Spotlight Documentary Awards

Best Documentary Feature

67 Bombs to Enid
Ty McMahan, Kevin Ford

Cabali And The Tiki Mug Obsession
Josh Dragotta

The Man Who Saves The World?
Gabe Polsky

The RoseMan of Omaha
David M Weiss

Best Documentary Short

Call of the Crow
Sarah King

Darlinghurst Eats Its Young
Madeleine Preston

Tides of Change
Robert Kroger, Andrew Francis Seals

Best Biographical Documentary

My Gray World
Petro Aleksowski

NEWT: A Short Documentary
Win Scott

Who in the Hell is Regina Jones?
Soraya Selene, Billy Miossi

Best Social Impact Documentary

Dr. Hanna Wants To Try
Field to Healed Foundation, Stoke Creative Agency

It Is Up To Us
Stephen McKinley Henderson, Stephen W Rosenthal

Justin’s Addiction Story: No Family is Immune
Jacob Surette

Best Personal Story

Balance
Michael Boehm

I’ll Tell You When You’re Older
Christian Ocana

The Wind Once Whispered
Johan Swinnen

Emerging Filmmaker Award

A Fighting Legacy
Adam Wagner

Big Rock Burning
David Goldblum

The Last Ferryman
Oscar Pichel, Paul Frey, Aisling Murphy

Words to Live By
Richard E. Haywood

Jury Award

A Kingdom of Tea & Strangers
Houston Coley, Debora Grace Coley

Empower Ink Documentary
Valheria Luccia Sanchez

The Women in Security Documentary
Yvette Freeman

Best Director

Cast Off
Julian Wittmann

Living UNDONE
Amanda Kasmira Cryer

Video Dreams: A VHS Massacre Story
Thomas Seymour

Best Feature Documentary
For exceptional feature-length nonfiction storytelling.

Best Short Documentary
For short-form documentaries that make a strong impact.

Best Director
For creative direction and vision in documentary filmmaking.

Best Biographical Documentary
For films that capture the life, legacy, or personal journey of an individual in a compelling way.

Best Social Impact
For documentaries that raise awareness or drive meaningful conversation about real-world issues.

Best Personal Story
For deeply human, first-person storytelling that connects on an emotional level.

Emerging Filmmaker Award
For a rising filmmaker whose work shows exceptional promise.

Jury Award
Selected by the judging panel for overall excellence.