Austin Film Festival announced the winners of the screenplay and film competition. The 33rd annual event received more than 12,500 submissions, and 78 scripts advanced to the finalist round before the festival selected 21 writers and writing teams as winners. The honorees received their awards during the Awards Dinner in Austin, Texas, on Saturday.
“For over 30 years, our competitions have been about rewarding great screenwriting,” said Austin Film Festival Executive Director Barbara Morgan. “We want talented storytellers to leave Austin with much more than an award. We want them to leave with new relationships, meaningful industry access, and opportunities that can help propel their careers. This year’s winners represent exactly the kind of bold, original voices we’re proud to support.”
These awards aim to help emerging talent get discovered by agents, managers, producers, executives and other industry leaders looking for new voices. AFF brings together competition finalists with industry professionals through the Writers’ Conference and Producers’ Book, which includes finalist projects and contact information for writers. Many awards include special scholarship opportunities designed to provide mentorship, industry access and career development. Winners of the narrative, documentary and animated short film competitions will also be eligible for Academy Award consideration.
A panel of showrunners, creators, producers and writers selected the winning projects, including “Widows Bay,” “The Bear,” “Succession,” “Parks and Rec” and more. You can see the full list of winners below.
2026 Screenplay Competition Award and Scholarship Winners
- Drama Feature Film Award Presented by the Writers Guild of America East — “Sisters” By Zenas Cao
- Comedy Feature Award — “Pure Intentions” By Sarah Peele
- YMH Studios Comedy Scholarship Award — “Derek Darling” by Robert Barker and Jim Russo
- Donners’ Company Screenplay Award — “Dirty” By Lisa Cole
- William N. College Screenwriting Award — “Helicopter” By Keith Rubin
- Enderby Entertainment Award — “Helicopter” By Keith Rubin
- Valhalla Entertainment Award — “Satanic” by Eric Goldberg
- Horror Movie Award — “Diskopia” By Bobby Marino
- Chronology Screenplay Award – “Method” Written by: Matt Foss and Cora Vander Broek
- Science Fiction Feature Award — “Louis and Puck” by Parker Rawlins and William Cowser
- Road Map Writers Representation Scholarship Award — “I Want My Gift Back” By Haley Mancini
- Drama Teleplay Pilot Award — “Gay Harlem” by Eric Williams
- AMC One-Hour Pilot Award – “Devlin’s House” By Michael Connors
- Comedy Teleplay Pilot Award — “Arkadelphia” by Mac Alsfeld
- Adult Animated Comedy Teleplay Scholarship Award Presented by Starburns Industries – “Developed” By Chase Norman
- Drama Television Special Award — “Dexter: Resurrection: Gamblers” by Laura Hunter Drago
- Comedy Television Special Award — “Hacks: The Chicken and the Egg” by Dawn Cowle
- Short Screenplay Award — “Semicolon” By Aaron Roman
- Stage Play Award — “Business Group” by Rigel Harris
- Fiction Podcast Award – “Cold Dive” by Sunny Bleckinger
- Scripted Digital Series Award — “Old Mock Massacre” by Matthew McFadden, Dawn Cowle and Baylor Knobloch
2026 Film Competition Award and Scholarship Winners
- Narrative Feature Presented by Valhalla Entertainment — ““Sweet Milk Lake” Writer/Director: Harvey Zielinski
- Comedy Leading Feature – “Pickpockets” Writer: Lucy Green and D.C. Fairhurst; Director: DC Fairhurst
- Documentary Feature — “Strange Ashes: The Untold Story of Elisabeth Elliot” Writer/Director: Laura Waters Hinson
- Dark Matter Feature — “All the Way Down” Writer/Director: Collin Davis and Matthew Valdez-Litwiller
- Short Description — “Paper Plane” Writer/Director: Saoirse Ronan / Honorable Mention: “Don’t You Want Me, Baby?”; Writer/Director: Gabriel Foster Prior
- Student Short — “Rabbit Heart” Author: Anna Leah Bolln; Director: Stella Fachinger
- Short Documentary — “Buried Under the Dust of Years” Author: Emily Grodin; Director: Sophie Sartain
- Animated Short — “How Not to Die on an Alien Planet” Author: Carlos F. Puertolas, Anthony Hodgson; Director: Carlos F. Puertolas
- Produced Digital Series — “Matched” Writer: Dominique Salerno, Director: Elvira Ibragimova
- Kilter Films Filmmaker Scholarship Award (Feature) — “Rated” Co-Writers: John Fortson and Christie Lynn Smith, Director: John Fortson
- Kilter Films Filmmaker Fellowship Award (Short) — “Assembly Required” Writer/Director: Andy Volk
- Enderby Entertainment Filmmaking Scholarship Award — “Soul Heirs” Writer: Harrie Hayes and Tom Machell; Director: Richard Turley