
American Indie Film Critics Awards 2026



Ailene
By Liesel Galletly
BEST ARTHOUSE SHORT SCRIPT 2026 & BEST ORIGINAL WRITING STYLE

Walking With God
Lois M. Banks
BEST ARTHOUSE NARRATIVE FEATURE 2026

Hot Afternoons Have Been in Montana
By Ken Kimmelman
BEST INTERNATIONAL VIDEO POETRY 2026 & BEST DIRECTOR (Category: Video Poetry)

Credo
By Don Pasquale Ferone
BEST EUROPEAN SONG, BEST GUITARIST & BEST SPIRITUAL SONG WRITER
Alzati dal buio
By Don Pasquale Ferone
BEST INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS SONG & BEST INDIE SINGER 2026

My Hollywood Circus
By Roger Paradiso
BEST INTERNATIONAL BOOK 2026
The Queen of Camelot
By Roger Paradiso
BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIE MOVIEMAKER 2026

The New Immigrant- Hong Kongers
By Vivian Tsang
BEST INTERNATIONAL FIRST TIME DIRECTOR 2026, BEST SOCIAL DOCUMENTARY 2026 & BEST ARTHOUSE CINEMATOGRAPHY

The Little Match-Seller
By Danilo Del Tufo
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM 2026 & BEST EUROPEAN DIRECOR 2026 (Category: Animation)
Zone
By Danilo Del Tufo
BEST ORIGINAL CINEMATIC VISION

Virulence
By Christopher Pennington
BEST INDIE FEATURE SCRIPT 2026, BEST INTERNATIONAL WRITING STYLE & BEST SCREENWRITER

AMERICA BOXED IN
By Ian S. Williams & Casey Williams
BEST ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURE 2026, BEST PRODUCER & BEST AMERICAN DIRECTOR (Category: International Documentary Feature)


The Revenge Club
By Marla Eaton
BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT SCRIPT 2026 & BEST ORIGINAL ARTHOUSE SCREENWRTITER

And We Were Left Darkling
By Lynn Elliott
BEST INDIE FEATURE SCRIPT 2026
Alta California
By Lynn Elliott
BEST AMERICAN WRITER OF THE YEAR

Ventricular
By Akal Demir
BEST ORIGINAL FILMMAKER 2026 & BEST INDIE SCREENPLAY
Cataclysm Down Under – Hero
By Akal Demir
BEST ARTHOUSE DIRECTOR 2026

The Dead Ringer
By Suzanne Lutas
BEST SCREENPLAY 2026 & BEST ORIGINAL INDIE SCREENWRITER

A Pilgrimage Into Tibet
By Mark Gould
BEST HUMAN RIGHTS SHORT DOCUMENTARY 2026 & BEST INTERNATIONAL FILMMAKER

Not Without Gloves
By Lena Mattsson
BEST EXPERIMENTAL DIRECTOR 2026, BEST EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER & BEST ORIGINAL POETIC SHORT FILM
The Aesthetics of Failure
By Lena Mattsson
BEST EUROPEAN VIDEOPOETRY 2026 & BEST INSPIRATIONAL EDITING
The Rorschach Test
By Lena Mattsson
BEST EXPERIMENTAL INDIE MOVIEMAKER 2026

Sheldon Mashugana gets stooged
By Dean Morgan
BEST COMEDY 2026, BEST ACTOR (Category: COMEDY) & BEST AMERICAN PRODUCER

My Life as a Piece of Space Debris
By Damien Donnelly
BEST ARTHOUSE DOCUMENTARY SHORT 2026




The Revenge Club
By Marla Eaton
BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT SCRIPT 2026 & BEST ORIGINAL ARTHOUSE SCREENWRTITER
Heaven
By AnayaMusic Kunst
BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIE MUSIC VIDEO 2026 & BEST ORIGINAL SINGER
My Hollywood Circus
By Roger Paradiso
BEST INTERNATIONAL BOOK 2026
The Queen of Camelot
By Roger Paradiso
BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIE MOVIEMAKER 2026
Moviment I – Discipline: Episode I Of The Harmony Saga
By Timothy Bradley Reinhold
BEST INTERNATIONAL ANIMATED FILM 2026 & BEST AMERICAN INDIE DIRECTOR
And We Were Left Darkling
By Lynn Elliott
BEST INDIE FEATURE SCRIPT 2026
Alta California
By Lynn Elliott
BEST AMERICAN WRITER OF THE YEAR
The Blanket
By Susanna Donau
BEST INDIE DIRECTOR 2026 (Category: Animated Short Film)
Hope is not a black and white Rainbow
By Harold L. Brown
BEST ORIGINAL ARTHOUSE FEATURE SCRIPT 2026 & BEST ORIGINAL IDEA (Category: Screenwriter)
Ailene
By Liesel Galletly
BEST ARTHOUSE SHORT SCRIPT 2026 & BEST ORIGINAL WRITING STYLE
A Pilgrimage Into Tibet
By Mark Gould
BEST HUMAN RIGHTS SHORT DOCUMENTARY 2026 & BEST INTERNATIONAL FILMMAKER
Wave Man
By Anna Morelli
BEST EUROPEAN SCREENPLAY 2026
Appointment With The Plague Doctor, Lester Haywood
By Lori S. Strange
BEST INTERNATIONAL HORROR 2026
Walking With God
Lois M. Banks
BEST ARTHOUSE NARRATIVE FEATURE 2026
Hot Afternoons Have Been in Montana
By Ken Kimmelman
BEST INTERNATIONAL VIDEO POETRY 2026 & BEST DIRECTOR (Category: Video Poetry)
Cassandra Venice
By Hugo Teugels
BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTHOUSE MOVIEMAKER 2026
AI vs Deep State
By Katalin Weith
BEST INTERNATIONAL WEB/TV SERIES 2026
NOI Crusaders
By Stefano Sernagiotto
BEST SPORT FILM 2026 & EUROPEAN INDIE FILMMAKER
AMERICA BOXED IN
By Ian S. Williams & Casey Williams
BEST ORIGINAL DOCUMENTARY FEATURE 2026, BEST PRODUCER & BEST AMERICAN DIRECTOR (Category: International Documentary Feature)
Colombano e la 21esima Fetta
By Paolo Pier Luigi Guglielmetti
BEST EUROPEAN INDIE NARRATIVE FEATURE 2026, BEST HISTORICAL SCREENPLAY & BEST INDIE MOVIEMAKER
Meet My Pet Monster
By James Storm
BEST DARK COMEDY 2026 & BEST AMERICAN FILMMAKER
I Waited for You
By Jennifer Glee
BEST ARTHOUSE EXPERIMENTAL FILM 2026 & BEST ORIGINAL IDEA
Soularis
By Janja Rakuš
BEST INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENTAL FILM 2026, BEST EUROPEAN INDIE FILMMAKER & BEST ARTHOUSE CINEMATOGRAPHY
Esperándote
By Jesus Schettino
BEST INTERNATIONAL FIRST TIME DIRECTOR 2026 & BEST ORIGINAL CINEMATIC VISION
My Life as a Piece of Space Debris
By Damien Donnelly
BEST ARTHOUSE DOCUMENTARY SHORT 2026
Stigma
By Mark Schoen
BEST INDIE DOCUMENTARY SHORT & BEST INDIE DIRECTOR 2026
Credo
By Don Pasquale Ferone
BEST EUROPEAN SONG, BEST GUITARIST & BEST SPIRITUAL SONG WRITER
Alzati dal buio
By Don Pasquale Ferone
BEST INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS SONG & BEST INDIE SINGER 2026
Fire Flies
Larry Gene Fortin
BEST AMERICAN INDIE FEATURE SCRIPT & BEST ARTHOUSE SCREENWRITER
The Golden Years
By Joseph Starzyk
BEST INDIE SHORT FILM & BEST ORIGINAL EDITING
Virulence
By Christopher Pennington
BEST INDIE FEATURE SCRIPT 2026, BEST INTERNATIONAL WRITING STYLE & BEST SCREENWRITER
Sheldon Mashugana gets stooged
By Dean Morgan
BEST INDIE COMEDY, BEST AMERICAN ACTOR & BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY (Category: International Comedy)
Brothers of Babylon
By Gabriel Womack
BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIE FEATURE SCRIPT 2026 & BEST AMERICAN WRITER 2026
Staycation
By Russell Emanuel
BEST DIRECTOR 2026, BEST SCREENPLAY (Category: Narrative Feature) BEST PICTURE 2026, BEST CASTING DIRECTOR, BEST COSTUME DESIGN, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY & BEST SOUNDTRACK
Monument to Love
By Jacob Comforty
BEST INDIE DOCUMENTARY FEATURE & BEST CAMERA OPERATOR
Freedoms Under Assault
By Jacob Comforty
BEST DIRECTOR (Category: Arthouse Documentary Feature)
Balkan Jazz
By Jacob Comforty
BEST INTERNATIONAL MUSIC DOCUMENTARY & BEST EDITING
The Duchess
By C. Arnold Curry
BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTHOUSE DRAMA 2026, BEST INDIE CAST & BEST SCREENWRITER 2026
An Ever After Drama
By Michelle Lynn
BEST INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE SHORT 2026, BEST ACRESS, BEST AMERICAN FILMMAKER & BEST SCREENPLAY (Category: International Film)
Behind The Algorithm
By Michelle Lynn
BEST ORIGINAL FEAURE SCRIPT 2026
Secrets of Montmartre
By Michelle Lynn
BEST INTERNATIONAL ROMANCE SCRIPT 2026 & BEST AMERICAN INDIE SCREENWRITER
Noise
By R. Scott MacLeay
BEST EXPERIMENTAL DIRECTOR 2026 & BEST EXPERIMENTAL SCREENPLAY
The edge into the past
By Gary St. Martin
BEST ORIGINAL TV PILOT 2026
Lacrime di Vento
By Damiano Rossi
BEST EDUCATIONAL FILM 2026 & BEST ORIGINAL INDIE FILMMAKER
The Little Match-Seller
By Danilo Del Tufo
BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM 2026 & BEST EUROPEAN DIRECOR 2026 (Category: Animation)
Zone
By Danilo Del Tufo
BEST ORIGINAL CINEMATIC VISION
The Jaguar and the Dragonfly
By Pamela PerryGoulardt
BEST SUPER SHORT FILM 2026 & BEST FILMMAKER
The Girl Made of Earth and Water
By Pamela PerryGoulardt
BEST ORIGINAL CINEMATOGRAPHY (Category: Super Short Film)
The Arcangel Of Death
By Vincenzo Amoruso
BEST EUROPEAN EXPERIMENTAL SHORT FILM & BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIE ACTOR 2026
We are Rivers
By Graciela Cassel
BEST INDIE SHORT DOCUMENTARY 2026 & BEST ARTHOUSE DIRECTOR
The New Immigrant- Hong Kongers
By Vivian Tsang
BEST INTERNATIONAL FIRST TIME DIRECTOR 2026, BEST SOCIAL DOCUMENTARY 2026 & BEST ARTHOUSE CINEMATOGRAPHY
American Money
By Timothy A McGhee
BEST AMERICAN FEATURE SCRIPT 2026, BEST ORIGINAL WRITING STYLE & BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTHOUSE SCREENWRITER
Omnipotent Resolution
By Uniqueness Heiress & Azia
BEST ORIGINAL MUSICAL 2026, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST INDIE DANCE FILM, & BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (Category: INDIE MUSIC VIDEO)
Ventricular
By Akal Demir
BEST ORIGINAL FILMMAKER 2026 & BEST INDIE SCREENPLAY
Cataclysm Down Under – Hero
By Akal Demir
BEST ARTHOUSE DIRECTOR 2026
The Pathos of Hamlet
By Sean Gregory Tansey
BEST DRAMA SHORT 2026 & BEST ORIGINAL ACTING
The Stones of Rome
By Sean Gregory Tansey
BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIE ACTOR 2026
The Dead Ringer
By Suzanne Lutas
BEST SCREENPLAY 2026 & BEST ORIGINAL INDIE SCREENWRITER
Not Without Gloves
By Lena Mattsson
BEST EXPERIMENTAL DIRECTOR 2026, BEST EUROPEAN CINEMATOGRAPHER & BEST ORIGINAL POETIC SHORT FILM
The Aesthetics of Failure
By Lena Mattsson
BEST EUROPEAN VIDEOPOETRY 2026 & BEST INSPIRATIONAL EDITING
The Rorschach Test
By Lena Mattsson
BEST EXPERIMENTAL INDIE MOVIEMAKER 2026
Elevation To The Depths I
By Andrew Noble
BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIE FEATURE SCRIPT 2026 & BEST ORIGINAL CINEMATIC VISION
Elevation To The Depths II
By Andrew Noble
BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTHOUSE SCREENWRITER 2026
Elevation To The Depths III
By Andrew Noble
BEST ARTHOUSE SCREENPLAY 2026
The Legend Of The Bum-Barian
By Kel Owens
BEST INDIE SHORT FILM 2026 & BEST ORIGINAL ACTOR
Christmas Card
By Kel Owens
BEST ARTHOUSE NARRATIVE SHORT & BEST SCREENPLAY SHORT 2026
Lost In 24
By May Liu
BEST EDITING & BEST INDIE FILMMAKER (Category: Indie Short)



And We Were Left Darkling
By Lynn Elliott
BEST ORIGINAL FEATURE SCRIPT 2026 & BEST INTERNATIONAL SCREENWRITER
Alta California
By Lynn Elliott
BEST HISTORICAL FEATURE SCRIPT & BEST WRITING STYLE
Black Bus
By Zsolt Pozsgai
BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT SCRIPT 2026 & BEST EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER
Free Birds
By Olaf Lenz
BEST INTERNATIONAL VIDEO PETRY 2026, BEST DIRECTOR & BEST ORIGINAL EDITING (Category: Video Poetry)
Legends of land of Quails House & Precious the baby dragon
By Dr Dawn Menge
BEST ORIGINAL BOOK 2026 & BEST INTERNATIONAL ARTHOUSE WRITER
Heaven
By AnayaMusic
BEST ORIGINAL INDIE SINGER 2026 & BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIE MUSIC VIDEO
Sheldon Mashugana gets Stooged
By Dean Morgan
BEST AMERICAN COMEDY 2026, BEST INTERNATIONAL COMEDIAN & BEST DIRECTOR (Category: Comedy)
Zone
By Danilo Del Tufo
BEST ORIGINAL NARRATIVE SHORT 2026, BEST ORIGINAL FILMMAKER & BEST EXPERIMENTAL CINEMATOGRAPHY
Staycation
By Russell Emanuel
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM 2026, BEST AMERICAN DIRECTOR, BEST SCREENPLAY (Category: Narrative Feature), BEST EDITING, BEST CASTING DIRECTOR & BEST PRODUCER
Virulence
By Christopher Pennington
BEST INDIE FEATURE SCRIPT 2026 & BEST ORIGINAL SCREENWRITER
The Stones of Rome
By Sean Gregory Tansey
BEST INTERNATIONAL ACTOR 2026 & BEST HISTORICAL SHORT FILM
The Pathos of Hamlet
By Sean Gregory Tansey
BEST POETRY SHORT FILM 2026, BEST ORIGINAL ACTING, BEST EXPERIMENTAL CINEMATOGRAPHER & BEST EXPERIMENTAL ARTHOUSE DIRECTOR
I Swear
By Richard VanOverbroeck
BEST MUSIC VIDEO 2026, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY & BEST ORIGINAL EDITING (Category: Music Video)
The Arcangel Of Death
By Vincenzo Amoruso
BEST EUROPEAN ACTOR 2026 & BEST ACTING (Category: Poetry Short Film)
Out of Control
By Bellopropello
BEST EXPERIMENTAL ANIMATION, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST EDITING, BEST PRODUCER & BEST SOUND DESIGNER (Category: Animated Short Film)
Split Focus
By Cherie Carson
BEST INTERNATIONAL DANCE FILM 2026 & BEST ORIGINAL FILMMAKER (Category: Dance Film)
The Duchess
By C. Arnold Curry
BEST ORIGINAL DRAMA 2026, BEST FILMMAKER, BEST ACTOR, BEST ACTRESS (Category: International Drama)
The Jaguar and the Dragonfly
By Pamela PerryGoulardt
BEST INDIE WRITER 2026 & BEST INTERNATIONAL SUPER SHORT SCRIPT
Lambada The Dance Of Fate
By Kai Fischer
BEST INTERNATIONAL BIOGRAPHICAL FEATURE SCRIPT & BEST GLOBAL ARTHOUSE SCREENWRITER
American Money
By Timothy A McGhee
BEST ORIGINAL WRITING STYLE 2026 (Category: FEATURE SCRIPT), BEST AMERICAN ARTHOUSE SCREENPLAY & BEST ORIGINAL IDEA (Category: International Indie Feature Script)
Alzati dal buio
By Don Pasquale Ferone
BEST INDIE SINGER & BEST SOCIAL SONG
Solo il bene
By Don Pasquale Ferone
BEST SONG WRITER 2026
Not Without Gloves
By Lena Mattsson
BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILMMAKER 2026 & BEST ORIGINAL POETIC SHORT FILM
The Rorschach Test
By Lena Mattsson
BEST INSPIRATIONAL FILM & BEST ACTRESS (Category: Experimental)
The Aesthetics of Failure
By Lena Mattsson
BEST INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENAL SHORT FILM 2026
Colombano e la 21esima Fetta
By Paolo Pier Luigi Guglielmetti
BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIE FILM 2026, BEST HISTORICAL SCREENPLAY, BEST COSTUME DESIGNER & BEST ORIGINAL INDIE DIRECTOR 2026
Brothers of Babylon
By Gabriel Womack
BEST AMERICAN FEATURE SCRIPT 2026, BEST ARTHOUSE SCREENWRITER & BEST ORIGINAL IDEA
Hot Afternoons Have Been in Montana
By Ken Kimmelman
BEST AMERICAN DIRECTOR 2026, BEST EXPERIMENTAL SCREENPLAY & BEST INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION COMPANY
Cataclysm Down Under – Hero
By Akal Demir
BEST ORIGINAL MOVIEMAKER 2026 & BEST INDIE SCREENPLAY SHORT
Ventricular
By Akal Demir
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY & BEST DIRECTOR 2026
Omnipotent Resolution
By Uniqueness Heiress & Azia
BEST INTERNATIONAL MUSICAL 2026, BEST FILMMAKER, BEST CHOREOGRAPHY & BEST DIRECTOR (Category: ARTHOUSE MUSIC VIDEO)
Doctor Hypotheses 2 – The Breakdown
By Vicentini Gomez
BEST ACTING, BEST ORIGINAL SCREENWRITER 2026 & BEST CINEMATIC IDEA
The New Immigrant- Hong Kongers
By Vivian Tsang
BEST INTERNATIONAL YOUNG FILMMAKER 2026, BEST EDITING (Category: Documentary) & BEST HUMAN RIGHTS DOCUMENTARY
Black Wolf
By Jamie Sutliff
BEST ORIGINAL SHORT FILM, BEST INDIE DIRECTOR & BEST SCREENPLAY SHORT 2026
Thankful
By Earnest Diaz
BEST INTERNATIONAL INDIE FEATURE SCRIPT 2026 & BEST ARTHOUSE WRITER 2026
The Priory of Sion and the treasure of abbey Sauniere of Rennes the Castle France
By Florence Cazebon-Taveau
BEST EUROPEAN WRITER 2026, BEST HISTORICAL FEATURE SCRIPT OF THE YEAR & BEST ARTHOUSE ORIGINAL IDEA
Bagliori – Flashes of Light
By Mattia Paone
BEST EUROPEAN INDIE SHORT FILM 2026, BEST EUROPEAN SCREENWRITER & BEST INDIE FILMMAKER

