FI-LA 2026 Awards

Every award presented at FI-LA 2026, by category.

Best In Fest

Best Feature Film – Nothing to See Here: Watts

Best Live Action Short Film – The Country They Call Life

Best Documentary Short – Where Is America The Beautiful?

Best Animated Short – The Ottoman

Grand Jury Awards

Best Feature Film – Documentary – Sell Your House

Best Feature Film – Drama – What We Dreamed of Then

Best Feature Film – Horror – Mountain King

Best Featurette – Comedy – No Signal

Best Featurette – Documentary – Turn Off The Machines

Best Featurette – Drama – Talented

Best Featurette – Sci-Fi – Focal Point

Best Short Film – Animation – Firstborn

Best Short Film – Arthouse/Experimental – Chicken Salad

Best Short Film – Comedy – Fireflies in the Dusk

Best Short Film – Drama – The Door

Best Short Film – Horror – Silent Scream

Best Short Film – Sci-Fi – Barbrix! or How to Maybe Capture a Psychic Hominid

Best Short Film – Thriller – The Brutal Alchemy of Water

Best Music Video – Soda Gardocki – Waltzes, Trains, Wires & Wood

Best Web Series – Hey Halifax, Hello! Today!

Best Director – Feature Film – Mountain King – Gabrielle Christensen

Best Director – Featurette – The Country They Call Life – Grace Sims

Best Director – Short Film – Check Please – Shane Chung

Best Lead Performer – Feature Film – What We Dreamed of Then – Taylor Olson

Best Lead Performer – Featurette – The Country They Call Life – Sydney Cole Alexander

Best Lead Performer – Short Film – Fireflies in the Dusk – Emily Goss

Best Supporting Performer – Feature Film – Mountain King – Carter Sirianni

Best Supporting Performer – Featurette – Supplemental – Marcuis Harris

Best Supporting Performer – Short Film – Little Matchmakers – Summer Kitchens, Sienna Kitchens, Eric Roberts, Penny Johnson Jerald

Best Performance by a Duo – The Black Bart of Taco King #17 – Jasmine Mathews & Christopher Dietrick

Best Performance by a Cast – A King’s Curtain

Best Editing – Feature Film – The Way We Move – Sébastien Mercier de Sainte-Croix

Best Editing – Featurette – No Signal – Kody Newton

Best Editing – Short Film – Yellow Jersey – Damien Smith

Best Cinematography – Feature Film – Sell Your House – Eric Foss

Best Cinematography – Featurette – Talented – Truman Hatfield

Best Cinematography – Short Film – The Door – Med Ayed

Best Production Design – Feature Film – Mountain King

Best Production Design – Featurette – Focal Point – Jessie Clarkson

Best Production Design – Short Film – Lone Crew – Su Tonani

Best Sound Design – Feature Film – The Way We Move – Yohann Henry

Best Sound Design – Featurette – Supplemental – Jacob Proctor

Best Sound Design – Short Film – Wonderland – Creighton Yanchar

Best Score – Feature Film – Mountain King – Andrew Pattenaude

Best Score – Featurette – Talented – Keaton Lewis, Scott Tucker

Best Score – Short Film – Imago – Robert Crouch

Best Song – Talented – “Almost Gone” by Jordan Cathryn & Ananda Dhar-James

Best Produced Screenplay – Feature Film – What We Dreamed of Then – Taylor Olson

Best Produced Screenplay – Featurette – The Country They Call Life – Grace Sims

Best Produced Screenplay – Short Film – Fireflies in the Dusk – Jonathan Hammond, Ryan Roach

Grand Jury Awards – Screenplay Competition

Best Screenplay – Feature Film – Demonequin ‘87 by Warren Proulx Jr

Best Screenplay – Pilot / Series – Stranded by Amy Kay DuBoff

Best Screenplay – Short Film – The Debutante’s Gown by Ashley Heathcock

Finalist – Best Screenplay – Feature Film – At the Mercy of Faith

Finalist – Best Screenplay – Feature Film – Blonde in the Congo

Finalist – Best Screenplay – Feature Film – Golden Slumbers

Finalist – Best Screenplay – Feature Film – Heartbreaker

Finalist – Best Screenplay – Feature Film – Lines in the Sand

Finalist – Best Screenplay – Feature Film – Princess Di and the Lesbians

Finalist – Best Screenplay – Feature Film – Sanguis Septem

Finalist – Best Screenplay – Feature Film – The Dragon King

Finalist – Best Screenplay – Feature Film – Until The Time We Die

Finalist – Best Screenplay – Pilot / Series – Imperfect

Finalist – Best Screenplay – Pilot / Series – Quest For The Cryptids

Finalist – Best Screenplay – Pilot / Series – The Last Word

Finalist – Best Screenplay – Pilot / Series – Unshut

Finalist – Best Screenplay – Short Film – Dad’s Dr Visit

Finalist – Best Screenplay – Short Film – Death Sentence

Finalist – Best Screenplay – Short Film – Ex-Hale

Finalist – Best Screenplay – Short Film – Retribution

Filmmakers Awards

Outstanding Short Film – Animation – The Quiet Year

Outstanding Direction – Animation – The Ottoman – Mike Stamm

Outstanding Writing – Animation – Firstborn – Olivia G Porrill

Outstanding Originality – Animation – Firstborn

Outstanding Short Film – Arthouse/Experimental – Imago

Outstanding Direction – Arthouse/Experimental – Imago – Mark Steger

Outstanding Writing – Arthouse/Experimental – Chicken Salad – CK Thornton

Outstanding Cast Performance – Arthouse/Experimental – Chicken Salad

Outstanding Originality – Arthouse/Experimental – EQUAL

Outstanding Short Film – Comedy – Check Please

Outstanding Short Film – Comedy – Just Visiting

Outstanding Short Film – Comedy – The Debut

Outstanding Direction – Comedy – Butt/Stuff – Ricki Romano

Outstanding Writing – Comedy – the HOLE truth – Alison Whitney

Outstanding Cast Performance – Comedy – Circumstantial Forgiveness

Outstanding Originality – Comedy – Consumed By You

Outstanding Short Film – Drama – Everything Between Us

Outstanding Short Film – Drama – Hill Boy

Outstanding Direction – Drama – Cadavre Exquis – Lorenzo Sterzi

Outstanding Direction – Drama – Stay In The Car – Calvin Ghaznavi

Outstanding Direction – Drama – Vasomotor Rhinitis – Mikheil Gabaidze

Outstanding Writing – Drama – Dizzy – Zac La Roc, Olivia Allen

Outstanding Writing – Drama – Vasomotor Rhinitis – The short film was based on Anton Chekhov’s "Death of a Civil Servant" story

Outstanding Cast Performance – Drama – The Door

Outstanding Originality – Drama – Afterthoughts

Outstanding Originality – Drama – Right On!

Outstanding Short Film – Horror – Bad Insect

Outstanding Short Film – Horror – MascLooking

Outstanding Short Film – Horror – White Meat: Appetizer

Outstanding Direction – Horror – Majorette – Kate Ohlweiler

Outstanding Direction – Horror – The Candle – Ren Ariel Sano

Outstanding Writing – Horror – Hide – Brian Barnes

Outstanding Writing – Horror – White Meat: Appetizer – David Dylan Thomas

Outstanding Cast Performance – Horror – Bad Insect

Outstanding Cast Performance – Horror – Wonderland

Outstanding Cast Performance – Horror – You’re Not Safe

Outstanding Originality – Horror – Bad Insect

Outstanding Originality – Horror – The Candle

Outstanding Originality – Horror – You’re Not Safe

Outstanding Short Film – Sci-Fi – Intergalactic Ingenue

Outstanding Short Film – Sci-Fi – Star-Crossed

Outstanding Direction – Sci-Fi – Intergalactic Ingenue – Nathan Deshawn Bouie

Outstanding Direction – Sci-Fi – Lone Crew – Gabriel Fontes

Outstanding Writing – Sci-Fi – Star-Crossed – Bud Myrick, Kevin Hoffer

Outstanding Writing – Sci-Fi – Starfisher – Anthony Ferraro

Outstanding Cast Performance – Sci-Fi – Barbrix! or How to Maybe Capture a Psychic Hominid

Outstanding Cast Performance – Sci-Fi – Lone Crew

Outstanding Originality – Sci-Fi – Barbrix! or How to Maybe Capture a Psychic Hominid

Outstanding Short Film – Thriller – Stay In The Car

Outstanding Short Film – Thriller – The Black Bart of Taco King #17

Outstanding Short Film – Thriller – The Brutal Alchemy of Water

Outstanding Direction – Thriller – Stay In The Car – Calvin Ghaznavi

Outstanding Direction – Thriller – The Door – James Graham

Outstanding Writing – Thriller – No Mercy – Sophiane AFROUN

Outstanding Writing – Thriller – The Bee – Ben Rejzer

Outstanding Cast Performance – Thriller – No Mercy

Outstanding Originality – Thriller – The Bee

Outstanding Music Video – Sober

Outstanding Direction – Music Video – Soda Gardocki – Waltzes, Trains, Wires & Wood – Jessica c Moncrief

Outstanding Writing – Music Video – Sober – August Falcon

Outstanding Cast Performance – Music Video – Soda Gardocki – Waltzes, Trains, Wires & Wood

Outstanding Originality – Music Video – Sober

Audience Awards

Feature Film – Nothing to See Here: Watts

Featurette – No Signal

Short Film – The Reveal

Programmer’s Prize

Exceptional Filmmaking – 404

Exceptional Filmmaking – Closure

Exceptional Filmmaking – Journeys

Exceptional Filmmaking – Lone Wolf

Exceptional Filmmaking – MASC

Exceptional Filmmaking – Something Borrowed

Award Definitions / Explanations

Best In Fest – Determined by the festival’s official selection committee, this category was added because overall awards can help make us eligible to be an Oscar Qualifying festival. (A nice person at the Academy explained that our idealistic belief that awards should be divided by genre prevented us from becoming an Oscar Qualifying festival. We adapted and… wish us luck!)

Grand Jury Awards – Determined by the festival’s official selection committee.

Filmmakers Awards – Determined by a panel of filmmakers whose films have been Official Selections previous years and given only to short films.

Audience Awards – Determined by highly scientific instruments to measure audience satisfaction.

Programmer’s Prize – Determined by festival programmer Jeff Howard as a reward for his hard work. Importantly, having his own awards means he never has to put his finger on the scale for the other awards.