NORTHEAST FILM FESTIVAL 2026 AWARD WINNERS

 
BEST DOCUMENTARY
Colors & Curves
*Growing Up Slowly
Love. [nonfiction] - Episode One: Soulmates.
Once Upon A Time In Jersey
The Valley Between Us

BEST ACTRESS IN A SHORT
Cameran Bellamy (Intertwined)
Destiny Leilani Brown (Sapphire)
*Alicia Giangrisostomi (Cahill's Lanes)
Kathryn Hunter (Jasmine. Home. Mother.)
Sarah Joy Byington (I Guess this is Goodbye)
Amber Paul (The Drive)

BEST ACTOR IN A SHORT
Gil Damon (The Current State of the Backyard Pool Industry)
Dan Gregory (Archangel)
Chad Mathews (I Guess this is Goodbye)
James Naughton (Sit with Me While I Die)
Owen Teale (Something Pointless)
*Jim Thalman (A Son's Burden)

BEST SCREENPLAY
Marco Jo Clate (Cahill's Lanes)
*Neil Graham and David Cormican (Something Pointless)
Lenny Mandel (The Bowl)
Leah Bedrosian Peterson (Brave Little Hawk)
Brian Russell and Ross Popick (Sit with Me While I Die)
John Schwert and Cameran Bellamy (Intertwined)

BEST DIRECTOR OF A SHORT
David Arrow (The Drive)
Asa Bailey (Something Pointless)
Marco Jo Clate (Cahill's Lanes)
Brian Russell (Sit with Me While I Die)
*John Schwert (Intertwined)
Joe Thayer (Dead Birds)

BEST CONCEPT
Dead Birds
Hide
Love Beyond Dreams
Pencils
*Some Things Change
Upside Down on Long Island

BEST THRILLER
A Son's Burden
Hide
It's Pumpkin Season
*Sapphire
Shift

BEST DRAMATIC SHORT FILM
*I Guess this is Goodbye
Intertwined
Silent Harmony
Some Things Change
The Bowl
The Rocket

BEST SHORT FILM
Archangel
*Cahill's Lanes
Jasmine. Home. Mother.
Sit with Me While I Die
Something Pointless
The Drive

BEST UNPRODUCED SCREENPLAY
Christmas Choir Cruise (written by Scott Segal)
Goodbye, Sugar Planet (written by Will Roane)
*I'm Fine (written by Amy Van Horne)
The Last Call (written by Adam Lamparello)
Timeless Love (written by Simin Vaswani)

BEST ACTRESS IN A FEATURE
Denisse Juliana Jimenez (Legado)
Haley Kastler (It's Always Almost Over)
*Jaime Pressly (Last Shot)

BEST ACTOR IN A FEATURE
Ricky DeRosa (It's Always Almost Over)
Dylan Friedman (Last Shot)
*Christopher Mormando (Judge No Book)

BEST ENSEMBLE
*Judge No Book 
Last Shot
Legado

BEST DIRECTOR OF A FEATURE
Jay Leonard (It's Always Almost Over)
*Christopher Mormando (Judge No Book)
Andy Palmer (Last Shot)

BEST FEATURE FILM
Judge No Book 
*Last Shot
Legado

DIRECTORS CHOICE FEATURE FILM
*It's Always Almost Over

DIRECTORS CHOICE SHORT FILM
*The Bowl

AUDIENCE CHOICE
*Diagnosis P.T.S.D. v2





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