by FilmInk Staff
Current live program may expand before August 29 as audiences determine which Top 10 projects advance to seven days of theatrical screenings in New York City
Nukhufest has opened audience voting for its 2026 competition, with 39 Semi-Finalist projects from 17 countries currently live on Nukhu.com and competing for a place in the festival’s theatrical Top 10 at Cinema Village in Manhattan.
The current program represents the Semi-Finalists available to audiences as of August 12. A small number of additional selected projects may still join the competition before the August 29 finalist cutoff as filmmakers complete existing screening commitments and delivery to Nukhu. Any projects activated before the cutoff will remain eligible to compete, although later additions will have a shorter voting window.
Presented by the Nukhu Foundation and powered by Nukhu.com, Nukhufest reverses part of the traditional festival process. The festival committee first selects projects for its online Semi-Finalist program. From there, audiences watch and vote to help determine which projects advance to theatrical exhibition.
The Top 10 Finalists will be announced August 29 and programmed during seven days of Nukhufest screenings at Cinema Village from September 11 through September 17. Voting continues through the festival, with the top-voted Finalist becoming the 2026 Best Nuvee on September 19.
A new 80-second Nukhufest highlight reel gives audiences a rapid introduction to the current Semi-Finalist program before they watch the complete projects and cast their votes.
WATCH THE SEMI-FINALIST HIGHLIGHT REEL:
https://youtube.com/shorts/Vg9KRFP7IkI
WATCH + VOTE:
https://nukhu.com/view/0?stack=1
“Most festival lineups are already decided by the time the public hears about them. We’re asking audiences to become part of that decision,” said Nukhufest founder and festival director Sanjay Singh. “Every Semi-Finalist has already passed our curation process. Now viewers can actually watch the work, find the films they care about, and help determine which ten reach a movie theater in New York City.”
A GLOBAL 2026 PROGRAM
The current Nukhufest Semi-Finalist program includes projects from Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, China, Ecuador, France, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Mozambique, Nepal, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United States.
The slate ranges from narrative shorts and documentaries to animation, experimental cinema and a six-episode sketch comedy series. Stories move through New York Fashion Week, the waters of Malaysia, 1960s Harlem, Mozambique’s music scene, immigrant life in Vienna and Queens, Brazilian housing insecurity, Norwegian house parties, Swedish mermaids, motocross tracks, Afrofuturist futures and deeply personal explorations of family, grief, identity, art and community.
Projects and filmmakers in the current program have previously appeared at festivals including Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Festival, Sheffield DocFest, BlackStar Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, Cleveland International Film Festival, Palm Springs International ShortFest, HollyShorts, Hamptons International Film Festival, Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and Telluride MountainFilm, among others.
Featured performers and participants across the slate include Finn Wittrock, Margaret Cho and Roger Guenveur Smith, alongside emerging performers and nonfiction subjects from around the world.
CURRENT 2026 NUKHUFEST SEMI-FINALISTS
Riverberi, written and directed by Emma Jaay, Australia
Half A Life, written and directed by Sanjit Majumdar and Ranju Majumdar, United States
The Red Rob Roy Show, created and written by P.K. Simone, Rob Pugliese and Rich Roy, United States
Bajau Laut – the Sea is our Home, directed by Joo Peter, Malaysia
Stoop Chat with Maani & Mr. Sweat, directed by Marj Kleinman and Christine Thomas Yoon, United States
Fighting Spaces, directed by Patricio Matos, United States
Sound Of Symbols, directed by Steve Wood, United States
Golden French Fries, directed by Shima Markazi Omidvar, Iran
Found & Lost, written and directed by Reza Rasouli, Austria
Ragamuffin, written and directed by Kaitlyn Mikayla, United States
Salvation Mountain Leonard Knight, directed by Harrod Blank, United States
Eternal Kinship, written and directed by Arbin Rai, Nepal
Shalal, written and directed by Amir Ali Sisipour, Iran
Something Blue, directed by Chen Li, China
Space to Breathe, directed by Juicebox P. Burton and written by Walidah Imarisha, United States
Flowers, directed by José Cardoso, Ecuador
Sea Angels, written and directed by Cissi Efraimsson, Sweden
BRICK BY BRICK, written and directed by Victoria Alvares and Quentin Delaroche, Brazil
FLAME, written and directed by Katrina Channells, Australia
Era Oculta – Hidden Era, directed by Carlos Vargas, Mozambique
Balloonerism, directed by Samuel Jerome Mason and written by Mason and Roland Kennedy, United States
A Family Guide To Hunting, directed by Zao Wang and written by Wang, Tom Toro and Carmiel Banasky, United States.
Sol Béni, directed by Maky Margaridis and Tristan Feres, France
Frank Stares at Celestials, directed by Josh Weissbach, United States
Saturday Class, written and directed by Carri Chen, Canada
BRIDGE -My Little Friends-, directed by Kazuyuki Ishihara and written by Takahiro Nagano, Japan
SAVAGE SEASON., directed by Nardeep Khurmi and written by Crystal Boyd, United States
COLOR IS NOT A CRIME – Street Activism in NYC, directed by Janneke Wade-de Jong, United States
Annabel Lee Blues, written and directed by Tatiana Tift, United States
Heaven is Nobody’s, written and directed by Hector Prats, Spain
Sorry I’m late (but I brought a choir), directed by Håkon Anton Olavsen and written by Olavsen and Sunniva Kviteberg, Norway
Kill, written and directed by Folajimi Olutiola, United States
The Last Fortune, written and directed by Zack White, United States
The Mountain Ark, directed by Ken Bailey, United States
Black Women Euphoria: The Film, directed by MéLisa Best, United States
PARANOIDIGM, written and directed by MéLisa Best, United States
Kiddos, directed by Javier S. Chabat and written by Chabat, Ximena Almazán and Luis Romay, Mexico
Cut Your Wings And Fly, written and directed by Meryem Lahlou, United States
Fabric, written and directed by Frank Sun, United States
The live leaderboard will continue to be updated if additional Semi-Finalists are activated before the August 29 finalist cutoff.
FULL LEADERBOARD, FILMMAKER CREDITS + FESTIVAL HISTORY:
https://club.nukhu.com/reviews/post/nukhufest-2026-leaderboard-semi-finalists-finalists-and-best-nuvee-G8XWsWLL0iGvUr6
FROM ONLINE DISCOVERY TO CINEMA VILLAGE
Nukhufest is built around a progression from online discovery to theatrical demand. Selected projects premiere through Nukhu, audiences watch and vote, and the most-supported projects advance into the festival’s theatrical Finalist program.
On August 29, the Top 10 will be selected for Cinema Village. Nukhufest programming runs September 11 through 17 and is being built around independent film screenings, filmmaker conversations, panels, workshops and additional programs.
Nukhufest passes are currently available, including single-block and multi-block options as well as admission to the September 19 Awards Ceremony.
NUKHUFEST TICKETS + PASSES:
https://www.nukhufoundation.org/shop/passes
“Getting selected should not be the end of a film’s relationship with its audience,” Singh said. “We’re trying to connect discovery to actual attention, attention to theatrical demand, and that support to what a filmmaker is able to make next. The audience isn’t simply buying a ticket after every programming decision has already been made. They’re helping create the program.”
The competition continues after the Top 10 reach Cinema Village. Voting remains open until September 19 at 8 PM ET, when the highest-voted Finalist will be named the 2026 Best Nuvee. The winning filmmaker receives a handcrafted Nukhu ball and the Nukhu Foundation’s $3,000 Development-to-Distribution Grant to support development of their next project.
KEY DATES
August 12: Audience voting underway with 39 Semi-Finalists currently live
Through August 29: Additional selected projects may be activated and added to the leaderboard
August 29: Top 10 Finalists announced
September 11 through 17: Nukhufest screenings at Cinema Village, 22 East 12th Street, New York City
September 19: Nukhufest Awards Ceremony at Studio Exhibit, 62 Orchard Street, New York City
September 19 at 8 PM ET: Best Nuvee voting closes and the 2026 winner is determined
ABOUT NUKHUFEST
Launched in 2015, Nukhufest is an annual audience-powered film festival connecting online curation, direct filmmaker revenue, community voting, theatrical exhibition and next-project support. The 2026 edition marks the festival’s 11th year and expands its theatrical program to seven days at Cinema Village in Manhattan.
