The 2026 Florida Film Festival announced Filmmaker Awards. The winners were announced at a ceremony at the Enzian Theater following a 35th Anniversary edition of the annual film festival.
Florida Film Festival Executive Director Wade Neal, said, "This Florida Film Festival was my first as the new Executive Director, and it exceeded what was already very high expectations on my part for an exciting, well-curated, and outrageously fun film event. These award winners are wonderful representatives of the amazing films we screened and filmmakers we hosted throughout the fest."
FFF Programming Director, Matthew Curtis, added, "There is always an additional expectation and anticipation during a film festival’s big anniversary year. This one fulfilled that for our film fans, our staff, and a wonderful group of filmmakers. The fact that two of those films doubled up on awards – a first for us – seems very appropriate to cap the uniqueness of our 35th edition."
The Florida Film Festival's jurors for this edition included:
The Narrative Features Competition Jury
Brian Andreotti (Co-Founder and Director of Acquisitions for Music Box Films)
Aaron Koontz (FFF Alumni and Independent Spirit Award nominated filmmaker)
Violet Lucca (Film Critic and Author)
The Documentary Competition Jury
Brian Bolster (5-Time FFF Alumni Director and Grand Jury Award Winner)
Grace Cheung (Director of Strategic Initiatives at Magnolia Pictures)
Clint Worthington (Assistant Editor at RogerEbert.com)
Shorts Competition Jury
Dwight Brown (Former Chairman of the New York Film Critics Circle)
Radha Mehta (Slamdance Award Winning director and FFF Alumni)
Guillermo Restrepo (Director of Publicity IFC Entertainment Group)
The 2026 Florida Film Festival Award Winners:
Grand Jury Awards
Best Narrative Feature
Junkie
Director: William Means
Special Jury Award – Narrative Feature
Valentina
Director: Tatti Ribeiro
Best Documentary Feature
Seized
Director: Sharon Liese
Best Narrative Short
The Last Day of Byron Bray
Director: Michael Borrelli
Special Jury Award – Narrative Short
Disc
Director: Blake Winston Rice
Best Documentary Short
Hollywood’s Mermaid: The Esther Williams Story
Director: Brian Gersten
Special Jury Award – Documentary Short
Trapped
Directors: Madeline Engle, Joe Purtell
Best Animated Short
1981
Directors: Andy London, Carolyn London
Audience Awards
Best Narrative Feature
Junkie
Director: William Means
Best Documentary Feature
First They Came for My College
Director: Patrick Bresnan
Best Florida Feature
Frogtown
Director: Costa Karalis
Best International Feature
Tuner
Director: Daniel Roher
Best Short Film
The Last Day of Byron Bray
Director: Michael Borrelli
Best Florida Short
Welcome
Director: Justin Whittingham
Best Midnight Short
The Seeing Eye Dog Who Saw Too Much
Director: Eric Jackowitz
Best International Short
I Gaze at the Sky
Director: Alexandra Strunin
The Florida Film Festival (FFF) is an Oscar®-qualifying festival that has been showcasing the best in independent, documentary, and international cinema since 1992. Presented by Enzian Theater in Maitland, Florida, the 10-day event features 160+ films, filmmaker Q&As, panel discussions, and world-class special events. FFF is one of only a handful of festivals in the U.S. that qualifies in all three Academy Award® short film categories: Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, and Documentary Short Subject.