HollyShorts Film Festival Announces 2026 Award Nominees

Top 10 Live Action Short Film Finalists Vie for the Festival’s Oscar®-Qualifying Award

The HollyShorts Film Festival today announced the nominees and finalists for its 22nd annual edition, recognizing standout achievements in short-form filmmaking from emerging and established storytellers around the world.

Taking place August 13–23, 2026 in Hollywood, HollyShorts brings together filmmakers, talent and industry leaders for screenings, panels, networking events and celebrations of independent cinema, culminating in the annual HollyShorts Awards Gala on Sunday, August 23.

At the center of this year’s competition are the Top 10 Live Action Short Film Finalists, competing for HollyShorts’ coveted Oscar®-qualifying awards, Grand Prix and Best Live-Action. They will also vie for the Best Director Award.

TOP 10 LIVE ACTION SHORT FILM FINALISTS

• Callback
• Echoes
• FAUX BIJOUX
• I Am the Prize
• Life Goes On
• Meeting Your Maker
• Never Give Up
• PALE SUN
• Talk Me
• VULTURES

BEST ANIMATION

• Apart
• Captives
• Gauze
• Saba
• With Tapes and Toasts in the Car

BEST DOCUMENTARY

• I Got My Brother
• The Chimney Sweeper
• The Second Life of Freddie Nole
• The Time My Grandmother Was Held Hostage by Bank Robbers
• When the Revolution Doesn’t Come

BEST DRAMA

• Copy, Save
• For Niko
• Gobstopper

BEST COMEDY

• Callback
• Disc
• The Oracle

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Hyena
• Shutterspeed
• The Kalgan Horse

BEST EDITING

• A Crime Across Four Landscapes
• How Brief
• HYENA

BEST HORROR

• Banshee
• Benny’s Second Birthday
• Thick Skin

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Betty St. Clair
• King of the Iron Will
• La Lucha de Lucia

BEST STUNTS

• Floor
• kaya (ᜃᜌ)
• The Impression

BEST INTERNATIONAL

• FAUX BIJOUX
• Souvenir
• VULTURES

BEST MIDNIGHT MADNESS

• MORTY
• Thanks to Meet You!
• The Seeing Eye Dog Who Saw Too Much

BEST MUSIC VIDEO

• Archbishop Harold Holmes
• The Macks – Dually of Man x The Modern Grape
• Weval — Open Up That Door

BEST PERFORMANCE

• Down the Length
• I Am the Prize
• Katya

BEST PRODUCER

• Bobby
• Last Stand at Butte City
• Laundreams

SAGINDIE AWARD

• Them That’s Not
• FarEye
• Woman Land

SOCIAL IMPACT AWARD

• AMERICA
• EXTREMIST
• Water Cooler

BEST SCI-FI

• EUROPA
• Imprint
• Infinite Rifts

BEST STUDENT FILM

• Crisis Actor
• Pankaja
• See You, Soon

HOLLYSHORTS × FILMIO STUDIOS AUDIENCE SHORT FILM DISCOVERY PARTNERSHIP

HollyShorts and Filmio Studios have also revealed the Top 10 finalists for their Audience Short Film Discovery Partnership, with five winners set to share $15,000 in cash prizes:

• Another Day in New York — Adam & Sean Pine
• Anxiety — Vladyslav Fidryk
• Christmas Angels — Remington Hoffman
• DOMINO SPRINGS — Dan Hertzog
• From Way Up Here — Celeste Chaney
• Girl | Dad — Lianzi Fields
• Jes and Lora — Patrick Coleman Duncan
• Naughty Maids — Rommel Rojas
• Size Queen — Kenny Fierro
• The POP — Eric J. Rodriguez

KODAK AWARDS

KODAK BEST SHOT ON FILM — 35MM

• It Comes in Waves
• Kink
• Signal

KODAK BEST SHOT ON FILM — 16MM

• El Tiguere
• FAUX BIJOUX
• Gobstopper

BEST TV

• Do I Know You From Somewhere?
• Savage
• Too Romantic

BEST EFFECTS

• Europa
• Oneiros
• The Color

BEST WEB SERIES

• Birth is for P*ssies
• Love Bomb Squad
• Why Do You Hate Me?

MADE IN LA AWARD

• Aaron and His Dad Try To Find Closure & Lucy Celebrates Andie’s Birthday at Universal Citywalk Hollywood
• Christmas Angels
• Spill the Frijoles

BEST MUSIC DOCUMENTARY

• Beatport x Miller Mix: Georgia
• Reflections Under the Electric Sky
• shut the fuck up, when WE speak

BEST SPORTS DOCUMENTARY

• Miles of Life
• SET PACE
• Zina

BEST PODCAST

• Abandoned: The All-American Ruins Podcast
• Don’t Worry, No One’s Listening
• TWO THOUSAND AND LATE

About HollyShorts Film Festival
The Academy Awards® and BAFTA®-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival celebrates its 22nd edition in 2026, continuing its mission of championing short-form filmmakers and connecting emerging and established storytellers with audiences and entertainment-industry leaders.

The 2026 HollyShorts Film Festival runs August 13–23, 2026, headquartered at the TCL Chinese Theatres and venues throughout Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles. The festival culminates with the HollyShorts Awards Gala on Sunday, August 23, 2026.

For festival information, schedules and tickets, visit HollyShorts.com.

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