THE COMPLETE LIST OF THE 2026 FLICKERS’ VORTEX SCI-FI, FANTASY AND HORROR FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS FOLLOWS:
BEST HORROR SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“Gimme” | directed by Steven Schloss | United States.
BEST SCI-FI SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“Memory Merchant” | directed by Adrian Breza | Estonia.
BEST HORROR COMEDY SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“The Deep Vessel” | directed by Sean Cruser | United States.
BEST SCI-FI COMEDY
GRAND PRIZE:
“Crak Hack” | directed by Brendan Cleaves | United Kingdom.
BEST FANTASY SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“Grýlu Sker: An Icelandic Ghost Story” | directed by Kevin McTurk | Iceland, United States.
BEST FANTASY FEATURE
GRAND PRIZE:
“Death Do Us Part” | directed by David Chávez-Grant, Abigail Ory | Italy, United States.
BEST HORROR FEATURE
GRAND PRIZE:
“The Demonatrix” | directed by Jeff Ferrell, Aurelio Voltaire | United States.
BEST SCI-FI FEATURE
GRAND PRIZE:
“Time Helmet” | directed by Mike Jackson | Canada.
BEST DIRECTOR
GRAND PRIZE:
“Gimme” | directed by Steven Schloss | United States.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
GRAND PRIZE:
“Death Do Us Part” | production design by Crispian Sallis | directed by David Chávez-Grant, Abigail Ory | Italy, United States.
LOVECRAFT AWARD
GRAND PRIZE:
“When She Sings” | directed by Paul Holbrook | United Kingdom.
DIRECTORIAL DISCOVERY AWARD
GRAND PRIZE:
“The Echo Experience” | directed by Michael Guest | United Kingdom.
BEST SCORE
GRAND PRIZE:
“Red Ribbons in the House of Stained Glass” | score by Karl Casey | directed by Jeff Speed | United States.
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“Praying Mantis” | directed by Joe Hsieh | Taiwan.
BEST ACTOR
GRAND PRIZE:
Adam Butler, for his performance in “The Echo Experience” | directed by Michael Guest | United Kingdom.
BEST ACTRESS
GRAND PRIZE:
Milly Sanders, for her performance in “TRAD” | directed by Dave Bekerman | United States.
BEST SCREENPLAY
GRAND PRIZE:
“CHILD” | written by Guillaume Levil, Cyrus Neshvad | directed by Cyrus Neshvad | Luxembourg.
BEST MICRO SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“Switch” | directed by Esmé Hicks | United Kingdom.
BEST MIDNIGHT SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“Skin Flick” | directed by Louise BAILLY, Daniela DEL CASTELLO, Alice LEVY, Bruno DE MENDONÇA, Elifsu MERIÇ, Joey Quoc TRAN | France.
AWARENESS AWARD
GRAND PRIZE:
“Scope” | directed by Emma Moffat | United Kingdom.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
GRAND PRIZE:
“Man and Mattress” | directed by Andrew Reisfeld | United States.
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
GRAND PRIZE:
“Death Do Us Part” | costume design by Carlo Poggioli | directed by David Chávez-Grant, Abigail Ory | Italy, United States.
BEST NEW ENGLAND FILM
GRAND PRIZE:
“Proxy” | directed by Diana Porter, Mikel Wisler | United States.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
GRAND PRIZE:
“The Cauldron” | photographed by Simon Gosnik | directed by Thomas Pierce | Slovenia.
BEST PRACTICAL EFFECTS
GRAND PRIZE:
“The Demonatrix” | practical effects by Norman Cabrera, Shelby Michael Patton, and Maquillaje FX | directed by Jeff Ferrell, Aurelio Voltaire | United States.
TIED WITH:
“The Deep Vessel” | practical effects by Robert Pendergraft | directed by Sean Cruser | United States.
BEST LGBTQ FILM
GRAND PRIZE:
“Scissors” | directed by Hannah Alline | United States.
BEST THRILLER SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“Once Upon a Time in the Apocalypse” | directed by Tiago Pimentel | Portugal.
BEST SOUND DESIGN
GRAND PRIZE:
“Grima” | directed by Richie Harrington | United States.
BEST THRILLER FEATURE
GRAND PRIZE:
“CHILD” | directed by Cyrus Neshvad | Luxembourg.
THE COMPLETE LIST OF THE 2025 FLICKERS’ VORTEX SCI-FI, FANTASY AND HORROR FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS FOLLOWS:
BEST HORROR SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“The Pearl Comb” | directed by Ali Cook | United Kingdom | 2024.
BEST SCI-FI SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“Wake Up” | directed by Ewurakua Dawson-Amoah | United States | 2025.
BEST HORROR COMEDY SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“Baby Blues Gone Dark” | directed by James P. Gleason | United States | 2024.
BEST SCI-FI COMEDY SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“Lab Rats” | directed by Stimson Snead | United States | 2024.
BEST FANTASY SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“Filther” | directed by Simen Nyland | Norway | 2024.
BEST HORROR FEATURE
GRAND PRIZE:
“Kombucha” | directed by Jake Myers | United States | 2025.
BEST SCI-FI FEATURE
GRAND PRIZE:
“Recollection” | directed by Caden Butera | United States | 2025.
BEST FANTASY FEATURE
GRAND PRIZE:
“The Crone” | directed by Catherine Kasima Kanda.
BEST DIRECTOR
GRAND PRIZE:
“House of Abraham” | directed by Lisa Belcher | United States | 2023.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
GRAND PRIZE:
“Embers” | directed by Gerald McMorrow | United Kingdom | 2024.
LOVECRAFT AWARD
GRAND PRIZE:
“The Birdwatcher” | directed by Ryan Mackfall | United Kingdom | 2024.
DIRECTORIAL DISCOVERY AWARD
GRAND PRIZE:
“Self-Portrait” | directed by Samuel DeFrank | United States | 2025.
BEST SCORE
GRAND PRIZE:
“Filther” | composed by Raymond Enoksen | directed by Simen Nyland | Norway | 2025.
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“Kitty and the Viper” | directed by John-Daniel Arauz | Canada | 2024.
BEST ACTOR
GRAND PRIZE:
Christian Seavy, for his performance in “Fresh Air” | directed by Garrett Lee Paull | United States | 2025.
BEST SCREENPLAY
GRAND PRIZE:
“Where the Children Go to Play” | written by Kwame Henry | directed by Jada George | United States | 2024.
BEST MICRO SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“Flowers” | directed by Nic McRobbie | Australia | 2025.
BEST ACTRESS
GRAND PRIZE:
Nicole Merat, for her performance in “Lab Rats” | directed by Stimson Snead | United States | 2024.
BEST MIDNIGHT SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“Open Wide” | directed by Sam Fox | United States | 2025.
AWARENESS AWARD
GRAND PRIZE:
“Vines” | directed by Luke Zwanziger | United States | 2024.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
GRAND PRIZE:
“Filther” | directed by Simen Nyland | Norway | 2025.
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
GRAND PRIZE:
“The Blue Diamond” | Penelope Strintz, costume designer | directed by Sam Fox | United States | 2024.
BEST NEW ENGLAND FILM
GRAND PRIZE:
“And They Shall Handle Serpents” | directed by Stuart Valburg | United States | 2024.
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
GRAND PRIZE:
“The Pearl Comb” | directed by Ali Cook | United Kingdom | 2024.
BEST PRACTICAL EFFECTS
GRAND PRIZE:
“The Trunk” | directed by Craig Blair | United States | 2025.
AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD
GRAND PRIZE:
“Fresh Air” | directed by Garrett Lee Paull.
THE COMPLETE LIST OF THE 2024 VORTEX SCI-FI, FANTASY & HORROR FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS FOLLOWS:
BEST HORROR FEATURE
GRAND PRIZE:
“Lizzie Lazarus” | directed by Aviv Rubinstien | United States.
BEST SCI-FI FEATURE
GRAND PRIZE:
“Tim Travers and the Time Travelers Paradox” | directed by Stimson Snead | United States.
BEST HORROR SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“Wake” | directed by Sean Carter | United Kingdom.
TIED WITH:
“GIRLS” | directed by Julien Hosmalin | France.
BEST SCI-FI SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“Game” | directed by Natalia Konovalova | Russian Federation.
TIED WITH:
“Terms and Conditions” | directed by Ursula Rudorfer | United States.
BEST SCI-FI COMEDY
GRAND PRIZE:
“Sarcum” | directed by Ignacio Malagon | Spain.
BEST FANTASY SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“JUGGERNAUT” | directed by Daniele Ricci and Emanuele Ricci | Italy.
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“Nemesis Battlefield Volume 16” | directed by Neeraj Bhattacharjee, David Cisneros, Ran Fang, Richard Musinguzi, Saurabh Vashistha.
BEST HORROR COMEDY
GRAND PRIZE:
“Trust, Me, Bro” | directed by Burns Burns | United States.
BEST ACTOR
GRAND PRIZE:
Garland Scott, for his role in “Who’s There?” | directed by Ryan Doris | United States.
BEST ACTRESS
GRAND PRIZE:
Liane O’Shea, for her role in “Lizzie Lazarus” | directed by Aviv Rubinstien | United States.
BEST DIRECTOR
GRAND PRIZE:
Sean Carter, director of “Wake” | United States.
BEST SCREENPLAY
GRAND PRIZE:
“Lizzie Lazarus” | written by Aviv Rubinstien | United States.
DIRECTORIAL DISCOVERY AWARD
GRAND PRIZE:
Olivia J. Loader, director of “Hallowed” | United States.
VORTEX AWARENESS AWARD
GRAND PRIZE:
“3 Easy Steps” | directed by Paige Henderson | United States.
H.P. LOVECRAFT AWARD
GRAND PRIZE:
“Triptych” | directed by Sophia Ray | United Kingdom.
BEST MIDNIGHT SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“Umbra” | directed by Enzo Hui | Hong Kong.
BEST DOCUMENTARY
GRAND PRIZE:
“Children of the Wicker Man” | directed by Justin Hardy, Dominic Hardy,
Chris Nunn | United Kingdom.
BEST MICRO SHORT
GRAND PRIZE:
“The Lure” | directed by Tony Hipwell | United Kingdom.
BEST SCORE
GRAND PRIZE:
“Factory Drop” | directed by Petja Pulkrabek | Germany.
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
GRAND PRIZE:
“Dissimulation” | directed by Sam Weeks | United Kingdom.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
GRAND PRIZE:
“The Harvester” | directed by Gavin Bradley, Andrew Allen | United States.
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
GRAND PRIZE:
“Dissimulation” | directed by Sam Weeks | United Kingdom.
AUDIENCE CHOICE
GRAND PRIZE:
“TRUST, ME, BRO” | directed by Burns Burns | United States.