New York, July 21, 2026 — The New York Film Foundation Inc. has announced the award winners of the New York Global Short Film Fest 2026. The results were officially announced on July 20, 2026.
This year, the festival received 282 outstanding short films and documentaries from 38 countries. After a careful evaluation process, 12 awards, including one Special Award, were selected across 11 categories.
The films were judged by an 8-member Jury Board led by renowned American filmmaker and fine art photographer Lear Levin. The jury reviewed the films based on creativity, storytelling, technical quality, and overall impact.
The award for Best Short Film went to Banana Triangle Six, directed by Marc E. Crandall from the United States. The Best Documentary Short award was given to Back to One – Return to Ground Zero, directed by Sylvester P. Lukasiewicz from the United States.
The Best Director (Short Film) award was presented to Stéphane Martinet from France for A BRUSHSTROKE (UN COUP DE PINCEAU), while Marj Kleinman from the United States won Best Director (Documentary) for Stoop Chat with Aleathea & Ariam.
Other award-winning films include I Learned to Cry by Santiago José Asef (Brazil) for Best Cinematography, Maybe, That’s Why… by Rahatud Zaman (Bangladesh) for Best Editing, and Spring in a Bottle by Guozong Lu (China) for Best Experimental Film.
The Best Screenplay award went to Nemesis by Zin Ataş (Türkiye). One Rupee Sky by Aruna Arya Gupta (India) received the Best Social Impact Film award. What Love’s Worth by Polly Rabinowitz (United States) won Best Student Film, and The Red Letter by Adam Baljevich (United States) received the Best Amateur Filmmaker award.
The festival also presented the Festival Spirit Award to In Your Shoes, directed by Zhengdi Li and Khrystyna Orletska from the United States.
The New York Global Short Film Fest 2026 congratulated all award winners, finalists, semi-finalists, quarter-finalists, nominees, and official selections. The festival also expressed appreciation to all filmmakers who submitted their work and shared their stories.
A selection of outstanding films, including the award-winning films, will be screened on August 8, 2026, at two venues in New York City. The winners will be honored with trophies and certificates during the festival’s official Awards Ceremony on the same day.
The New York Global Short Film Fest 2026 celebrates global cinema by bringing together filmmakers and audiences from around the world.
