2026 Awards!
Thank you to our 2026 Jury: Amy Jenkins, Angelo Madsen, Annie Sprinkle, and Beth Stephens
See the award winning films during tonight’s Best of the Fest Screenings at 5:00 PM and 7:00 PM
Category Awards (Given by the Jury)
1st Prize Animation Short
Tourists
Director: Maria Kralovič, Animation, Czech Republic, France, Slovakia, 15 min
1st Prize Documentary Short
Correct Me If I’m Wrong
Director: Hao Zhou, Documentary, China, 22 min
1st Prize Narrative Short
Nava
Director: Dena Rassam, Narrative, Iran, 16 min
1st Prize Experimental Short
Placeholder
Director: Jesse McLean, Experimental, USA, 12 min
1st Prize Music Video
Track | Trace
Director: Gene Gort, Experimental, USA, 5 min
1st Prize Ohio Based Student Film
Cut From A Different Cloth
Director: David Oyuke, Documentary, USA, 5 min
1st Prize Feature Narrative
So Far All Good
Director: $ECK, Narrative, USA, 72 min
1st Prize Feature Documentary
Little, Big, and Far
Director: Jem Cohen, Documentary, Austria, USA, 122 min
Named Awards
Research Award (Sponsored by Ohio University Libraries)
Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World
Director: Sasha Waters, Documentary, USA, 91 min
Black Bear Award for Best Use of Sound (Named for our friend John Butler)
Domestic Demon
Director: Anahid Yahjian, Experimental, USA, Portugal, 6 min
Film House Award for Visionary Filmmaking (Named for our friend Ed Lachman)
Winter in March
Director: Natalia Mirzoyan, Animation, Estonia, 16 min
Another World is Possible Award (Sponsored by filmmaker Kelly Gallagher)
Happiness
Director: Firat Yücel, Experimental, Netherlands, 18 min
Programmers Prize (Awarded by the assistant programming team and student workers)
Engine of Love
Director: Mira-Belle Rose Bryld, Narrative, Germany, 23 min
From the Booth Award (Awarded by the AIFVF projection team: Conner Baker, Dan Bruell, and Dan Moray)
Into the Dark
Director: Fiona Otway, Documentary, USA, 18 min
Director’s Prize (Awarded by AIFVF festival director David Colagiovanni)
Grape Maestro
Director: Alla Kovgan, Narrative, Italy, 20 min
Special Jury Mentions
That Night
Director: Hoda Sobhani, Animation, Iran, 11 min
Survival Without Rent
Directors: Elana Meyers, Katie Heiserman, Documentary, USA, 22 min
Disc
Director: Blake Rice, Narrative, USA, 14 min
Like Other People
Director: Luisa Nöllke, Leo Dzhyshyashvili, Narrative, Germany, 17 min
Thick & Sweet
Director: Yinan Wang, Experimental, USA, 15 min