Films including “Whisperings of the Moon,” “Silver” and “Zumeca” were among the winners at the 32nd Slamdance Film Festival. Dedicated to celebrating emerging filmmaking talent from around the world, the in-person awards ceremony took place on Feb. 25 at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles.
This year, the festival’s lineup consisted of 141 films — 50 of which were world premieres — selected from a pool of 10,000 submissions.
Comedian Jarod Snow’s documentary “You Look Fine,” which details his battle with sickle cell anemia, won both an audience award and a jury award, and was awarded a theatrical distribution offer from Utopia.
“Whisperings of the Moon,” directed by Yuqing Lai, won the grand jury prize for narrative feature. Lai was awarded the honor posthumously, as the director passed away in Dec. 2025.
“‘Whisperings of the Moon’ is a dizzying love story between two star-crossed Cambodian women who meet through the art of theater,” said the awards jury in a statement. “The haunting performances and visceral imagery will burrow its way into your soul. We have lost the writer-director Yuqing Lai too soon — an irreplaceable voice in filmmaking.”
Steve Kang, president of the Board of Public Works and chief film liaison for the city of Los Angeles, opened the awards ceremony and unveiled a new pilot program that will make filming in the Los Angeles area more accessible to low impact and independent productions. The city will significantly reduce permit fees for productions applying through FilmLA, as well as expand access to iconic locations, Kang announced.
This year’s Slamdance festival is also a testament to the power of the grassroots film community; the festival’s audience grew by 10% from the year before, selling over 12,000 tickets and recording a six-figure net in box office receipts. Nearly all LA screenings sold out.
“As the entertainment industry continues to face massive disruption, Slamdance in Los Angeles is proof that through event experiences you can still grow cinema and fill every seat in the house,” said Slamdance President and Co-Founder Peter Baxter in a statement. “Some might think celebrity culture remains the only way to do this but Slamdance has known for a long time that when it comes to recognizing talent, launching careers and attracting an audience a grassroots community can really do it themselves.”
The full Slamdance lineup is available online on the Slamdance Channel through March 6.
See the full list of winners below.
GRAND JURY AWARDS – FEATURES
Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize: “Whisperings of the Moon” (Yuqing Lai, Hong Kong, Cambodia, India)
Honorable Mention: “Ten Will” (Max DeFalco, United States)
Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize: “Silver” (Natalia Koniarz, Poland, Norway, Finland)
Honorable Mention: “House 4” (Philipp Schaeffer, Germany)
Breakouts Feature Grand Jury Prize: “Zumeca” (David Maler, Dominican Republic)
Honorable Mention: “BRB” (Kate Cobb, United States)
Episodes Grand Jury Prize: “Vicky Wakes Up” (Victoria Blade, United States)
Honorable Mention: “Cat & Nat” (Aaron Hughes, United States)
GRAND JURY AWARDS – UNSTOPPABLE
Unstoppable Feature Grand Jury Prize: “You Look Fine” (J.Snow, United States)
Honorable Mention: “The Tallest Dwarf” (Julie Forrest Wyman, United States)
Unstoppable Short Grand Jury Prize: “Everhand” (Shane Hillier, United States)
Honorable Mention: “Girl of Wind” (Nanxi Yuan, China)
JURY AWARDS – 99 Special
99 Special Jury Award: “Dead Grandma” (Rachel Kempf & Nick Toti, United States)
Honorable Mention: “Pickup” (Viktoriia Lapushkina, Russia, United States)
JURY AWARDS – SHORTS
Narrative Short Grand Jury Prize: “Beaks” (Xavier Demoulin, France)
Honorable Mention: “It Means Hope” (Shadi Karamroudi, Iran)
Documentary Short Grand Jury Prize: “Panther Pat” (Ashley Brandon, United States)
Honorable Mention: “In Exchange For Flesh” (Sandro Ramani and Corey Devon Arthur, United States)
Experimental Shorts Grand Jury Prize: “I Would Have Liked to Make a Different Film” (Suse Itzel, Germany)
Honorable Mention: “Whose Woods Are These” (Kate Nartker, United States)
Animated Shorts Grand Jury Prize: “Busy Bodies” (Kate Renshaw-Lewis, United States)
Honorable Mention: “One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six” (Yingdan Lai, United States)
FESTIVAL WIDE AWARDS:
The AGBO Fellowship, presented by Joe and Anthony Russo, Award Winner: Jiin Oh, director of “SPEEDY!”
Summer Chastant Episodic Award: “Cat & Nat” (Aaron Hughes, United States)
Slamdance Acting Award: Angela Canó from “Zumeca”
George Starks Spirit of Slamdance Award Winner: Jalen Wilson-Nelen, director of “Puke Bitch”
AUDIENCE AWARDS:
Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature: “Three Colors: Pan-African” (Elijah Davis, Allison A. Waite, Tyler Ocasio Holmes, USA)
Audience Award for Documentary Feature: “Kings Of Venice” (Sveinn Ingimundarson, S.D. Saltarelli, USA)
Audience Award for Unstoppable: “You Look Fine” (J. Snow, USA)
variety.com
#Whisperings #Moon #Fine
