FAME Shorts Film Festival Announces 2026 Award Nominees

Cape Town, South Africa – September 2026 – The FAME Shorts Film Festival has announced the nominees for its 2026 Awards, celebrating outstanding achievement across 17 categories and recognising the filmmakers, performers and creative teams behind this year’s festival programme.

The FAME Shorts Film Festival Awards will take place on 30 October 2026, ahead of the official festival programme, which runs from 30 October to 1 November at The Rockefeller Hotel in Cape Town.

Now in its fourth edition, FAME Shorts brings together short films from Africa and around the world across fiction, documentary, animation and student filmmaking. Since its launch, the festival has screened 129 films, providing a platform for emerging and established filmmakers to showcase their work, connect with audiences and become part of the wider screen industry gathered in Cape Town for FAME Week Africa.

The awards recognise the complete filmmaking process, celebrating storytelling, directing, cinematography, editing, music, design and performance, alongside dedicated awards for documentary, LGBTQ+ representation and student filmmaking.

“Four years into FAME Shorts, I’m incredibly proud of the range of filmmakers and stories the festival continues to attract,” says Martin Hiller, Portfolio Director of FAME Week Africa. “Short film gives filmmakers the freedom to experiment, take risks and tell stories in unexpected ways. These nominations celebrate the films audiences see on screen, while also recognising the extraordinary creative talent and craft behind them.”

2026 FAME Shorts Film Festival Award Nominees

BEST SHORT FILM

• ‘Aasvoëls (Vultures)’
• ‘APART’
• ‘God Sleeps on Sundays’
• ‘Whispers of a Burning Scent’
• ‘Everything Between Us’

BEST DIRECTOR

• Dian Weys – ‘Aasvoëls’
• Naishe Nyamubaya – ‘God Sleeps on Sundays’
• Pola Maneli – ‘APART’
• Robyn Phillips – ‘Everything Between Us’

BEST SCREENPLAY

• Dian Weys – ‘Aasvoëls’
• Mo Harawe – ‘Whispers of a Burning Scent’
• Robyn Phillips & Brandon Clarke – ‘Everything Between Us’
• Spike Lee, Tim Jones, Jeff Leisawitz & Lubabalo Matti – ‘APART’

 BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Cameron Baatjies – ‘God Sleeps on Sundays’
• Jason Prins – ‘Everything Between Us’
• Pauline Pyras – ‘Burning Lies’
• Jason Prins – ‘Vimba! 2’

BEST EDITING

• Dan Sadowsky – ‘Dears in the Headlights’
• Dian Weys – ‘Aasvoëls’
• Shelby Ncube – ‘Everything Between Us’
• Shelby Ncube – ‘God Sleeps on Sundays’

BEST USE OF MUSIC

• Black Coffee + Jamute – ‘APART’
• Chris Laco Snyman – ‘Everything Between Us’
• Lungile Themba – ‘Sikelela: The Enoch Sontonga Story’
• Mario “Amigo” Laaistock – ‘Amigo the Griot’

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• Bathoni Robinson – ‘Aasvoëls’
• Kaley Meyer – ‘Everything Between Us’
• Nuur Abdulkadir – ‘Whispers of a Burning Scent’
• Shylet Ndarambwa – ‘God Sleeps on Sundays’

BEST MAKEUP & STYLING

• Jette Krause – ‘Burning Lies’
• Thobeka Mkhize – ‘Sugarcane, Burning’
• Xie Ziyu – ‘The Last Jiangshi’

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Laduma Ngxokolo – ‘APART’
• Lungile Themba + Tshepang Mofokeng – ‘Sikelela: The Enoch Sontonga Story’
• Suraya Tewary – ‘Sugarcane, Burning’
• Xie Ziyu – ‘The Last Jiangshi’

BEST MOVIE POSTER

• ‘APART’
• ‘Dears in the Headlights’
• ‘Don’t Pity The Girl’
• ‘Whispers of a Burning Scent’
• ‘Colours of Dreams’

BEST ACTRESS

• Dorothy Ann Gould (The Buyer) – ‘Vimba! Pt 2’
• Lauren Joseph (Laila) – ‘’n Poppy op die Heuwel’
• Tendaiishe Chitima (Mavis) – ‘God Sleeps on Sundays’
• Ydalie Turk (Jess) – ‘Colour of Dreams’

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Kate Pinchuck (Claudia) – ‘Dread’
• Jill Levenberg (Gayle) – ‘Aasvoëls’
• Nellie Modimola (Thandiwe) – ‘Everything Between Us’
• Wizzy Mangoma (Chirongoma) – ‘God Sleeps on Sundays’

BEST ACTOR

• Edwin van der Walt (Paul) – ‘Aasvoëls’
• Innes Maas (Simon) – ‘Everything Between Us’
• Leroy Siyafa (James) – ‘God Sleeps on Sundays’
• Omar Abdi (Hanfade) – ‘Whispers of a Burning Scent’

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Albert Pretorius (Anton) – ‘Aasvoëls’
• David Sherwood (Alfred) – ‘The Man, The Cliff and The Dog’
• Hénoc Kiyombo (Raymond) – ‘Leopard of Congo’
• Brian Ogola (Benjamin) – ‘GOAT’

BEST LGBTQ+

• ‘Dread’
• ‘Everything Between Us’
• ‘Luna’
• ‘Queezy Visits the Races’

BEST DOCUMENTARY

• ‘Amigo the Griot’
• ‘Dears in the Headlights’
• ‘Talking to Family’

BEST STUDENT FILM

• ‘It’s Just a Movie’
• ‘Sugarcane, Burning’
• ‘Talking to Family’
• ‘Queezy Visits the Races’

The winners will be revealed at the FAME Shorts Film Festival Awards on 30 October, setting the stage for three days of screenings and filmmaker experiences as the 2026 festival gets underway.

Tickets for the 2026 FAME Shorts Film Festival are on sale now through Quicket, with individual screening blocks priced at R75 and an All-Block Pass available for R275. Audiences can explore the full festival programme at www.fameshortsfilmfestival.com or read the official 2026 programme here.

“For us, FAME Shorts is about discovering filmmakers and celebrating the people behind the work,” adds Hiller. “Whether someone is making their first student film or has already built an international career, short film remains an incredible space for creativity. We want audiences to discover these stories and, importantly, remember the names behind them.”

The fourth edition of FAME Shorts continues the festival’s commitment to championing original voices, recognising filmmaking craft and creating a platform for the filmmakers shaping what audiences will be watching next.