Kingdom
Berlin Loop
Sci-Fi Film
Emily Manthei
Germany
I See Dark
Romance Film
Domingo Pisón
Spain
Portae Infernales
Horror Film
Markus Wimberger
Austria
In the Footsteps of Alexander Nevsky
Historical / Period Film
Anna Turchaninova
Russian Federation
Journey
Fantasy Film
Damien Osborn
Australia
Legacy
Drama Screenplay
Chris Williamson
United Kingdom
Angel’s Tide
Drama Film
Zeph E Daniel
United States
Turtle
Debut Director – Short
Sara Goworowska
Poland
The last tupper
Debut Director – Feature
Manhal Aziz, Nina Rosser
Spain
Shanghai Palace
Comedy Screenplay
Heidi Jacobsen
United States
Bunnyville
Comedy Film
Maria Audrey Samudro
Indonesia, United Kingdom
The Bad Boy of Gospel Experience
Best Web Series / Episodic
Neil Carr
United States
Five Nights at Freddy’s: Haunting Hours
Best Visual Effects (VFX)
Dane Smoot
United States
Out of State-A Gothic Romance
Best USA Film
Victoria Bugbee
United States
Gyre
Best TV Pilot (Script)
Gina Lennox
Australia
Echo Frequency
Best Student Film
Lara Köller
Germany
Cold Time
Best Sound Design
Vyacheslav Komarnitsky
Russian Federation
Savings Bonds
Best Short Screenplay (11-30 pages)
Chris San Nicolas
United States
Moisture
Best Short Film
Duda Gorter
Brazil
Dojo
Best Production Design
Armin Alic
United States
The Bumblebees
Best Original Song
Zachary (Z.R.) Simpson
United States
Don’t Look Away
Best Original Score / Soundtrack
Ashley Malcolm Morrison
Australia
Redemption
Best Music Video
Ciril Tscheligi
Germany
Time
Best Micro Short (under 5 minutes)
Petra de Nijs
Netherlands
Spiralmind
Best Medium-length Script (31-60 pages)
Benito F Perez, Jackson J Smith
United States
Clutch
Best Male Director
Michael Merino
United States
The Perfect Palm
Best Indie Short Film
Ayse Altinok
United States
Cheers Captain Alma
Best Indie Feature Film (Low-budget)
Michael Thomas Wall
Sweden
Girl of Peace
Best Female Director
Caitlyn Jordan
United States
La strada segnata
Best Feature Screenplay
Michele Iovine
Italy
The Deserter
Best Feature Film
Christoph Baumann
Germany
Litium
Best Experimental Film
Peter I Östlund
Sweden
Trigger
Best European Film
Haris Gioulatos
Greece
Reckoning
Best Ensemble Cast
Armando DuBon Jr.
United States
The End of the World
Best Editing
Sebastian Pereanu
Romania
If Not for Farming
Best Documentary Short
Samuel Stacey
United States
All In My Power
Best Documentary Feature
Chandler Clarke
United States
Walk With Us
Best Director – Music Video
Hannah Westbrook, Kym Franklin, Willa Moore, Darren Crisp
United States
El Almuerzo
Best Cinematography
Denis Paz
Guatemala
Unicorn
Best Australia & New Zealand Film
Jiaxi LI
Australia
Iriso
Best Asian Film
Mitsuo Kurihara
Japan
Team Nuggets – Chicken Impossible
Best Animated Film
Tor Fruergaard, Michael Hegner
Denmark
Dust and Dignity – African Lessons
Best African Film
Carla Zickfeld
Italy
Not a Love Story
Best Actress
Giulia Losi (directed by Francesco Massini)
Italy
Common Law
Best Actor
Berlin Lu (directed by Kagan Goh)
Canada
Constant
AI-Crafted Film
Danny Ratcliff
United States
Mancala: Crisis in Bauxite Mining
Action / Crime Film
Obediya Jones-Darrell
Canada