Austin Film Festival Names 2026 Script and Film Competition Winners

The Austin Film Festival selected 21 writers and writing teams as winners of its 2026 script and film competitions, drawn from more than 12,500 submissions to its 33rd annual event. Judges named winners at the Awards Luncheon on Saturday in Austin, Texas, after 78 scripts reached the finalist round.

Saoirse Ronan's "Paper Plane" took the Narrative Short award, with Ronan serving as writer and director. Keith Rubin's script "Helicopter" pulled off a double win, taking both the William N. Collage Screenwriting Award and the Enderby Entertainment Award.

"For more than 30 years, our competitions have been about recognizing great scriptwriting," Executive Director Barbara Morgan said. "We want talented storytellers to leave Austin with more than an award. We want them to leave with new relationships, meaningful industry access and opportunities that can help move their careers forward."

Morgan added: "This year's winners represent exactly the kind of bold, original voices we are proud to champion."

What does the competition actually change for winners?

The awards function as a discovery pipeline. AFF aims to connect emerging talent with agents, managers, producers and executives looking for new writers. The festival routes finalists to industry professionals through its Writers Conference and its Producers Book, a directory of finalist projects with writers' contact information. Many awards come with tailored fellowships offering mentorship and career development.

There's also an Oscar angle: winners in the narrative, documentary and animated shorts categories become eligible for Academy Award consideration.

A panel of showrunners, creators, producers and writers — with credits including "The Bear," "Succession," "Widows Bay" and "Parks and Rec" — selected the winning projects.

Script competition winners

• Drama Feature Award (presented by Writers Guild of America, East): "Sisters" by Zenas Cao
• Comedy Feature Award: "Pure Intentions" by Sarah Peele
• YMH Studios Comedy Fellowship Award: "Derek Darling" by Robert Barker and Jim Russo
• The Donners' Company Screenwriting Award: "Filthy" by Lisa Cole
• The William N. Collage Screenwriting Award: "Helicopter" by Keith Rubin
• The Enderby Entertainment Award: "Helicopter" by Keith Rubin
• The Valhalla Entertainment Award: "Devilish" by Eric Goldberg
• Horror Feature Award: "Dyscopia" by Bobby Marino
• The Chronology Screenwriting Award: "Method" by Matt Foss and Cora Vander Broek
• Sci-Fi Feature Award: "Louis and Puck" by Parker Rawlins and William Cowser
• The Roadmap Writers Representation Fellowship Award: "I Want My Present Back" by Haley Mancini
• Drama Teleplay Pilot Award: "Gay Harlem" by Eric Williams
• The AMC One-Hour Pilot Award: "House of Devlin" by Michael Connors
• Comedy Teleplay Pilot Award: "Arkadelphia" by Mac Alsfeld
• Adult Animated Comedy Teleplay Fellowship Award (presented by Starburns Industries): "Evolved" by Chase Norman
• Drama Teleplay Spec Award: "Dexter: Resurrection: The Gamblers" by Laura Hunter Drago
• Comedy Teleplay Spec Award: "Hacks: Chicken and Egg" by Dawn Cowle
• Short Screenplay Award: "The Semicolon" by Aaron Roman
• Stage Play Award: "Body of Work" by Rigel Harris
• Fiction Podcast Award: "The Cold Plunge" by Sunny Bleckinger
• Scripted Digital Series Award: "Old Bogus Massacre" by Matthew McFadden, Dawn Cowle and Baylor Knobloch

Dawn Cowle appears twice on the list, winning both the Comedy Teleplay Spec Award and the Scripted Digital Series Award.

Film competition winners

• Narrative Feature (presented by Valhalla Entertainment): "Sweet Milk Lake," writer/director Harvey Zielinski
• Comedy Vanguard Feature: "Pickpockets," writers Lucy Green and D.C. Fairhurst, director D.C. Fairhurst
• Documentary Feature: "Strange Ashes: The Untold Story of Elisabeth Elliot," writer/director Laura Waters Hinson
• Dark Matters Feature: "All the Way Down," writers/directors Collin Davis and Matthew Valdez-Litwiller
• Narrative Short: "Paper Plane," writer/director Saoirse Ronan; Honorable Mention: "Don't You Want Me Baby?" by writer/director Gabriel Foster Prior
• Student Short: "Rabbit Heart," writer Anna Leah Bolln, director Stella Fachinger
• Documentary Short: "Buried Under Years of Dust," writer Emily Grodin, director Sophie Sartain
• Animated Short: "How Not to Die on an Alien Planet," writers Carlos F. Puertolas and Anthony Hodgson, director Carlos F. Puertolas
• Produced Digital Series: "Matched," writer Dominique Salerno, director Elvira Ibragimova
• Kilter Films Filmmaker Fellowship Award (Feature): "Rated," cowriters John Fortson and Christie Lynn Smith, director John Fortson
• Kilter Films Filmmaker Fellowship Award (Short): "Assembly Required," writer/director Andy Volk
• Enderby Entertainment Filmmaking Fellowship Award: "Soul Heirs," writers Harrie Hayes and Tom Machell, director Richard Turley

With the shorts categories carrying Academy Award eligibility, this year's roster — from Ronan's directing turn to Rubin's double script win — now enters the industry's hiring and acquisition pipeline through the festival's Producers Book and fellowship contacts.