by FilmInk Staff
The Australian Women’s Film Festival (AWFF) celebrated the exceptional talent and creativity of women working across the screen industry last night, announcing the winners of the 2026 festival awards at Event Cinemas George Street in Sydney.
The 2026 festival, hosted by Kylah Day, brought together filmmakers, screen industry leaders and audiences to celebrate the women behind some of Australia’s most exciting short-form storytelling.
The festival’s major award, Best Film, was awarded to Stitch Up, written and directed by Bec Bignell and produced by Bec Bignell, Laura Maitland and Sophia Armstrong.
The Best Film winners received a major prize package designed to support their next stage of filmmaking, including a SONY ILME-FX6 Cinema Line camera, a $10,000 equipment rental package from VA Hire, a $10,000 lighting rental package from Disney Lighting, a $5,000 post-production package from Spectrum Films, as well as a one-year WIFT membership and mentorship.
The film also took home Best Dramatic Film and Best Screenplay, marking a standout night for the team.
The 2026 Australian Women’s Film Festival Award Winners are:
● BEST FILM – Stitch Up
● BEST DRAMATIC FILM – Stitch Up
● BEST COMEDIC FILM – We Don’t Have Long
● BEST ANIMATED FILM – Ginkgo
● BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM – Ganibarra
● BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY – Spiders on My Lashline
● BEST SCREENPLAY – Stitch Up
● BEST ACTOR – Alyssa Valenti, Shelf Life
● BEST DIRECTOR – Sonya Takau & Alix Livingstone, Ganibarra
● JUDGES ONE TO WATCH – Jiayun Zhang, Ginkgo
● AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST FILM – We Don’t Have Long
The Judges One to Watch Award recognises an individual selected by the judging panel for demonstrating exceptional promise. This year’s award was presented to Jiayun Zhang, director and animator of Gingko.
AWFF honours women shaping the industry
The festival also recognised two extraordinary contributions to the screen industry with its annual Trailblazer and Groundbreaker Awards.
The 2026 AWFF Groundbreaker Award was presented to Kristina Ceyton and Samantha Jennings, co-founders of Causeway Films, recognising their contribution to Australian cinema and their role in reshaping the global perception of Australian genre filmmaking. Ceyton and Jennings were recognised for their commitment to original, ambitious filmmaking and their contribution to the international profile of Australian genre cinema.
The 2026 AWFF Trailblazer Award was presented to Nicole Kidman, recognising her extraordinary contribution to Australian and global cinema as an actor, producer and creative force. Across a career spanning decades, Kidman has continually challenged expectations, championed bold storytelling and created opportunities for women’s voices to be heard both in front of and behind the camera. Through her production company Blossom Films, she has also championed stories centred on complex female characters and supported emerging writers, directors and creatives.
AWFF Co-Founder Kelly Tomasich said the festival continues to be inspired by the depth of talent coming through the Australian screen industry. “This year’s winners represent exactly why we created AWFF, to give women storytellers a platform, to celebrate their achievements and to create meaningful opportunities for them to continue building their careers.”
AWFF Co-Founder Tahyna Tozzi said the festival’s 2026 award recipients reflected the breadth of women’s contribution to the industry. “We are incredibly proud to celebrate women at every stage of their career, from emerging filmmakers finding their voice to women who have spent decades changing what is possible for those who come after them.”
As part of AWFF’s expanded 2026 program, All That Glisters, the feature directorial debut from writer/director Trilby Glover, will be presented as part of the AWFF Spotlight Series this evening, followed by an in Conversation with Trilby.
The inaugural AWFF Masterclass: “Inclusive By Design: Making Films That Pass Every Test” will take place on 24 September 2026 in Sydney, bringing together leading voices from across the screen industry to explore how filmmakers can embed inclusion throughout the creative process, from development and storytelling through to production and collaboration.
Moderated by Tahyna Tozzi, the Masterclass will feature a panel of industry leaders including Rachel Perkins (Director of First Nations Strategy, Screen Australia), Natalie Beak (AFTRS), Nina Oyama (actor, writer and comedian), Lianne Mackessy (actor, writer and director) and Dianna La Grassa (Bus Stop Films).
The session will explore how inclusive storytelling can be built into every stage of filmmaking, moving beyond representation alone to consider how creative teams, production environments and storytelling choices can create meaningful opportunities for diverse voices.
Tickets for AWFF26 and AWFF26 Masterclass are available via Humanitix https://events.humanitix.com/inclusive-by-design-awff-2026-masterclass
For more information, please visit www.awff.com.au
Image: AWFF26 Tahyna Tozzi, Bruna Papandrea, Kelly Tomasich, Catherine Laga’aia, Kylah Day, by Belinda Rolland
