BFX Film Festival
Awards 2026
UK Shorts
Gold Award – The Ballad of Pale Blue Dot

The Ballad of Pale Blue Dot
Directed by: Duncan Rudd
Starting at the atomic scale, we discover how earth was formed, its mis-spent youth, its adventures in parenting and its feelings towards us.
Honorable Mention – Solstice
Gold

Solstice
Directed by: Luke Angus
A lonely Inuit must endure the endless summer daylight to be reunited with his lost love.
Gold
Honorable Mention – Two Black Boys in Paradise
Gold

Two Black Boys in Paradise
Directed by: Baz Sells
A movingly tender animation, based on Dean Atta’s eponymous poem, sees two boys (Edan, 19 and Dula, 18) on a journey of self-acceptance and love.
International Shorts
Gold Award – You Play Too Much

You Play Too Much
Directed by: Rob Shaw, US
Lil’ Robbie (Fred Armisen) , an elementary school kid growing up in 1980’s Philadelphia has to navigate being a nerdy outsider in a tough environment.
Gold
Honorable Mention – Flower Bot

Flower Bot
Directed by: Celio Dubus, Margaux Hallot, Tiphaine Houdeau, Loïs Pastor, Marie Piazza, Clémence Thomire, Ludovic Vasse, Aurélia Zerhouni – France
In a scorching hot desert, Betty, a young robot still grieving her kind, discovers a miraculous flower.
Experimental
Gold Award – Chrysalis

Chrysalis
Directed by: Andy Lomas, UK
A video for Max Cooper’s concert at the Royal Albert Hall created using computational simulation of biological processes.
Honorable Mention – Total Pixel Space
Total Pixel Space
Directed by: Jacob Adler, US
Total Pixel Space contains every possible digital image, including films of your entire life, every life you never lived.
VFX Shorts
Gold Award – Dream Brew

Dream Brew
Directed by: Ben Bayliss, Anthony Hampshire, Joel Dutton, UK
The project is designed to be used as an uncommissioned advertisement for the company “Dreambrew” – an iced coffee brand.
Honorable Mention – Buzz Stop

Buzz Stop
Directed by: Rehan Khan, Charlotte Foster, UK
This micro-short VFX film follows commuters around Entomopia – a city in which public transport systems are all giant insects.
AI Assisted
Gold Award – The Tale of the Peony

The Tale of the Peony
Directed by: Yuqing Liu, Jintao Sun, China
The Tale of the Peony is an AI-generated experimental short film inspired by the life of the late Tang dynasty poet Yu Xuanji.
Honorable Mention – Georges

Georges
Directed by: Alphonse Marcel, France
At the dawn of the 20th century, a filmmaker named Georges sets out to create a motion picture depicting a journey to the Moon.
New Talent
Gold Award – Insider

Insider
Directed by: Longyin Zhou – China, Japan
A treasure hunt through memory and self leads the panda to embrace the long-forgotten version of himself.
Honorable Mention – Selamat Jalan (Bon Voyage)

Selamat Jalan (Bon Voyage)
Directed by: Keisha Philia Ibrahim, Himanshu Gorantala, UK
First-time in a foreign country, a newly formed couple embarks on an exciting, adventurous, and heartfelt train journey throughout the United Kingdom.