Ghent International Short Film Festival 2026 Concludes with Awards Announcement

Ghent, Belgium — The 2026 edition of the Ghent International Short Film Festival concluded on March 22 at the Velvet Room after a week-long celebration of independent and daring short cinema. From March 16 to 22, the festival presented a curated selection of 46 short films spanning narrative, documentary, animation, experimental and underground cinema. The festival welcomed a number of special guests, including Maximilian Nita, Hiroyuki Nishiyama, Klara Schmickler, Catarina Couto Gonçalves, Nina Pinzarrone, Luka Galle, Helena Taghon and Romane Eilahtan, whose presence contributed to a week of engaged screenings and enriching post-screening discussions with audiences.

Reflecting on this year’s edition, curator Kris De Meester described the festival as “a privilege to meet so many talented filmmakers and to experience the enriching conversations that followed the screenings.” Continuing its mission to support independent filmmakers, the festival awarded all selected filmmakers The Tarkovski Grant, valued at €500, to support their journey on the international film festival circuit.

Award Winners — Ghent International Short Film Festival 2026

Best Film
Mom Dances (Switzerland) by Mégane Brügger — 23:00
A powerful and intimate reflection on what remains of a mother after years of domestic violence — her body, dignity, strength, and the gestures and memories that can still be passed down.

Best Narrative Film
An Excess Baggage (France) by Myriam Garcia Marienstras — 16:20
A subtle portrait of a mother struggling with emotional dependency when her daughter leaves for summer camp, revealing how love can sometimes become too heavy to carry.

Best Documentary Film
Greetings from Seaside Heights (Germany) by Klara Schmickler — 14:30
A portrait of a seaside town caught between consumerism and quiet decay, where residents reflect on identity, purpose, and the cost of calling a place home.

Best Animated Film — Une Fugue (To the Woods) (France) by Agnès Patron
A poetic and fragile story of memory and loss, following a sister who recalls her brother with vivid tenderness.

Best Experimental Film — Kiesler’s Body (Austria) by Ganaël Dumreicher
An experimental exploration of architect Frederick Kiesler’s visionary cinematic space, where architecture and film merge into a boundless visual experience.

Best Underground Film — Tenez (Germany) by Maximilian Nita
A psychological portrait of a young tennis player confronting the trauma of past abuse on the eve of an important championship.

Best New Filmmaker — This Between Us (Belgium) by Helena Taghon
A fragile and intense portrait of the complex bond between a daughter and her mother over the course of a single night.

Best Connecting Cultures Film — NŪR (Congo) by Ryan Youngblood
A powerful reconstruction of life inside an Islamic State camp in the Democratic Republic of Congo, following a young man torn between survival, faith and the hope of returning home.

Best Belgian Narrative Film — The Catcher (Belgium) by Luka Galle
A surreal and melancholic story about a lonely government worker tasked with catching invisible birds, until he decides to bring one home.

Best Belgian Documentary Film — Dans un Souffle (Belgium, Hungary, Portugal) by Catarina Couto Gonçalves
A poetic black-and-white portrait of figure skater Nina Pinzarrone and her fragile yet relentless pursuit of perfection.

Best Dance Film — Kielo (Finland) by Janina Rajakangas & Sinem Kayacan
A dance film exploring imagination, neurodivergence, and the emotional world of young people through movement.

Best Music Video — Millenium (Belgium) by Melisa Gammarota

Best Super Short Film — 20:15 Mexico DF (Argentina) by Alejandro Di Meglio
A tender encounter between two women in Mexico City becomes a reflection on memory, love and the passage of time.

Audience Choice Award — Ice Breath (Romania) by Leonard Alecu
A hypnotic black-and-white cinematic poem filmed among the melting icebergs of Greenland, reflecting on climate change, time and extinction.

The Ghent International Short Film Festival continues to position itself as a platform for bold cinema and meaningful exchange, where emerging and established filmmakers meet an engaged audience in an intimate setting dedicated to cinema as an art form.

Official Selection / winners of The Tarkovski Grant

20:15 Mexico DF (Argentina) by Alejandro Di Meglio

Emy Nails - And Emy shaped her nails (Italy) by Camilla Carè

Scarred (Canada) by Zeddy Chevron

I knew you were my kind (Germany) by Vanessa Gunesch

Millenium (Belgium) by Melisa Gammarota

The Bull (United Kingdom) by Victor Nauwynck

Tenez (Germany) by Maximilian Nita

Super V (France) by Franck Janin

20dB (Japan) by Hiroyuki Nishiyama

Long-Term Extramarital Affair (United States) by Neely Goniodsky

Reliefs (Mexico) by Juan Manuel Gonzalez Fernandez

Kielo (Finland) by Janina Rajakangas, Sinem Kayacan

A Winter Mirage (United Kingdom) by Guoju Wang

Who Did You Go Fishing With? (Kosovo) by Noar Sahiti

Tofu (Japan) by Hiroyuki Nishiyama

De Pomp (Belgium) by Lex Moonen

Stanzas in Dejection (Belgium) by Gwen Guldix

Measurements (Italy) by Marta Capossela

Greetings from Seaside Heights (Germany) by Klara Schmickler

Title Subtitle (Korea, Republic of) by Minyul Yeu

Dans un Souffle (Belgium, Hungary, Portugal) by Catarina Couto Gonçalves

Mom Dances (Switzerland) by Mégane Brügger

Unscarred (Belgium) by Théo Roland

Toast (Belgium) by Bram Van Rompaey, Reinout Swinnen

Kiesler's Body (Austria) by Ganaël Dumreicher

A Face (Mexico) by Natalia Plascencia

Bubble Bath (Italy) by Giulia Magno

The Bull (United Kingdom) by Victor Nauwynck

Wayno baba? (Where is daddy?) (France, Lebanon) by Laura Ghazal

The Catcher (Belgium) by Luka Galle

This Between Us (Belgium) by Helena Taghon

The journey (United Kingdom) by Mel Steele

Dead tooth (France) by Romane Eilahtan

An excess baggage (France) by Myriam Garcia Marienstras

Martin is afraid of the dark (Belgium) by Victor Ruprich Robert

Une Fugue (To the woods) (France) by Agnès Patron

Lovers’ Story: fragment(s) (Italy, Korea, Republic of) by Marta Irene Giotti

NŪR (Congo) by Ryan Youngblood

Confrontation (France) by Marie Abbenanti, Sandy Pujol Latour

Hold the Dream (China) by Xiaoyue Zhang

Home (Belgium) by Hanne Schillemans, Ralph Timmermans

Benny (Belgium) by Aron Quadu

Hu Li Jing : The Fox Spirit (United States) by Alena Saveleva

Ice Breath (Romania) by Leonard Alecu

Dragonfly (China) by Siyang Liu

Release (Hungary) by Zoltan Gergely Szabo