Presenting: Raindance Award Winners 2026

[Elliot Grove, Raindance Film Festival]

Raindance proudly honours the outstanding films screening at the 34th Raindance Film Festival

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Dear Stu, Raindance proudly honours the outstanding films screening at the 34th Raindance Film Festival. Raindance's awards system honours features in 11 categories, including a new category for this year, Best Horror Feature. Raindance is BIFA-qualifying for British features.   As an Oscar®-qualifying festival, Raindance also celebrates short filmmaking with four prestigious awards, offering winners a pathway to Academy Award® consideration. The talent, craft, and creativity that's been showcased over the last 10 days has made this year's lineup truly unforgettable. Yours in Filmmaking, Elliot Grove

Raindance Award Winners 2026

Best International Feature: Silent Rebellion Regarded at Venice Film Festival, this WW2 drama follows a virtuous teen in 1943 Switzerland who questions her village's morality when they turn away French refugees. Best Documentary Feature: Gaslit Executive produced by Jane Fonda, this powerful fracking doc follows the multi-award-winning actress and activist as she travels across the oil fields of West Texas' Permian Basin and through the Gulf Coast of Louisiana, visiting the communities impacted by oil and gas production.

Discovery Award for Best Debut Feature (the Elisar Cabrera Award): Thanks for Nothing Four teenagers have created their own little anarchic utopia in the group home where they live. But one of them, sick of the world and its expectations, is determined not to survive past 18. Her friends try to keep her suicide attempts hidden, terrified of losing the only semblance of 'home' they've ever known. Best Debut Director: Nina Paninnguaq Skydsbjerg, Sofie Rørdam for Walls - Akinni Inuk Two Greenlandic women are united by a shared traumatic past and a chaotic present - one behind bars, the other behind a cool facade. A moving journey for a second chance at life.

Best Performance in a Debut Feature: Lila Gueneau for Silent Rebellion Regarded at Venice Film Festival, this WW2 drama follows a virtuous teen in 1943 Switzerland who questions her village's morality when they turn away French refugees. Best Performance in a UK Feature: Izabella Malewska for Tramp When an MMA fighter discovers she's unexpectedly pregnant, she grapples with the repercussions on her fighting career.

Best UK Feature: Macbeth When a malevolent force offers Macbeth a future as king, encouraged by Lady Macbeth, they seize their fate, with grave consequences. The story is brought to life via a social enterprise production, tackling barriers to filmmaking. Best Director of a UK Feature: Kirsty Bell for Eddie Cochran–Don't Forget Me The first official biography of rock & roll icon Eddie Cochran. Despite his brief 21 years, Cochran's musical legacy resonates across generations and genres, influencing icons from David Bowie to The Sex Pistols.

Best UK Cinematography: Dan Poole for Section 1591–Sex Trafficking of Children in the USA A retired Delta Force operative puts in place systems to assist those who hurt and destroy the lives of the young and vulnerable, in this film focusing on victims trafficked for sex in the USA and the advocates who assist them. Best Horror Feature (the Roger Corman Award): Serena A down-on-his-luck former rock star becomes a beta tester for a revolutionary new chat bot named Serena – but who is testing who? Starring Andi Matichak (Halloween), Steven Strait (The Expanse), Ashleigh Murray (The Other Black Girl).

Spirit of Raindance Award (the Philip Gambrill Award): So What After a stroke threatens his ability to speak, pioneering videographer John Bentham fights to reclaim his voice while confronting his legacy at the heart of Britain's punk revolution. Through rare archive and present-day reflection, the film explores ambition, survival, and the cost of living defiantly.

Academy Award® Qualifying Shorts Programme As an Oscar®-qualifying festival, Raindance proudly champions the best in short filmmaking. Winners become eligible for Academy Award® consideration - without the usual theatrical run - provided they meet Academy guidelines. We also take pride in spotlighting homegrown talent with our dedicated Best UK Short award, honouring the creativity and craft of filmmakers close to home.

Best Live Action Short: Pankaja The story follows Pankaja, a woman who, along with her daughter Lalli, desperately navigates the city slums and bureaucracy of Bangalore in a quest to locate her missing husband. Best Documentary Short: The Oath In the Israeli healthcare sector, a quarter of doctors are Palestinian citizens of Israel. While the medical oath calls for equal care for all patients, Palestinian physician Dr Lina Qasem Hassan witnesses the system veering away from that promise.

Best Animation Short: God Is Shy A train game on fears shifts when a stranger joins with darker motives. Best UK Short: Wonderwall Liverpool, 1995. The dockers are on strike. But Siobhan and her big brother Rory have other things on their mind: will their heroes Oasis beat Blur in tonight's Battle of Britpop. When a fight breaks out, Siobhan runs off into the night. She drifts around, tired and alone.

Raindance Script Competition The Raindance Script Competition showcases film and television scripts selected from a record number of submissions. Supported by IMGN and Script Angel, the initiative marks Raindance's expanding focus on script development. And the winners are:

Best Unproduced TV Comedy: "Gravediggers" by Cressida Peever Best Unproduced TV Drama: "Orangemen's Day" by Molly Jennings Best Unproduced Short: "Empty House" by Sheida Sheikhha  Best Unproduced Feature: "Rave" by Stefan Kaday

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