FAME Shorts Film Festival announces its 2026 award nominees, celebrating a new wave of filmmakers and short films from South Africa and beyond.
The fourth edition of the FAME Shorts Film Festival will screen short films from South Africa and across the continent, competing across 17 categories including fiction, documentary, animation and student filmmaking. Taking place from 30 October to 1 November at The Rockefeller Hotel, the festival kicks off with the awards on 30 October, ahead of the festival programme.
This year’s nominations put a spotlight on both the films and the people who made them, from directors, writers and cinematographers to actors, editors, designers and composers.
Among the films competing for Best Short Film are Aasvoëls (Vultures), APART, God Sleeps on Sundays, Whispers of a Burning Scent and Everything Between Us.
Several of the films appear across multiple categories. Making waves this year is Dian Weys’ Aasvoëls which has been nominated for multiple categories: Best Short Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Supporting Actress and Best Actor.
Everything Between Us, directed by Robyn Phillips, is also a multiple-category contender, with nominations spanning Best Short Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Cinematography, Editing, Use of Music, Production Design, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress and Best Actor.
The makers behind the films
The Best Director category brings together Dian Weys for Aasvoëls, Naishe Nyamubaya for God Sleeps on Sundays, Pola Maneli for APART and Robyn Phillips for Everything Between Us.
The screenplay nominees include Weys for Aasvoëls, Mo Harawe for Whispers of a Burning Scent, Phillips and Brandon Clarke for Everything Between Us, and Spike Lee, Tim Jones, Jeff Leisawitz and Lubabalo Matti for APART.
In cinematography, Cameron Baatjies is nominated for God Sleeps on Sundays, Jason Prins receives two nominations for Everything Between Us and Vimba! 2, and Pauline Pyras is nominated for Burning Lies.
Editing nominations include Dan Sadowsky for Dears in the Headlights, Weys for Aasvoëls, and Shelby Ncube for both Everything Between Us and God Sleeps on Sundays.
Music also gets its own category, with Black Coffee and Jamute nominated for APART, Chris Laco Snyman for Everything Between Us, Lungile Themba for Sikelela: The Enoch Sontonga Story and Mario “Amigo” Laaistock for Amigo the Griot.
The craft categories continue with production design, makeup and styling, costume design and movie poster. Among the names nominated are Bathoni Robinson, Kaley Meyer, Nuur Abdulkadir, Shylet Ndarambwa, Jette Krause, Thobeka Mkhize, Xie Ziyu, Laduma Ngxokolo, Suraya Tewary and Lungile Themba and Tshepang Mofokeng.
Acting gets its own spotlight
The acting categories bring together a mix of established performers and newer screen talent.
For Best Actress, the nominees are Dorothy Ann Gould as The Buyer in Vimba! Pt 2, Lauren Joseph as Laila in ’n Poppy op die Heuwel, Tendaiishe Chitima as Mavis in God Sleeps on Sundays and Ydalie Turk as Jess in Colour of Dreams.
The Best Actor nominees are Edwin van der Walt as Paul in Aasvoëls, Innes Maas as Simon in Everything Between Us, Leroy Siyafa as James in God Sleeps on Sundays and Omar Abdi as Hanfade in Whispers of a Burning Scent.
Supporting performances include Kate Pinchuck in Dread, Jill Levenberg in Aasvoëls, Nellie Modimola in Everything Between Us and Wizzy Mangoma in God Sleeps on Sundays for Best Supporting Actress. Albert Pretorius in Aasvoëls, David Sherwood in The Man, The Cliff and The Dog, Hénoc Kiyombo in Leopard of Congo and Brian Ogola in GOAT are nominated for Best Supporting Actor.
Documentaries, student films and queer stories
The awards also carve out space for films in categories that sit outside the festival’s main awards.
The Best Documentary nominees are Amigo the Griot, Dears in the Headlights and Talking to Family.
The Best Student Film category includes It’s Just a Movie, Sugarcane, Burning, Talking to Family and Queezy Visits the Races.
For Best LGBTQ+, the nominees are Dread, Everything Between Us, Luna and Queezy Visits the Races.
Across the full nominations, the programme moves between personal stories, social histories, genre filmmaking and experimental work, with filmmakers from different stages of their careers represented.
According to FAME Week Africa Portfolio Director Martin Hiller, the breadth of the nominations reflects what the festival has seen develop over its four editions.
“Short film gives filmmakers the freedom to experiment, take risks and tell stories in unexpected ways.” – FAME Week Africa Portfolio Director Martin Hiller
The festival says it has screened 129 films since launching, with this year’s programme continuing that focus on short-form filmmaking.
The winners will be announced at the FAME Shorts Film Festival Awards on 30 October, before the festival’s three days of screenings begin.
Tickets are available through Quicket, with individual screening blocks priced at R75 and an All-Block Pass at R275. The full 2026 programme is available via the FAME Shorts Film Festival website.
- Want to know more, check out www.fameshortsfilmfestival.com or see the full programme leaflet here.
