The following projects (short films, TV & web series, and music videos) are the finalists of the Spring 2026 quarter season competing across the genre categories, plus the technical ones.
These finalists were shortlisted from an official selection pool with an acceptance rate of 47.7%, drawn from submissions representing 20 countries with a total runtime of 22:29:26, in addition to the short scripts.
Nominees represent the top 20.2% of all submissions for the season.
Categories not listed did not receive submissions that met the minimum qualifying score.
TBA categories include two or fewer qualifying entries; award winners in these categories will be announced alongside the winners of all other categories.
Spring 2026 Nominations – Technical Competitions
Best Narrative Short (Grand Jury Prize)
2 (TU:) by Julian Kleinert and Amélie Siegmund (Germany/USA)
Bury Me Not by Joshua C McKenzie (USA)
The Last Goodbye by Kailey Wolf (USA)
Best Foreign Short (Grand Jury Prize)
& That Fifth Toy by Sandeep Sinha (India)
Massage Baby! by Ke Zhang (USA)
The Passion of the Strawberry by Amro El-tetawy (Austria)
Best Documentary Short
Drawn To Justice by Richard Van Kleeck (USA)
Fara í Vikingu by Rémi Ramecourt (France)
Uninvited by Maya Schulefand (USA)
Best Student Short
TBA
Best Experimental Short
First Breath by Hyojung Kim (South Korea)
Trace of Nowhere by Rei Stott (Japan)
Who Framed Tholomew by Brett Willis (USA)
Best Newcomer Short
2 (TU:) by Julian Kleinert and Amélie Siegmund (Germany/USA)
之 (Between) 间 by Andrea Florenza (USA)
Pokedbots Delta City by Jonathan Ball (UK)
Best Microfilm
TBA
Best Comedy Short
TBA
Best Animation Short
Burning Rope by Juan Belardi (USA)
Reflection by Daniel Robichaud (USA)
The Ballad of a Wandering Rider by Tomáš Svašek (Czechia)
Best Children Short
TBA
Best Fantasy Short
TBA
Best Sci-Fi Short
TBA
Best Horror Short
TBA
Best Thriller Short
TBA
Best Crime Short
TBA
Best Women Short
Savannah’s Curse by Tamara Lisa Cook (Australia)
之 (Between) 间 by Andrea Florenza (USA)
Hello Susan by Susan Weiss (USA)
Best LGBTQ Short
TBA
Best Screendance Short
A Complete Mess by Ying Hu (China)
Embodied Landscapes by Laura Sukowatey and Jessalyn Finch (USA)
Trace of Nowhere by Rei Stott (Japan)
Best Music Video
Just Like Selma by Nolan Williams, Jr. (USA)
MerryGo by John Laww (USA)
Wood by Deepthi Welaratna (USA)
Best Web Series/TV Pilot
Warm Soda by Ethan Satsky (USA)
Round the Corner by Russ Emanuel (USA)
The Single(s) by Byron Nora (USA)
Best Short Script
Bully by Lia Martin (USA)
I Love You Tammy Cunningham by Gregory Paul (USA)
Influence by Quinn Katherman (USA)
Murder on Mute by Quinn Katherman and Pete Johnson (USA)
The Only One I See by Clinton Morales (USA)
Spring 2026 Nominations – Technical Competitions
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