The Waco Independent Film Festival announces 2026 winners

WACO, Texas (KXXV) — The Waco Independent Film Festival announced this year's award winners during a brunch held at the Cambria Waco Hotel Sunday.

Watch our story here:

25 News Bobby Poitevint was a presenter for two awards during the 2026 ceremony.

The full list of winners are below:

Feature Film Awards

Best Feature Film (Narrative) - Union County
Best Feature Film (Documentary) - Handmade Future
Best Director – Feature Film - Reed Arnold (Do Us Part)
Best Performance – Feature Film - Anna Mirodin (The Legend of Juan Jose Mundo)
Best Screenplay – Feature Film - Evan Miller, Hardy Janson (Due West)

Audience Awards

Feature Film - Do Us Part
Short Film - Thank You For Listening

Short Film Awards

Best Short Film - When Big People Lie
Best Texas Short Film - Thank You For Listening
Best Student Short Film - Night Feeds

Short Film Awards by Genre

Best Drama Short - Beyond Silence
Best Comedy Short - Meeting Your Maker
Best Documentary Short - Houdini II: A Beautiful Day to Die
Best Fantasy/Sci-Fi Short - The Ride
Best Horror/Thriller Short - The Pearl Comb
Best Family Short - The Boy With the Dinosaur Head
Best Music Video - “Chingona”

Short Film Craft Awards

Best Director – Short Film - Taylor Coriell (Ladylike)
Best Performance – Short Film - Jonathan Kite (Meeting Your Maker)
Best Cinematography – Short Film - Andy Chen (Pretty Boys)
Best Editing – Short Film - Hillary Carrigan (Olive)
Best Screenplay – Short Film - Jonathan Hammond (Fireflies in the Dusk)
Best Production Design – Short Film - Nuha Mekki (Beauty Sleep)

Also See: 2026 Guide: Waco Independent Film Festival
Also See: Waco Independent Film Festival releases 2026 official selections

Festival Directors’ Choice Award
Everything is Brand (Director: Brett Weiner)

Programmers’ Choice Awards
A Woman’s Work (Director: A.R. Ephraim )
I Want To Go To Moscow (Director: Sarah Baskin)

Screenplay Competition

Best Unproduced Screenplay – Feature - “Salt Kiss” (Writer: Bixbie Elliot)
Best Unproduced Screenplay – First Place - “American Values” (Writer: Ryan Mekenian)
Best Unproduced Screenplay – Short Film (Honorable Mention) - “Stealing Shayna” (Writer: Heather Older)

Individual interviews with some of this year's winners will be added to this article over the week.

Follow Bobby on social media!

Facebook

Instagram

X