Hamptons Film Festival 2026: Big Winners, Audience Favorites and Standout Films

La Bola Negra and If Pigeons Turned to Gold take top honors, The Drug in Our Pocket scores twice, and two short films qualify for Oscar consideration.

La Bola Negra and If Pigeons Turned to Gold claimed the top jury prizes at the 34th Hamptons International Film Festival, which announced its 2026 winners Tuesday, Oct. 13, following a run of more than 140 films and 205 screenings.

The festival also recognized audience favorites, emerging filmmakers and documentaries tackling some of today’s most pressing social issues.

The Top Winners

La Bola Negra, directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi, won Best Narrative Feature. Starring Penélope Cruz and Glenn Close, the sweeping Spanish drama follows three generations of men whose lives are connected by love, repression and long-buried secrets.

If Pigeons Turned to Gold, directed by Pepa Lubojacki, received Best Documentary Feature. The deeply personal film follows the director’s efforts to understand why their older brother and cousins struggle with addiction and homelessness.

Audiences made their own selections, choosing Elsinore, directed by Simon Stone, as Best Narrative Feature. Starring Andrew Scott and Olivia Colman, the drama tells the true story of actor Ian Charleson, who delivered a celebrated performance as Hamlet while battling AIDS.

Burgundy, directed by Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw, won the audience award for Best Documentary Feature. The film explores France’s celebrated wine region through the lives of young winemakers navigating tradition, craftsmanship and change.

The Grandfather Puzzle, directed by Ora DeKornfeld, won the audience award for Best Short Film. The documentary follows the filmmaker to Hungary as she investigates the mysterious past of her grandfather, who fled the country leaving behind a castle and a baronial title.

Social Impact and Other Standouts

The Drug in Our Pocket, directed by Anne Sundberg, was a double winner, receiving the Artemis Rising Foundation’s $10,000 Raise the Vibration Award for Social Impact and the New York Women in Film & Television Award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking. The documentary examines how smartphones and social media are reshaping childhood, adolescence and mental health, through interviews with young people, parents and experts.

NAZA, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, received the Victor Rabinowitz & Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice. From the Oscar-winning filmmaking team behind No Other Land, the documentary investigates Israeli military surveillance, targeting decisions and allegations involving civilian deaths in Gaza through interviews with Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers. The film drew protests during its Sag Harbor screening, adding a local flashpoint to the international controversy surrounding it.

A Song for the Snow Lion, directed by Pawo Choyning Dorji, also received a social impact award, while Wild Inside, directed by Penny Lane, was recognized for its examination of animal rights.

"Waterland" or a Bule Named Yanto

"Watercooler"

The festival’s top short-film prizes went to “Vaterland” or a Bule Named Yanto, directed by Berthold Wahjudi, about a German-Indonesian man confronting questions of belonging during a family visit, and Water Cooler, directed by Emma V.F., which observes immigration enforcement agents waiting outside courtrooms to make arrests. Both wins qualify the films for consideration at the 2027 Academy Awards in the live-action and documentary short-film categories, respectively, subject to Academy eligibility requirements.

In another festival first, Mouse, directed by Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson, received the inaugural HIFF Junior Jury Award, selected by East Hampton High School students. The coming-of-age drama follows a teenager struggling to find her identity after a friendship is upended.

Among previously announced honorees, Bob Balaban received the Lifetime Achievement Award, while Phil Lord and Chris Miller were recognized for directing Project Hail Mary.

“Congratulations to this year’s award winners, whose films stayed with our audiences long after the credits rolled,” said HamptonsFilm Chief Creative Officer David Nugent.

Complete List of 2026 HIFF Winners

Jury Awards

Best Narrative Feature: La Bola Negra — Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi

Best Documentary Feature: If Pigeons Turned to Gold — Pepa Lubojacki

Best Narrative Short Film: “Vaterland” or a Bule Named Yanto — Berthold Wahjudi

Best Documentary Short Film: Water Cooler — Emma V.F.

Narrative Jury Special Mention: The Guest — Mads Mengel

Audience Awards

Best Narrative Feature: Elsinore — Simon Stone

Best Documentary Feature: Burgundy — Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw

Best Short Film: The Grandfather Puzzle — Ora DeKornfeld

Special Awards

Artemis Rising Foundation Raise the Vibration Award for Social Impact: The Drug in Our Pocket — Anne Sundberg; A Song for the Snow Lion — Pawo Choyning Dorji

Victor Rabinowitz & Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice: Naza — Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor

Zelda Penzel “Giving Voice to the Voiceless” Award: Wild Inside — Penny Lane

Sherzum Award: What Will I Become? — Lexie Bean and Logan Rozos; Welcome to Paris — Al Karr

Brizzolara Family Foundation Award for Films of Conflict & Resolution: The Choice — John David Coles

Peter Macgregor-Scott Memorial Award: Laser-Gato — Lucas Acher

Suffolk County Next Exposure Grant: Barbizon — Jake Silbermann

New York Women in Film & Television Award for Excellence in Narrative Filmmaking: Ben’imana — Marie-Clémentine Dusabejambo

New York Women in Film & Television Award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking: The Drug in Our Pocket — Anne Sundberg

HIFF Junior Jury Award: Mouse — Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson

University Short Film Awards

• Gender Studies — Jamie Kiernan O’Brien
• Laser-Gato — Lucas Acher
• Memories of a Window — Mehraneh Salimian and Amin Pakparvar
• Not Valid for Travel — Jiaying Lin
• Rage — Fran Moreno Blanco and Santi Pujol Amat

Previously Announced Honors

Lifetime Achievement Award: Bob Balaban

Achievement in Directing Award: Phil Lord and Chris Miller, Project Hail Mary

FLYTE Breakthrough Director Award: Jordan Firstman, Club Kid

FLYTE Breakthrough Performer Awards: Anthony Ippolito, I Play Rocky; Rosalind Eleazar, Misty Green

Deadline Disruptor Achievement in Casting Award: Nina Gold

For more information: hamptonsfilmfest.org

Angela LaGreca

Editor, Co-Founder/Publisher

Angela LaGreca, Editor-in-chief and co-Founder/Publisher of Spark Hamptons, is a four-time Emmy Award-winning journalist, producer, writer and comedian/host. Her TV credits include NBC’s “Today,” ABC’s “The View,” and, most recently, the primetime cable news program “Cuomo” on NewsNation. On the East End, she was the Creative Director at LTV, VP Features/Events/Photo Editor at Dan’s Papers, and has performed at Guild Hall, Bay Street Theater and the WHBPAC. Her publishing career began at Modern Photography, where she was managing editor. LaGreca lives in Manhattan and East Hampton and can be reached at angelatvmedia@gmail.com and angela@sparkhamptons.com .