Glasgow Short Film Festival 2026 announces award winners
Each To Their Own World by Klarissa Webster and Manal Issa, 2024 by Elisabeth Subrin take jury prizes.
The 19th annual celebration of short film finished last night with the awards ceremony, following a packed five day programme of events across the city.
Glasgow Film Festival 2026 finished its 19th edition on a high last night, as it announced the winners of its two prestigious annual competitions plus the coveted Scottish and International Audience Awards, chosen by GSFF26 festival goers.
The Scottish Short Film Award honours inspiration and innovation in new Scottish cinema, and saw 21 new films compete. Named in honour of the legendary Scottish filmmaker, the Bill Douglas Award for International Short Film promotes cinematic storytelling that places sound and image centre stage. This year includes twenty eight documentary, animation, fiction and experimental shorts from Canada, Egypt, France, Morocco, Palestine, Papua, Spain, Syria, Thailand and more.
The GSFF26 Scottish Short Film Award was awarded by a jury consisting of Luce Grosjean, founder and director of Miyu Distribution, the leading international distribution company for animated short films; Federica Pugliese, Artistic Director of Lago Film Festival, with experience across film programming, marketing and theatrical distribution; and Jen Davies, co-founder of Conic Films Ltd., whose films include On Falling (2024) and Everybody to Kenmure Street (2026).
It was won by Klarissa Webster for Each To Their Own World. As winner, Klarissa Webster receives a cash prize of £500.
The jury said: This was a unanimous decision from the jury. This film is an emotionally resonant and beautifully crafted documentary, singled out by a direction which initially appeared simple but gradually revealed impressive depth and nuance, showing how welcoming Scotland can be and the importance of finding one’s own community. Both funny and poignant, the sound design was particularly important in shining a light on the different ways in which the work itself can be experienced by different audiences. The film is also a strong call-to-action and an eye-opening experience for hearing audiences while being a moving and meaningful film for all viewers.
The jury gave a special mention to Ritchie by Anton McPhilemy.
The jury said: We would like to give a Special Mention to a film we found genuinely funny, well-written with great acting. It was heartfelt and had some good singing! We can’t wait to see Anton’s next project.
The GSFF26 Bill Douglas Award for International Short Film was decided by a jury including Ruairí McCann, an Irish writer, programmer, illustrator, musician and library worker from Belfast and County Sligo. He is the co-editor of the film journal and virtual cinematheque Ultra Dogme. Ruairí was joined by filmmaker Nicolas Gourault, an artist and filmmaker based in Paris (FR) with a background in visual arts and visual studies, and Naziha Arebi. Naziha is a BAFTA nominated filmmaker and visual artist working at the intersections of art and activism, with a focus on class, memory, ecology and collective power. She is co-founder of film collectives Rawiyat and HuNa, is a Sundance Lab fellow, a Lumières d’Afriques artist and a member of the Palestine Film Institute.
It was won by Elisabeth Subrin for Manal Issa, 2024. As winner, Elisabeth Subrin receives a cash prize of £500.
The jury said: We commend the winning film for its moving, bold, yet simple form, using minimal means and a powerful interplay between absence and presence, to question what it means to make images (and to withdraw them) in an era of genocide unfolding live on our phones. Reflecting on the capitalist control over cinema and how the image is shaping the world, it encourages us as filmworkers to assert more autonomy over our art.
The jury gave a joint special mention to CUL-DE-SAC ! by Clyde Gates and Gabriel Sanson and
Daria’s Night Flowers by Maryam Tafakory.
The jury said: For its original and complex worldmaking, its creative, absurdist visual language and enveloping score, drawing us into a haunting rumination on our capitalist system, on the invisible yet fundamental labour it exploits and those, because of their age and their bodies, that it discards, we’d like to award CUL-DE-SAC ! a special mention.
For its incisive and vivid use of archive, mythic associations and sensual imagery to tell a visceral tale about resistance against patriarchal control, the erasure of desire and censorship, we’d like to award Daria’s Night Flowers a special mention. We, as a jury, would also like to express our support for the people of Iran in the face of the ongoing, criminal US-Israeli bombardment of their country.
The GSFF26 International Audience Award, chosen by festival goers, was won by Clyde Gates and Gabriel Sanson for CUL-DE-SAC !. They receive a cash prize of £500.
The GSFF26 Scottish Audience Award, chosen by festival goers, was won by Anton McPhilemy for Ritchie. Anton McPhilemy receives £500.
The Young Scottish Filmmaker Prize went to We Walk At Night by Agnes Athley and Mother’s Influence by Meg Wriggles, with a special mention to Blueland by Fran Spaeth. The Young Scottish Filmmaker Prize is delivered in partnership with Glasgow Film, Eden Court, supported by BFI Film Academy, National Lottery funding and designed in consultation with Short Circuit and GMAC Film.
GSFF26 ran from 18 – 22 March at GFT, Civic house and Grosvenor Picture Theatre with a packed programme including an opening night gala screening of Downriver a Tiger, Victor Diago’s hypnotic feature-length portrait of Glasgow presented in partnership with the Catalan Film Festival; a retrospective screening and artist’s talk by Tehran-born, LA-based artist Gelare Koshogozaran, and a curated strand by programmer Ren Scateni, Lost in Transmission, which showcased moving image work that interrogated words and meaning-making; the premiere of Glasgow artist Adam Lewis Jacob’s You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know, Do You?, about the Bradford Resource Centre, a historic mobilising hub; and a guest programme by cimentheque and film journal Ultra Dogme.
Matt Lloyd, Festival Director, said: “I am so grateful to the juries for their excellent choices of two thoughtful, challenging and formally ambitious works that demonstrate the unique and varied strengths of the short film form. And yet again our audience have shown their impeccable taste by elevating two magnificent works that were also recognised by the juries with special mentions.
“Despite the punishingly good weather all week, we’ve seen many sell out shows of engaged audiences. The dust is settling on a vintage year for Glasgow Short Film Festival.”
Glasgow Life Head of Events, Julie Pearson, said: “Glasgow Short Film Festival once again brings together bold, original storytelling from Scotland and around the world, capturing the imagination of audiences across the city.
“Congratulations to this year’s winners and nominees, whose creativity and talent continue to push the boundaries of short filmmaking. Their work shows how powerful cinema can be in sparking ideas, changing perspectives, and bringing people together. Glasgow Life is proud to support the festival and its continued success, and we look forward to seeing it grow even further in the years ahead.”
The 20th anniversary edition of the festival will take place 17-21 March 2027.
Glasgow Short Film Festival is funded by Screen Scotland.
GlasgowShort Film Festival is also funded by Glasgow Life.