Official Winners, Nominees & Honorable Mentions
November 7, 2026 | GQT Movies | Merritt Square Mall | Merritt Island, Florida
Bocas Film Fest proudly celebrates the filmmakers, actors, writers, directors, and creative teams who participated in our 2026 festival.
From independent horror and action films to documentaries, animation, drama, comedy, and original screenplays, this year’s selections showcased an incredible range of independent storytelling.
Congratulations to all our winners, nominees, and honorable mention recipients!
Acting & Performance Awards
BEST ACTRESS
🏆 WINNER — Kristyn Shelley Olson
Ghost Room
Nominees
- Aba Bertelli — The Quest for the Golden Dragon
- Corina Jayne — Beyond Mamushi
BEST ACTOR
🏆 WINNER — Thomas Frick
(Elephant)
Honorable Mention: Jeffrey Paul Agosta — The Woods Beckon
Other Nominee
- David Kick
BEST CAST
🏆 WINNER — The Camel’s Back
Nominees
- The Quest for the Golden Dragon
- The Muscle
- Where’s the Will
Horror, Paranormal & Dark Cinema
BEST PARANORMAL FILM
🏆 WINNER — The Long Hall
BEST OVERALL DARK FEATURE (41+ MINUTES)
🏆 WINNER — The Woods Beckon
BEST HORROR FILM SHORT
🏆 WINNER — The Last Order
Nominee
- The Long Hall
BEST HORROR FILM FEATURE
🏆 WINNER — Amityville Descendants of Darkness
Nominees
- Joel D. Wynkoop’s Beast Mode
- The Woods Beckon
- Beyond Mamushi
Action, Martial Arts & Cinematography
BEST MARTIAL ARTS FILM
🏆 WINNER — Stryke 2
Nominees
- Boi Bajingan Mamati (Badass Boi)
- Ranma vs. Ryoga: Duel of the Lost Elixir
BEST ACTION FILM
🏆 WINNER — Jisu Han
Nominees
- BROMAN
- The Red Ghost 1812
Honorable Mention: We Are All Monsters
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
🏆 WINNER — BROMAN
Directing & Creative Achievement
BEST DIRECTOR
🏆 WINNER — Demetrius Matthews
Bully Lifestyle – Hustle & Bloodlines
Nominees
- Andara Fembriarto — Boi Bajingan Mamati (Badass Boi)
- Tom Whiteley — The Quest for the Golden Dragon
- Mathew S. Martin — Meet the Frantics
- Andrey Bogatyrev — The Red Ghost 1812
- Jack Dugan — A Quiet House
- Mitch Greer — Dragon Hedgehog
- Mitch Greer — I Remember Gaia II
BEST POSTER
🏆 WINNER — The Quest for the Golden Dragon
Nominee
- Bully Lifestyle – Hustle & Bloodlines
BEST VISIONARIES
🏆 WINNER — 7eventh 7irkle
Nominees
- Bully Lifestyle – Hustle & Bloodlines
- We Are All Monsters
Documentary Awards
BEST LONGFORM DOCUMENTARY
Nominees
- Bully Lifestyle – Hustle & Bloodlines
- Menopause Fitness Journey
BEST SHORT DOCUMENTARY (UNDER 41 MINUTES)
🏆 WINNER — Meet the Frantics
Nominee
- Storm on Stage
Honorable Mention: Jasper, Florida
Trailers & Promotional Films
BEST OVERALL TRAILER
Nominees
- Bully Lifestyle – Hustle & Bloodlines
- Meet the Frantics
- The Day of the Twigfid
- The Quest for the Golden Dragon
- Space Dad
BEST SHORT TRAILER
🏆 WINNER — The Day of the Twigfid
Nominee
- The Quest for the Golden Dragon
BEST ANIMATED TRAILER
🏆 WINNER — The Pointless Adventures of Dartman
Science Fiction & Superhero Awards
BEST SUPERHEROES
🏆 WINNER — Enter the Power Surge
Nominee
- The Pointless Adventures of Dartman
BEST SCI-FI FEATURE
🏆 WINNER — Enter the Power Surge
Nominee
- LUMINEXUS
BEST SCI-FI SHORT
🏆 WINNER — Neuvita Inc.
Comedy Awards
BEST SPOOF FILM
Nominees
- Kelly Thompson’s B Movie
- The Day of the Twigfid
BEST SHORT COMEDY
🏆 WINNER — Death by Sound
Nominees
- The Day of the Twigfid
- Super Turbo Jet Boats – We Love Danger
- Beach Hazard
- Space Dad
Honorable Mention: Checked Out
BEST COMEDY FEATURE
🏆 WINNER — The Nine Lives of Brice
BEST DARK COMEDY (10–90 MINUTES)
🏆 WINNER — Where’s the Will
Animation Awards
BEST ANIMATED FILM
🏆 WINNER — Seat Covers
Nominees
- Sycamore Street Blues
- FIDO
BEST MUSIC IN AN ANIMATED FILM
🏆 WINNER — Sycamore Street Blues
BEST ANIMATED HORROR FILM
🏆 WINNER — FIDO
Narrative & Drama Awards
BEST SHORT NARRATIVE (UNDER 41 MINUTES)
🏆 WINNER — (Elephant)
Nominees
- Jisu Han
- Gulmina
- The Night Shift Security
BEST OVERALL DRAMA
🏆 WINNER — The Night Shift Security
Nominees
- Treasure: A Fictional Homemade Film
- Gulmina
- The Nomad’s Legacy
- (Elephant)
BEST DRAMA SHORT
🏆 WINNER — (Elephant)
Student Film Awards
BEST STUDENT FILM
🏆 WINNER — Baby Angel
Other Selections
- The Locals
- Skip
- Checked Out
- Hangar 5
BEST STUDENT DOCUMENTARY
🏆 WINNER — The Locals
BEST STUDENT DIRECTOR
🏆 WINNER — Skip
BEST STUDENT VISIONARY
🏆 WINNER — A Quiet House
BEST STUDENT COMEDY
🏆 WINNER — Checked Out
Screenplay Awards
BEST SCREENPLAY
Leading Selection — The Return of Knecht Ruprecht
Other Selections
- Treasure: A Fictional Homemade Film
- The Nomad’s Legacy
- Optics: A Presidential Drama
BEST HOLIDAY-INSPIRED SCREENPLAY
Selection — Prehistoria
BEST ACTION SCREENPLAY
🏆 WINNER — He Just Won’t Die
BEST DRAMA SCREENPLAY
🏆 WINNER — América
BEST HORROR SCREENPLAY
Selection — How to Fix a Broken Heart
BEST COMEDIC SCREENPLAY
Leading Selection — Spiderpocalypse
Other Selections
- Uncle
- 7 D.B.S.
Festival’s Top Recognition
BEST FILM OF BOCAS FILM FEST 2026
🏆 WINNER — Meet the Frantics
Nominees
- Bully Lifestyle – Hustle & Bloodlines
- Ghost Room
- Jasper, Florida
- A Quiet House
- Marginal Behavior
Congratulations to Our 2026 Filmmakers!
Bocas Film Fest congratulates every filmmaker, actor, screenwriter, director, and creative team whose work was recognized during our 2026 festival.
Independent filmmaking requires passion, determination, creativity, and the willingness to bring stories to life, often without the resources available to major studios.
Whether you received a Bocas trophy, an honorable mention, or a nomination, we appreciate your contribution to independent cinema.
Add Your Bocas Film Fest Recognition to IMDb
Bocas Film Fest has an official IMDb event listing!
Filmmakers and industry professionals with eligible IMDb titles or credits can submit their festival wins and nominations for inclusion in the IMDb awards database, subject to IMDb’s verification and approval process.
IMDb — Bocas Film Fest 2026:
https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0074999/2026/1/
Bocas Film Fest Returns May 1, 2027!
Our Spring Edition continues our mission of celebrating independent cinema and recognizing filmmakers from around the world.
Visit https://bocasfilmfest.com for festival announcements, reviews, submission information, and upcoming events.
BOCAS FILM FEST — CELEBRATING INDEPENDENT CINEMA!
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