The following projects — including short films, television and web series, and screenplays — have been selected as finalists for the Winter 2025-2026 quarter, competing across 22 genre-specific categories, as well as technical categories.
These finalists were shortlisted from an official selection pool with an acceptance rate of 54.4%, drawn from submissions representing 17 countries. The total runtime is 18:54:01, in addition to the short scripts.
Nominees represent the top 30.6% 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.
Winter 2025-2026 Nominations – Technical Competitions
Winter 2025-2026 – Semi-Finalists
Best Narrative Short (Grand Jury Prize)
Anyways by Danni Wang (China)
How to Rebury Your Friend by Pengfei Fan (China)
The Secret Night by Yitong Liu (China)
Best Foreign Short (Grand Jury Prize)
Ball by Fubao Fan (China)
La Paura dei Numeri (The Fear of Numbers) by Mauro John Capece (Italy)
Mom Is Here by Zhigang Zhao (China)
The Gift of Talisman by Weixing Chen (China)
The Moon I Stole by Tinghan Zhou (China)
Best Documentary Short
America’s Dermatologist by Manuel Izquierdo (USA)
Iran In The Hermitage by Behrouz Sebt Rasoul (Iran)
Raisin D’Etre by Byron Russell (USA)
The 3100 by Mark Fisher (USA)
The Road to Til by Rajan Kathet (Nepal)
Best Comedy Short
For the Love of Money by Joseph Kowalski (USA)
Jingle Jangle by Sionne Elise (USA)
Veronica by Brett Dos Santos (USA)
Best Thriller Short
TBA
Best Sci-Fi Short
TBA
Best Fantasy Short
The Dandelion Girl by Rogan Lovse (Canada)
The Forgotten Door by Anzor Mulkoev (USA)
The Ones Who Can Fly in Their Dreams by Yiğit Batuk (Turkey)
Best Animation Short
Rooary by Octavio Ponce (USA)
Semicolon by Ye Chen (USA)
Smudge: An Inkomplete Tale by Brenda Weede (USA)
Best Children Short
TBA
Best Student Short
A Lasting Place by Juwan Rashaad Howard (USA)
Herminia by Diana Shield (USA)
Swan’s Requiem by Wenjing Xing (China)
Best Newcomer Short
Am Wasser by Claudius von Stolzmann (Austria/Germany)
Habitat by Lezhi Niu (China)
To Shine Again by Marcell Leon Viragh (Hungary/USA)
Best Experimental Short
TBA
Best Microfilm
The Harpies by Rogan Lovse (Canada)
Unruly by David Ernesto Herrera (UK)
What Could Have Been by Amanda Barakat and Sam Chou (Canada)
Best Web Series/TV Pilot
TBA
Best Music Video
Lullaby by Oleksandr Shvets (Ukraine)
Sacred Heart by Christopher Cash (USA)
You Are Special by Ilia Noyabrov (Ukraine)
Best Short Script
A Choice by Sophia Lee (USA)
Crime & Punishment 2121 by Jim Norman (USA)
Sunday by Rosanne Kang (Canada)
The Business Of Health by Luis Escobar (USA)
World With No Bargains by William Mariano (USA)
Winter 2025-2026 Nominations – Technical Competitions
Winter 2025-2026 – Semi-Finalists
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