Sedona International Film Festival<\/a> over thirty years ago, that kind of growth makes us all so proud, and it\u2019s all thanks to the filmmakers and the stories they tell. We\u2019ve always put filmmakers first, and the results, year over year, make SIFF a really special event for everyone involved.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\tJan Krawitz first attended SIFF in 2005 with her feature documentary, \u201cBig Enough.\u201d This year she returned with her 17-minute short doc \u201cNice Girls Don\u2019t Ask,\u201d a film that uses \u201csocial guidance\u201d films of the 1950s as a cautionary tale for the present.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cI was aware of (SIFF\u2019s) dedication to humanistic documentary and fiction films that offer captivating narratives,\u201d Krawitz said. \u201cNice Girls Don\u2019t Ask\u201d is created exclusively from \u201csocial guidance\u201d films of the 1950s, so it appeals to the type of cinephiles who enthusiastically patronize this festival.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tDirector Mat Hames was at SIFF with his doc \u201cA Life Outside: American Mountain Guides.\u201d The film follows modern mountain guides in the Tetons who risk their lives to bring clients home safely.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cSedona is full of avid hikers, so SIFF felt like a natural home (for the film),\u201d Hames said. \u201cWe hope SIFF helps our film start a conversation about the physical and mental health benefits of getting into wild places, and that enthusiasm helps it with our PBS premiere later this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tSIFF, which ran from Feb. 21 through March 1. In addition to screening 36 feature docs, the lineup included 32 doc shorts, 36 feature-length narrative films and 42 animated and narrative shorts.<\/p>\n
\n\tSIFF 2026 Winners:<\/p>\n
\n\tDOCUMENTARY WINNERS:<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Documentary Feature: Sons of Detroit<\/p>\n
\n\tNon-Fiction New Visions Award: Room to Move<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Indie-Spirit Documentary: Creede U.S.A.<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Non-Fiction Storytelling: Natchez<\/p>\n
\n\tMost Inspirational Documentary: Dream Touch Believe<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Documentary Short: A Sacred Pause<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Indie-Spirit Documentary Short: Exodus<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Humanitarian Documentary Short: Rovina\u2019s Choice<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Short Non-Fiction Storytelling: On Healing Lands, Birds Perch<\/p>\n
\n\tNARRATIVE FILM WINNERS:<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Feature \u2013 Drama: Mr. Burton<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Feature \u2013 Comedy: Ethan Bloom<\/p>\n
\n\tBest International Feature: The Marching Band<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Humanitarian Feature: Muganga<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Indie-Spirit Feature: The Fallow Few<\/p>\n
\n\tMost Impactful Film: Shambhala Story<\/p>\n
\n\tMost Inspirational Film: Mistake<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Family Film: The Secret Floor<\/p>\n
\n\tSHORT WINNERS:<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Short \u2013 Comedy: Daniel Van den Berg is Dead<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Short \u2013 Drama: The Art of Inflation<\/p>\n
\n\tBest International Short: The Reach<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Humanitarian Short: Fundbox \u2013 A Love Story<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Student Short: The Demon Core<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Animated Short: WildKind<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Indie-Spirit Short: Two People Exchanging Saliva<\/p>\n
\n\tProgrammer\u2019s Choice Best Short: Emergency<\/p>\n
\n\tSCREENPLAY WINNERS:<\/p>\n
\n\tFeature Scripts: \u201cBurgirlry\u201d by Evan Laughlin<\/p>\n
\n\tShort Scripts: \u201cBurning Hammer\u201d by Dylan Wilson<\/p>\n
\n\tTV Pilots: \u201cSally White\u201d by Katrina Jaxson<\/p>\n
\n\tAUDIENCE CHOICE WINNERS:<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Short \u2013 Drama: The Ride<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Short \u2013 Comedy: Fitted Sheet<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Student Short: The Demon Core<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Animated Short: Forevergreen<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Documentary Short: Icebreakers<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Documentary Feature: Dream Touch Believe<\/p>\n
\n\tBest International Documentary Feature: Mr. Nobody Against Putin<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Feature Drama: The Secret Floor<\/p>\n
\n\tBest Feature Comedy: Switch & Bait<\/p>\n
\n\tBest International Film: The Fallow Few<\/p>\n
\n\tBest of Fest Narrative: The Marching Band
Best of Fest Documentary: Andr\u00e9 Is an Idiot<\/p>\n
\n\t(Pictured: \u201cNatchez\u201d)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Sedona Intl. Film Festival 2026 has announced the complete list of winners across its competition and audience…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308949,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[6332,156,409,111,139,69,168547],"class_list":{"0":"post-308948","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-documentaries-to-watch","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-movies","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz","14":"tag-sedona-international-film-festival"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308948","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308948"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308948\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308948"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308948"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308948"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}