Official Results

October 2026 Winners

Congratulations to the filmmakers whose outstanding work earned recognition in the October 2026 edition of the New Jersey Film Awards.

Watch the Latest Awards Ceremony

October 2026 Awards Ceremony

Celebrate the filmmakers recognized during our October 2026 competition.

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Official Winners

The complete official October 2026 winners list.

Film Awards

15 awards
Best Drama Short The Boomerang Brick
Best Comedy Short Between Modes
Best Horror Short Kill Me Softly
Best Thriller Echo
Best Animation Short Crimson
Best Inspirational Short Perfect Princess
Best New Jersey Short The Conversation
Best AI Short Still Standing
Best Microshort Zip
Best Music Video Hunney Bee
Best College Short The Boomerang Brick
Best High School Short Hey Stranger
Best Trailer The Boomerang Brick
Best Movie Poster Kill Me Softly
Best Concept The House of Vengeance

Acting Awards

6 awards
Best Actor Chris Paseka (Perfect Princess)
Best Actress Kathryn Milewski (Kill Me Softly)
Best Supporting Actor Frank Sean Johnson (The Conversation)
Best Supporting Actress Reagan Curry (Don't Let Her In)
Best Ensemble The Boomerang Brick
Best Young Actor Payton Cook (The Conversation)

Technical Awards

10 awards
Best Director James Kautz (Perfect Princess)
Best First-time Director Calvin Upshur Jr. (Don't Let Her In)
Best Female Filmmaker Jasmine Alexander (Through the Screen)
Best Young Filmmaker Melpomeni Papageorgiou (The Boomerang Brick)
Best Cinematography Alexandros Kouros (The Boomerang Brick)
Best Editing Hunter Nickless (Hunney Bee)
Best Visual Effects Sebastian H. Foxworth (The Conversation)
Best Special Effects Makeup Anna Giakoustidou (The Boomerang Brick)
Best Sound Design Michael Engesser (Kill Me Softly)
Best Original Score Brad Gardner (Perfect Princess)

Screenplay Awards

2 awards
Best Feature Screenplay The Drop (Mason Curry)
Best Short Screenplay Achilles and Firoozeh (Soroush Taheri Aval)

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