William Means’ Junkie took both the Grand Jury prize and the Audience Award for Best Narrative Film at the 35th Anniversary edition of Florida Film Festival.
Sharon Leise’s Seized won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Film, and Patrick Bresnan’s First They Came For My College won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Film.
Michael Borrelli’s The Last Day of Byron Bray also was a two-time winner, taking both the Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award for Best Short Film.
Additional Jury Awards went to Brian Gersten’s Hollywood’s Mermaid: The Esther Williams Story (Best Documentary Short), and Andy London, and Carolyn London’s 1981 (Best Animated Short).
Films receiving Special Jury Awards included Tatti Ribeiro’s Valentina (Narrative Feature) for “resolute feature filmmaking”, Blake Winston Rice’s Disc (Narrative Short) for “surprising intimacy”, and Madeline Engle and Joe Purtell’s Trapped (Documentary Short) for “innovation in Non-Fiction storytelling”.
Other films receiving Audience Awards included Costa Karalis’ Frogtown (Best Florida Feature), Daniel Roher’s Tuner (Best International Feature), Justin Whittingham’s Welcome (Best Florida Short), Eric Jackowitz’The Seeing Eye Dog Who Saw Too Much (Best Midnight Short), and Alexandra Strunin’s I Gaze at the Sky (Best International Short).
Florida Film Festival Executive Director Wade Neal, said, “This Florida Film Festival was my first as the new Executive Director, and it exceeded what was already very high expectations on my part for an exciting, well-curated, and outrageously fun film event. These award winners are wonderful representatives of the amazing films we screened and filmmakers we hosted throughout the fest.”
FFF Programming Director, Matthew Curtis, added, “There is always an additional expectation and anticipation during a film festival’s big anniversary year. This one fulfilled that for our film fans, our staff, and a wonderful group of filmmakers. The fact that two of those films doubled up on awards – a first for us – seems very appropriate to cap the uniqueness of our 35th edition.”
The 2026 Florida Film Festival kicked off with Adam Carter Rehmeier’s road trip movie Caroline, Caroline, and featured a gala Centerpiece presentation of Jorma Taccone’s Over Your Dead Body, with both filmmakers in attendance. The festival closed with a 75th Anniversary screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train.
World premieres included Ahmed Bouchalga’s The Call, Costa Karalis’ Frogtown, Woodruff Laputka and Tehben Dean’s The Man Whom the Trees Loved, Randy Moore’s Return From Tomorrow, Alejandro Ruax and Saskia d’Altena’s If You Really Love Me, Outlive Me, Paul Oh’s Correspondence, Justin Whittingham’s Welcome, Ellie Foumbi’s Afufu, Faryl Amadeus’ Man in Motel, Jessica Li’s Peace Corps, Michael Borrelli’s The Last Day of Byron Bray, Timothy Jacob Elledge’s Neuman, Brooke Trantor’s Nut Milk in May, Sterling Hampton IV’s Study Hall, Isabel Pask’s Scout’s Honor, Grant Swanson’s Iron Lake, Syra McCarthy and Kyle Casey Chu’s Betty St. Clair, Austin Cauldwel’s Idyll, Kyle Spleiss’s House Cat, Justice Smith’s Grampa, Stacey Torkelson’s In Lieu of Flowers, Mary Pilon’s Screw Lucy, Modar Kajo’s In God’s Hands, and Noah Engel’s Everything that Fell from the Mourning Dove’s Nest as She Built It ).
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