Who are the international winners of Sofia Short Fest 2026?

The second edition of the short film festival Sofia Short Fest held the awards ceremony for international films.

On Sunday, June 14th, in the National Academy for Theater and Film Arts in Sofia, Bulgaria, the honorary jury—composed of Martina Apostolova, Toma Waszarow, Orlin Milchev, Tanya Bozhinova, and Dimiter Dimitrov—presented the awards to the winners in the nine competition categories.

Here are the winners:

FEATURE FILMS:

1. Broken Down; Sweden, Denmark; 2025; dir. Victor Cornelius; drama, comedy; 15 min. – GRAND PRIZE

2. Mardazma; Afghanistan, Iran; 2025; dir. Amir Masoud Soheili; black comedy, drama, horror; 15 min. – SPECIAL MENTION

ANIMATION:

1. TV or The Disturbance On Forest Hill Road; Switzerland; 2025; dir. Frédéric Ziegel; drama, mystery; 14 min. – GRAND PRIZE

2. Simply Divine; Romania; 2025; dir. Melody Boulissier, Bogdan Stamatin; portrait; 14 min. – SPECIAL MENTION

DOCUMENTARY FILM:

1. River Reflections; Canada; 2025; dir. Guillaume Massier-Hamel; experimental; 15 min. – GRAND PRIZE

2. Conventions of Contract; Greece; 2024; dir. Stefanos Mondelos; experimental; 27 min. – SPECIAL MENTION

STUDENT FEATURE FILM:

1. Humboldt; Chile; 2024; dir. Beatriz Molina Paes; drama; 14 min. – GRAND PRIZE

2. Hi Mom, It’s Me, Lou Lou; Turkey; 2024; dir. Atakan Yılmaz; drama, comedy; 21 min. – SPECIAL MENTION

STUDENT ANIMATION:

1. Niccolo; France; 2025; dir. C. Di Prizio, D. Florian, A. Granet, S. Liu, H. Michale, N. Pachomius; philosophical, drama; 6 min. – GRAND PRIZE

2. It Might Be Even Real; Israel; 2025; dir. Yael Bon; stop-motion; 7 min. – SPECIAL MENTION

STUDENT DOCUMENTARY FILM:

1. Adas Falasteen; Palestine; 2024; dir. Hamdi Khalil Elhussein, Samar Taher Lulu; portrait; 8 min. – GRAND PRIZE

2. Shadows; Jordan, France; 2024; dir. Rand Beirut; animation, drama; 12 min. – SPECIAL MENTION

AWARD FOR MOST ORIGINAL IDEA:

1. Luna Rossa; Estonia, France; 2024; directed by Olga Pärn, Priit Pärn; animation, experimental; 32 min.

“FOCUS” GRAND PRIZE:

1. The Silence of Pomegranates; Italy; 2025; dir. Clara Bai, documentary, experimental; 9 min.

AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD:

1. Shark; Australia; 2022; dir. Nash Edgerton; fiction, comedy; 14 min.

Text and Photo: Sofia Short Fest

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