LAFA Winners - September 2026
Best Picture
A Palmful Of Stars - Jingwu Ning
Best Narrative Feature
A Palmful Of Stars - Jingwu Ning
Best Narrative Short
Boatlift 9/11 - Tricia Aurand, Dale Fabrigar
Best Indie Feature
Deeply Truly Fully - Nathan Shane Miller
Best Indie Short
The Silver Ridge Shutdown - Madison Rojas
Best Drama
Before Our Story Ends - Shahinda Elsayed
Best Parody
Chiligods Highlight Zone - Frank W Yates, Julio Martinez
Best Romance Film
Boy Scientist: The Prequel to Forever - Susan Mey Lee Lim, Christina Teenz Tan
Best Sci-Fi
Eternal Springtime - Diego Madrigal, Alex Wanke, Sadia Williams
Best Experimental Film
Isomer - Nikki Silvestre
Best Inspirational Film
Damascus - John Kestner
Best Musical
Boy Scientist: The Prequel to Forever - Susan Mey Lee Lim, Christina Teenz Tan
Best Fantasy Film
The Kingdom of Rexmonte - Rebeccah Crabtree
Best AI Film
Roya - Chang Liu
Best Web/TV Pilot
The Monster’s Club: The Aftermath - Federica Alice Carlino
Best Virtual Reality
La Pandora's Box - Nadeem Majdalany
Best Commercial
PetMedEval - Jonathan Fuld
Best Documentary
What is gone and what remains - Isa Wang, Tina Guo, Cindy Zhang
Best Music Video
Señorita - Joseph W FrazilJr, Derek Lopez, Jaycool Charisma
Best Student Film
Soundcheck - Gabriella Fabrizio, Nathan Worley
Best Microfilm
Antediluvian Falls: Internal Stalker - James Abroms
Best Director (Feature)
The Kingdom of Rexmonte - Rebeccah Crabtree
Best Director (Short)
Boatlift 9/11 - Dale Fabrigar
Best First Time Director (Feature)
The Kingdom of Rexmonte - Rebeccah Crabtree
Best First Time Director (Short)
November Men - Jake Alda
Best Young Filmmaker
Before We Go Home - Yuxuan Wang
Best Actor
Soundcheck - Phil Aman
Best Actress
A Palmful Of Stars - Nazakati Maihemuti
Best Actor in an Indie Film
What the Wind Chime Heard - Hanxin Qin
Best Actress in an Indie Film
If Only - Angela Fornero
Best Supporting Actress
Legacy - Shemeka Wright
Best Child Actor
Manzil - Rian Mukherjee
Best Duo
Boatlift 9/11 - Sophia Helin & Presley Elliott
Best Ensemble
The Kingdom of Rexmonte - Maria Alej Alva, David W Rice, JeaDa Lay, Marcia Hopson, James Arthur Sims, Thomas Michael, Grace Maddux, Nick Jacobs, Ronan Melomo
Best Editing
Boatlift 9/11 - Radu Ion
Best Score
Tafiti: Across The Desert - Carsten Rocker
Best Song
Boy Scientist: The Prequel to Forever - Ron Josef Danziger, Manu Martin, Susan Mey Lee Lim, Christina Teenz Tan
Inspiring Woman in a Film
Proof of Life - Tenley Eakin Raj
Best Original Story
The Kingdom of Rexmonte - Rebeccah Crabtree
Screenplay of the Month
Murder Tour - Ryan Stack
Best Feature Screenplay
Murder Tour - Ryan Stack
Best Short Screenplay
Ring Around the Peonies - Karen Campion
Best Drama Screenplay
Before You Go - Christina Araujo
Best Comedy Screenplay
Family Time - Feature - Kamal A.D. Williams
Best Horror Screenplay
Reunion Tour - Elyda Rotaru, Hernando Caicedo
Best Thriller Screenplay
Grolar - Greg Nichols
Best Action Screenplay
The Crimson Collar - Dan Burle, Sr.
Best First Time Screenwriter (Feature)
The Reincarnation of Marie - Henry Russell Woodman
Best First Time Screenwriter (Short)
Family Time - Short - Kamal A.D. Williams
Best Television Script
Make Olympus Great Again - Vasilisa Belokon, Andres Lopez
Special Jury Award - Film
Before Our Story Ends - Shahinda Elsayed
Special Jury Award - Screenplay
The Undertow - Robert Ellis
Special Jury Award - AI Project
Devil's Elbow - John Batiste Darbonne
* Stay updated with the festival's latest news on Instagram: @lafilmawards
* Winners may order an official LAFA statuette
* Winners may order a review - FilmFreeway Gold members get $50 off
* Selected projects will qualify for the 13th Annual LAFA 2028
