Welcome to the official Nukhufest 2026 leaderboard.
51 projects from 20 countries entered the Nukhufest 2026 audience competition. The audience has now selected the Top 10 Finalists advancing to Cinema Village in New York City.
The Top 10 will screen throughout Nukhufest at Cinema Village from September 11 through September 17, 2026, but the competition is not over.
Audience voting continues through September 19 at 8 PM ET, when the highest-voted Finalist will become the 2026 Best Nuvee and receive the Nukhu Foundation's $3,000 Development-to-Distribution Grant and a handcrafted Nukhu ball to help launch their next project.
WATCH + VOTE:
https://nukhu.com/view/0?stack=0
Cinema Village Screenings: September 11 through 17
Top 10 Finalists Announced: August 29
Best Nuvee Voting Deadline: September 19 at 8 PM ET
Awards Ceremony: September 19, Studio Exhibit, Lower East Side
VIEW THE NUKHUFEST SCHEDULE + GET TICKETS:
https://www.nukhufoundation.org/nukhufest/schedule
2026 FINALISTS: TOP 10
Announced August 29, 2026
From 51 Semi-Finalists representing 20 countries, audiences selected the following ten projects to advance to the Nukhufest 2026 Finals.
The Finalists are listed alphabetically. List position does not represent vote ranking.
Finalists will screen repeatedly at Cinema Village across Program A and Program B, culminating in a complete Top 10 presentation on Closing Night, September 17. Audience voting continues through September 19.
A Family Guide To Hunting
Director: Zao Wang
Writers: Zao Wang, Tom Toro, Carmiel Banasky
Starring: Margaret Cho, Kahyun Kim, Keong Sim, Craig Newman
Cinema Village Program: Program A
Synopsis: A doomsday prepper takes her Korean-American parents and all-American boyfriend on a bonding hunting trip that quickly turns grisly.
Past Screenings / Recognition: Tribeca Film Festival, World Premiere.
About the Director: Zao Wang was born into a family of filmmakers in Beijing and emigrated to Mississippi at age 14. After earning degrees in physics and philosophy, he returned to his early passion for visual storytelling and earned an MFA in Film Directing from NYU Tisch. Drawing from his immigrant experience and multicultural perspective, Wang works across psychological horror, thriller and science fiction, often incorporating dark humor. His films have screened at festivals including Tribeca, Busan, Fantasia, Fantasporto and Palm Springs.
WATCH + VOTE:
https://nukhu.com/nuvee/1892
Balloonerism
Director: Samuel Jerome Mason
Writers: Samuel Jerome Mason, Roland Kennedy
Cinema Village Program: Program A
Synopsis: Created with Mac Miller's family as a visual companion to his posthumous album, a group of school friends is pulled into a surreal shadow realm where childhood gives way to adulthood.
Past Screenings: South By Southwest.
About the Director: Samuel Jerome Mason is a New York-based visual artist and director working across animation, live action and mixed media. Known for building tactile, dreamlike worlds, he has directed music videos for artists including Mac Miller, Future Islands, Bomba Estéreo, Sofi Tukker and The Strokes, as well as campaigns for brands and organizations including The New York Times, Spotify and Honda.
WATCH + VOTE:
https://nukhu.com/nuvee/1881
COLOR IS NOT A CRIME - Street Activism in NYC
Director: Janneke Wade-de Jong
Featuring: Erika Lucille Ewing, Vincent Ballentine
Cinema Village Program: Program B
Synopsis: Fashion activist Erika Ewing and street artist Vincent Ballentine explore racism, Black Lives Matter, art and the ability of public murals to become spaces of healing.
About the Director: Janneke Wade-de Jong is a filmmaker and Part-Time Lecturer at Parsons School of Design whose work explores social justice, mental health and community. She also teaches documentary filmmaking to BIPOC students at the Educational Video Center. Wade-de Jong earned a BFA in Film and Television Production from Loyola Marymount University and an MFA in Filmmaking from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
WATCH + VOTE:
https://nukhu.com/nuvee/1900
Half A Life
Directors and Writers: Sanjit Majumdar, Ranju Majumdar
Starring: Finn Wittrock
Cinema Village Program: Program A
Synopsis: An immigration-document counterfeiter faces exposure when local film students looking for clout begin investigating him.
About the Directors: Identical twins Ranju and Sanjit Majumdar began filmmaking as teenagers, directing their first no-budget feature at age 16. While students at Penn State, they were invited to the 2005 Berlinale Talent Campus and later wrote and directed the micro-budget feature Determinism. Their careers have also extended deeply into post-production, with color and finishing work on independent projects connected to Sundance and Tribeca. Half A Life brings the brothers back together as writers and directors.
WATCH + VOTE:
https://nukhu.com/nuvee/1815
Kiddos
Director: Javier S. Chabat
Writers: Javier S. Chabat, Ximena AlmazĂĄn, Luis Romay
Starring: Alejandro Airam GarcĂa, Regina Reza, Ăngel Silva
Cinema Village Program: Program B
Synopsis: Quique's desire to fit in with his high school's problematic soccer team threatens his friendship with Benny and his relationship with Benny's sister Lucy.
About the Director: Javier Gerardo SĂĄnchez Chabat is a director, screenwriter and producer from Veracruz, Mexico. A graduate of Digital Film Production at the University of Monterrey, his experience spans music videos, commercials and narrative short films. His filmmaking is driven by an interest in the human condition and in continually refining cinematic form to create characters and experiences that feel grounded in reality.
WATCH + VOTE:
https://nukhu.com/nuvee/1909
Kill
Writer and Director: Folajimi Olutiola
Starring: Lauren Harrison, Michael Oduro, Jessica Ezem
Cinema Village Program: Program B
Synopsis: Two writers working together on a screenplay argue over whether their main character should live or die, gradually revealing unexpected sides of themselves.
About the Director: Folajimi Olutiola is a writer-director and production and marketing professional. A graduate of Bentley University, he has worked professionally with Warner Bros. Discovery while developing his independent filmmaking work. In Kill, Olutiola turns the act of screenwriting itself into a dramatic confrontation between two writers wrestling with authorship, character and one another.
WATCH + VOTE:
https://nukhu.com/nuvee/1917
Ragamuffin
Writer and Director: Kaitlyn Mikayla
Starring: Eden Harper, Robert Hadlock, Courtney Dietz, Bailey Sloan, Michael Milligan, Cyle Winters
Cinema Village Program: Program B
Synopsis: During what appears to be an ordinary race weekend, a 12-year-old motocross rider confronts her identity, deafness and what it means to be a girl in her sport.
Past Screenings / Recognition: Sundance Film Festival; Palm Springs ShortFest, Best U.S. Short Special Mention; HollyShorts, Kodak Best Shot on Film, 16mm; Hamptons International Film Festival; Dublin Independent Film Festival, Best Short.
About the Director: Kaitlyn Mikayla is a writer-director and photographer whose work has moved from fashion and commercial imagery into narrative filmmaking. Her photography and directing work has appeared internationally and in campaigns for brands including Sports Illustrated Swimsuit, Barneys New York, Juicy Couture and Nautica. Her narrative directorial debut, Ragamuffin, premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and went on to screen at more than 30 festivals. Filmmaker Magazine named Mikayla one of its 25 New Faces of Independent Film in 2025.
WATCH + VOTE:
https://nukhu.com/nuvee/1883
SAVAGE SEASON.
Director: Nardeep Khurmi
Writer: Crystal Boyd
Starring: Crystal Boyd, Devere Rogers, Kate Kugler, Emebeit Beyene, Chivonne Michelle
Cinema Village Program: Program A
Synopsis: After ending a seven-year relationship, Gia is forced by her friends and her own spiraling thoughts to confront adulthood, inherited expectations and the life she actually wants.
About the Director: Nardeep Khurmi is an award-winning writer, director and actor whose work centers underrepresented communities and culturally specific stories. His debut feature, Land of Gold, won the 2021 AT&T Untold Stories grand prize and premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Festival before becoming available on Max. Khurmi works across grounded narrative storytelling and comedy as both a filmmaker and performer.
WATCH + VOTE:
https://nukhu.com/nuvee/1910
Sorry I'm late (but I brought a choir)
Director: HĂ„kon Anton Olavsen
Writers: HĂ„kon Anton Olavsen, Sunniva Kviteberg
Cinema Village Program: Program B
Synopsis: Nina is less than thrilled when Stian arrives late to her housewarming party with an entire choir he apparently picked up on the tram.
Past Screenings / Recognition: Tribeca Film Festival; Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival; Tallinn Black Nights/PĂFF Shorts; Minimalen Short Film Festival, Best Norwegian Film; Aarhus Film Festival, Best Short Film; Stockholm International Film Festival, Best Nordic Short Film.
About the Director: HĂ„kon Anton Olavsen is a Norwegian director and screenwriter educated at The Norwegian Film School, Nordland College of Art and Film, the University of Oslo and the Norwegian Institute of Acting. In 2023, he received Norway's Amanda Award for Best Short Film for his Norwegian Film School graduation film Superdupermegagigasingle. Sorry I'm late (but I brought a choir) is his first short film after graduating from film school.
WATCH + VOTE:
https://nukhu.com/nuvee/1905
Them Thatâs Not
Writer and Director: Mekhai Lee
Starring: Angel Theory, Biko Eisen-Martin, Carrie Compere
Cinema Village Program: Program A
Synopsis: At her grandmother's repass, Drea, a queer Deaf poet surrounded by relatives who do not know ASL, is forced to confront her estranged father when he is temporarily released from a 25-year prison sentence to attend his mother's funeral.
Past Screenings / Recognition: Chicago International Film Festival, Gold Hugo for Best Live Action Short; SXSW; Palm Springs International ShortFest; Indy Shorts; NewFest; HollyShorts; Bushwick Film Festival, Jury Award for Best Narrative Short; Phoenix Film Festival, Best African American Directed Short; OUT at the Movies International Film Festival, Best Narrative Short.
About the Director: Mekhai Lee is a filmmaker and performer from Charlotte, North Carolina, and a graduate of the Drama program at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He co-created, wrote and directed the web series For the Boys, participated in Ryan Murphy's Half-Initiative Director Program and served as a 2022 Director's Fellow on HBO's Succession. His filmmaking focuses on characters and experiences often omitted from mainstream storytelling. Them That's Not received the Gold Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival.
WATCH + VOTE:
https://nukhu.com/nuvee/1931
SEE THE TOP 10 AT CINEMA VILLAGE
The Finalists are divided between Program A and Program B and will screen multiple times throughout Nukhufest.
Closing Night on September 17 brings both programs together for the only complete theatrical presentation of all ten Finalists during Nukhufest 2026.
View screening dates, program assignments and tickets:
https://www.nukhufoundation.org/nukhufest/schedule
2026 SEMI-FINALISTS
51 projects from 20 countries were selected as Nukhufest 2026 Semi-Finalists.
The Semi-Finalists below represent the complete field from which audiences selected the Top 10. Semi-Finalists are listed in the order projects were activated on Nukhu. List position does not represent vote ranking.
Riverberi
Director: Emma Jaay
Writer: Emma Jaay
Starring: Rosangela Fasano, Lucas Fatches, Hugh Raper
Synopsis: A young woman returns to Australia from Italy hoping to reconnect with her late father's life, only for unexpected memories to surface and complicate what she thought she knew.
Past Screenings / Recognition: CinefestOZ; Screen Producers Australia Awards, Best Short Film nominee; Rochester International Film Festival, Certificate of Merit for Cinematography; Made in the West Film Festival, cinematography and production design nominations.
Half A Life
Directors: Sanjit Majumdar, Ranju Majumdar
Writers: Sanjit Majumdar, Ranju Majumdar
Starring: Finn Wittrock
Synopsis: An immigration-document counterfeiter faces exposure when local film students looking for clout begin investigating him.
The Red Rob Roy Show
Director: P.K. Simone
Writers / Creators: P.K. Simone, Rob Pugliese, Rich Roy
Starring: P.K. Simone, Rob Pugliese, Richard Roy
Synopsis: An unhinged six-episode sketch comedy series following a troupe trying to sell its show while brutal reviews, disappearing money, lost love, and a mysterious nemesis threaten both the project and their lives.
Past Screenings / Recognition: Individual sketches including The Interview and Quarry have received comedy festival wins and official selections.
Bajau Laut - the Sea is our Home
Director: Joo Peter
Writer: Not listed
Featuring: Members and activists of Bajau Laut communities in Malaysia
Synopsis: Indigenous Bajau Laut communities fight to preserve their culture, education, ancestral connection to the sea, and basic rights while facing statelessness, displacement, harassment, and the destruction of traditional villages.
Stoop Chat with Maani & Mr. Sweat
Directors: Marj Kleinman, Christine Thomas Yoon
Writer: Not listed
Featuring: Herbert Sweat, Maani Clay-Crawford
Synopsis: On the stoops of Bedford-Stuyvesant, a neighborhood elder and Vietnam veteran shares wisdom with a young aspiring entrepreneur in an intergenerational documentary about mentorship, Black identity, faith, masculinity, and community.
Past Screenings / Recognition: Coney Island Film Festival; Katra Film Series, Best Short Documentary; Better Cities Film Festival, Audience Award for Best Human Story; Greenwich Village Film Festival, Best Documentary Short; Baltimore International Black Film Festival, Best Web Series.
Fighting Spaces
Director: Patricio Matos
Writer: Not listed
Featuring: Doc
Synopsis: A short documentary about Doc, a Bronx boxer, military veteran, and founder of the ONYX Brooklyn chapter, exploring boxing, leather culture, community, identity, and masculinity.
Sound Of Symbols
Director: Steve Wood
Writer: Not listed
Starring / Featuring: Not applicable
Synopsis: A 16mm optical audio reader and oscilloscope transform familiar graphic symbols into sound and sound back into images in an experimental work of visual music.
Past Screenings: Brooklyn Film Festival.
Golden French Fries
Director: Shima Markazi Omidvar
Writer: Not listed
Starring / Featuring: Not listed
Synopsis: An animated story about a child consumed by an obsession with French fries.
Found&Lost
Director: Reza Rasouli
Writer: Reza Rasouli
Starring: Anton Noori, Maya Farhoud, Abdolelah Farhoud
Synopsis: Tamim, a 70-year-old immigrant cleaner in Vienna, finds a wallet containing cash and cocaine and becomes determined to find its owner, setting off misunderstandings that threaten his job and integrity.
Past Screenings: Tribeca Film Festival.
Ragamuffin
Director: Kaitlyn Mikayla
Writer: Kaitlyn Mikayla
Starring: Eden Harper, Robert Hadlock, Courtney Dietz, Bailey Sloan, Michael Milligan, Cyle Winters
Synopsis: During what appears to be an ordinary race weekend, a 12-year-old motocross rider confronts her identity, deafness, and what it means to be a girl in her sport.
Past Screenings / Recognition: Sundance Film Festival; Palm Springs ShortFest, Best U.S. Short Special Mention; HollyShorts, Kodak Best Shot on Film, 16mm; Hamptons International Film Festival; Dublin Independent Film Festival, Best Short.
Salvation Mountain Leonard Knight
Director: Harrod Blank
Writer: Not listed
Featuring: Leonard Knight
Synopsis: A portrait of Leonard Knight and Salvation Mountain, the monumental artwork he built over years through determination, faith, and layer after layer of donated paint.
Eternal Kinship
Director: Arbin Rai
Writer: Arbin Rai
Starring: Gauranga Banjara, Anjasha Rijal
Synopsis: A 10-year-old boy afraid of crossing a river searches for his sister after she elopes and ultimately finds the courage to make the crossing without her.
Past Screenings: BlackStar Film Festival.
Shalal
Director: Amir Ali Sisipour
Writer: Amir Ali Sisipour
Starring / Featuring: Not listed
Synopsis: Mehran and his mother use a mysterious black fur to capture people's shadows and drink them, until the boy decides to catch a shadow alone.
Past Screenings: Sundance Film Festival.
Something Blue
Director: Chen Li
Writer: Not listed
Starring / Featuring: Not listed
Synopsis: On the eve of her wedding, Lu receives an unexpected visit from Xiatian and an invitation for one final adventure across the China-North Korea border.
Past Screenings: Brooklyn Film Festival; New York Asian Film Festival.
Space to Breathe
Director: Juicebox P. Burton
Writer: Walidah Imarisha
Starring / Featuring: Roger Guenveur Smith, Tanisha Newton, kai lumumba barrow, Kalamu Ya Salaam, Ruth Wilson Gilmore
Synopsis: In an Afrofuturist 2070 without prisons or police, a young genderqueer filmmaker explores historical archives to understand how abolition became reality.
Past Screenings: BlackStar Film Festival.
Flowers
Director: José Cardoso
Writer: Not listed
Featuring: SeydĂș Cardoso and others
Synopsis: An experimental documentary connects environmental destruction in the Amazon, war, politics, protest, spirituality, and a filmmaker's relationship with his young son.
Past Screenings / Recognition: Sheffield DocFest, World Premiere and Grand Jury Award for the International Short Film Competition.
Sea Angels
Director: Cissi Efraimsson
Writer: Cissi Efraimsson
Voice: Klara Söderberg
Synopsis: Pollution forces mermaids onto land, where they become attractions in a SeaWorld-like pool in this Swedish stop-motion mockumentary.
Past Screenings: Brooklyn Film Festival.
BRICK BY BRICK
Directors: Victoria Alvares, Quentin Delaroche
Writers: Victoria Alvares, Quentin Delaroche
Featuring: Cris Martins Ventura, Albert Ventura
Synopsis: In Recife, a pregnant mother and digital micro-influencer tries to rebuild her family's home and life after unemployment and housing instability during the COVID pandemic.
Past Screenings / Recognition: Olhar de Cinema, World Premiere; Best Director; Best Editor; ABRACCINE Critics' Award.
FLAME
Director: Katrina Channells
Writer: Katrina Channells
Starring: Lilly King, Di Adams
Synopsis: When Flame stages an intensely personal performance piece, the work becomes an urgent attempt to reach someone before it is too late.
Past Screenings / Recognition: Flickerfest International Film Festival, Official Competition and Best Original Music winner.
Era Oculta - Hidden Era
Director: Carlos Vargas
Writer: Not listed
Starring / Featuring: Isaac Tivane, Paula Matlombe, Ednora Matlombe, Ixon Tivane
Synopsis: In Maputo, Rastafari artist Phambi struggles to support his son's education while pursuing his art, navigating family, reggae, spirituality, and the realities of survival in Mozambique.
Past Screenings: Tribeca Film Festival.
Balloonerism
Director: Samuel Jerome Mason
Writers: Samuel Jerome Mason, Roland Kennedy
Starring / Featuring: Not listed
Synopsis: Created with Mac Miller's family as a visual companion to his posthumous album, a group of school friends is pulled into a surreal shadow realm where childhood gives way to adulthood.
Past Screenings: South By Southwest
A Family Guide To Hunting
Director: Zao Wang
Writers: Zao Wang, Tom Toro, Carmiel Banasky
Starring: Margaret Cho, Kahyun Kim, Keong Sim, Craig Newman
Synopsis: A doomsday prepper takes her Korean-American parents and all-American boyfriend on a bonding hunting trip that quickly turns grisly.
Past Screenings: Tribeca Film Festival, World Premiere.
Sol BĂ©ni
Directors: Maky Margaridis, Tristan Feres
Writer: Not listed
Starring / Featuring: Not listed
Synopsis: Two friends reunite on the soccer field where they grew up as an impending departure forces them to confront friendship, nostalgia, and farewell.
Past Screenings: Tribeca Film Festival
Frank Stares at Celestials
Director: Josh Weissbach
Writer: Not listed
Starring / Featuring: Not listed
Synopsis: A group gathers together to observe two passing celestial bodies.
Saturday Class
Director: Carri Chen
Writer: Carri Chen
Starring: Jing Cui, Bing Shao, Seona Kim, Seowook Kim
Synopsis: Two mothers' ideas about parenting, class, success, and social mobility reveal how expectations within immigrant families can shape younger generations.
Past Screenings: Cleveland International Film Festival.
BRIDGE -My Little Friends-
Director: Kazuyuki Ishihara
Writer: Takahiro Nagano
Voice Cast: Natsumi Kawaida, Yuichi Nakamura, Tomori Kusunoki, Shiori Izawa, Ahiru Ohira, Natsu Yorita
Synopsis: After Mugi loses her beloved dog Shiro, a cat named Jin recruits neighborhood animals for an extraordinary mission to bring her to the Rainbow Bridge and help heal her grief.
SAVAGE SEASON.
Director: Nardeep Khurmi
Writer: Crystal Boyd
Starring: Crystal Boyd, Devere Rogers, Kate Kugler, Emebeit Beyene, Chivonne Michelle
Synopsis: After ending a seven-year relationship, Gia is forced by her friends and her own spiraling thoughts to confront adulthood, inherited expectations, and the life she actually wants.
COLOR IS NOT A CRIME - Street Activism in NYC
Director: Janneke Wade-de Jong
Writer: Not listed
Featuring: Erika Lucille Ewing, Vincent Ballentine
Synopsis: Fashion activist Erika Ewing and street artist Vincent Ballentine explore racism, Black Lives Matter, art, and the ability of public murals to become spaces of healing.
Annabel Lee Blues
Writer and Director: Tatiana Tift
Starring: Candace Culcleasure
Synopsis: A queer blues reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe's Annabel Lee, set in 1960s Harlem, where a veteran blues musician remembers her late beloved through a haunting live performance.
Heaven is Nobody's
Writer and Director: Hector Prats
Starring: Jaylen Stapleton, Jodie Markell, Roger Guenveur Smith, Bakary Diallo
Synopsis: In a contemporary dark fable, a boy journeys through a nightmarish city looking for a cure for his mother while a dancing curse descends upon his home.
Past Screenings: Atlanta Film Festival, World Premiere; HollyShorts; New Orleans Film Festival.
Sorry I'm late (but I brought a choir)
Director: HĂ„kon Anton Olavsen
Writers: HĂ„kon Anton Olavsen, Sunniva Kviteberg
Starring: Simen GlĂžmmen Bostad, Nina Elisabeth Gjerstad, Karoline Dons, Vetle Bergan, Anna Ladegaard, Mikael Ulrichsen, Kyrre Vanebo, Mari-Elene Gudahl, Ingrid Anna Ărstavik Dissen, Agnia GrĂŠsli, Steffen Lund, Magnus Gabriel Aase, Andreas LĂŒbker, Benjamin Lien, Arturo Scotti
Synopsis: Nina is less than thrilled when Stian arrives late to her housewarming party with an entire choir he apparently picked up on the tram.
Past Screenings / Recognition: Tribeca Film Festival; Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival; Tallinn Black Nights/PĂFF Shorts; Minimalen Short Film Festival, Best Norwegian Film; Aarhus Film Festival, Best Short Film; Stockholm International Film Festival, Best Nordic Short Film.
Kill
Writer and Director: Folajimi Olutiola
Starring: Lauren Harrison, Michael Oduro, Jessica Ezem
Synopsis: Two writers working together on a screenplay argue over whether their main character should live or die, gradually revealing unexpected sides of themselves.
The Last Fortune
Writer and Director: Zack White
Starring: Zack White
Synopsis: Three spirits go hunting for an ancient treasure and discover considerably more than they bargained for.
Past Screenings: Cleveland International Film Festival.
The Mountain Ark
Director: Ken Bailey
Writer: Not listed
Featuring: Lissa Margetts
Synopsis: A tribute to beloved Telluride figure Lissa Margetts and her work with animals, following a world of wildlife, community, humor, grief, and unexpected encounters.
Past Screenings: Telluride MountainFilm, World Premiere.
Black Women Euphoria: The Film
Director: MĂ©Lisa Best
Writer: Not listed
Featuring: Samantha Amazan, Tiffany Andrene, Djeneba Danioko, Brianna J. Heath, Chyna Henderickson, Kennedy O'Hara, Chanté Morren, Saphir Niakadie, Taylor Thompkins, Ene Ukpo, Morgan White
Synopsis: A documentary and visual experience reclaiming softness, stillness, self-recognition, rest, and joy through intimate portraits and stories from Black women.
PARANOIDIGM
Writer and Director: MĂ©Lisa Best
Starring: MĂ©Lisa Best, Greg Smith, Matthew Bowland, Joel Bunche, Sofi Goldenn, James Molnar, Naeemah Smith, Maddison Whitfield
Synopsis: After an unexpected setback shakes Asé's confidence, an enigmatic sensei challenges her to reclaim her path and change her paradigm.
Kiddos
Director: Javier S. Chabat
Writers: Javier S. Chabat, Ximena AlmazĂĄn, Luis Romay
Starring: Alejandro Airam GarcĂa, Regina Reza, Ăngel Silva
Synopsis: Quique's desire to fit in with his high school's problematic soccer team threatens his friendship with Benny and his relationship with Benny's sister Lucy.
Cut Your Wings And Fly
Writer and Director: Meryem Lahlou
Starring / Featuring: Not listed
Synopsis: Echoes of abuse meet a child's silent act of defiance.
Fabric
Writer and Director: Frank Sun
Starring: b (Mack), Kate Pittard (Vanessa)
Producer: Hannah Myers
Synopsis: Amid the chaos of New York Fashion Week, an ambitious photographer meets a model whose spotlight is beginning to fade. Their casual encounter evolves into a quiet power play of favors, unspoken bargains, and a yearning for genuine connection within the superficial world of fashion.
Past Screenings: Tribeca Film Festival.
Before 1619: She Took Justice
Director: Bobby John Field
Writer: Gloria J. Browne-Marshall
Featuring: Gloria J. Browne-Marshall
Synopsis: Journey to Angola to discover the story of an extraordinary African warrior queen who fought European invaders in the 1600s and the legacy connecting her struggle to the present.
Past Screenings / Recognition: Monaco International Film Festival, Best Adapted Screenplay; Luanda Film Festival, Best Short Documentary; Manhattan Film Festival, Best Historical Documentary; Diversity in Cannes, Finalist for Best Documentary Short; Nice International Film Festival; Black August Film Festival.
The Stars are Comforting
Writer and Director: Jen Blackburn
Featuring: Amanda Mulderry, Mike Potton, Mike Newport, Dmitry Novikov, Tom van den Brink, Michael Hedges
Synopsis: New Zealand astronomer Beatrice Tinsley travels to Dallas in the 1960s to make the case for her groundbreaking theory that the universe will expand forever, only to face resistance from her peers.
Them Thatâs Not
Writer and Director: Mekhai Lee
Starring: Angel Theory, Biko Eisen-Martin, Carrie Compere
Synopsis: At her grandmother's repass, Drea, a queer Deaf poet surrounded by relatives who do not know ASL, is forced to confront her estranged father when he is temporarily released from a 25-year prison sentence to attend his mother's funeral.
Past Screenings / Recognition: Chicago International Film Festival, Gold Hugo for Best Live Action Short; SXSW; Palm Springs International ShortFest; Indy Shorts; NewFest; HollyShorts; Bushwick Film Festival, Jury Award for Best Narrative Short; Phoenix Film Festival, Best African American Directed Short; OUT at the Movies International Film Festival, Best Narrative Short.
Dad's not home
Writer and Director: Jan Saczek
Starring: Konrad KÄ
kol, Piotr Ćukawski, Tomasz PogoĆ
Synopsis: Two underage brothers hide the fact that their father has frontotemporal dementia, taking responsibility for him and their household in an effort to keep their family together.
Past Screenings / Recognition: Polish Film Festival in Gdynia, Special Mention; MĆodzi i Film; Wajda na Nowo, First Prize and Mayor of SuwaĆki Award; Student Academy Awards; Seville European Film Festival; Kamera Akcja, Best Student Film Award; shortlisted in the Narrative Short Film category for the 98th Academy Awards.
To Be Human
Writer and Director: Mark Reyes
Synopsis: Tired of an endless cycle of reincarnation, a man steals a UFO and journeys to the edge of the universe in search of the meaning of life.
The Nightwalker
Writer and Director: Mark Reyes
Synopsis: A mysterious knight travels through an endless realm of darkness known as the Void, fighting monsters and searching for hope and light in the darkest of places.
Dollar Pizza Documentary
Directors: Travis Wood, Alex Mallis
Synopsis: In a city full of pizza, the dollar slice reigns supreme.
Breathe
Writer and Director: Mya Breyana Morton
Starring: Taelor High
Synopsis: As prom approaches, Nailah Clarke confronts anxiety, identity, and her fear of taking risks in a heartfelt coming-of-age story.
Suo Jiang
Writer and Director: Chien Yu Lin
Starring: çż° ćŒ”, ćè± éł, ćç éł, çćą è
Synopsis: A gifted locksmith capable of opening any lock refuses to return home. Rejected by the hostess he pursues and overwhelmed by emptiness, he turns toward a more dangerous path.
Past Screenings / Recognition: Sundance Asia, Best Short Film; Sundance Film Festival.
Janke
Director: Jordan Hendrickson
Synopsis: After his mother leaves her career and life in America to move to The Gambia, a filmmaker visits her and meets other Black Americans with similar stories of repatriation to Africa, blending documentary with vivid animated retellings.
Following Directions
Writer and Director: Joanna White-Oldham
Starring: Santana White, Jessica Murphy, Juliana Edge
Synopsis: A gifted child battles an education system that fails to see her potential after she is wrongly labeled for special education.
Past Screenings: People's Film Festival.
How To Stay Awake
Writer and Director: Vanessa Magic
Starring / Featuring: Not listed
Synopsis: A woman fights to stay awake rather than return to the terrifying realm of sleep paralysis, but breaking free from her nocturnal tormentor may require risking everything.
Past Screenings / Recognition: Fantasia International Film Festival, World Premiere and Official Selection; Cinequest Film Festival; Blood in the Snow Film Festival, Best Editing; Entertwine, Best Short; Final Girls Berlin Film Festival; Salem Horror Fest.
2026 BEST NUVEE
Winner: TBD
Voting closes: September 19 at 8 PM ET
Award: $3,000 Development-to-Distribution Grant + handcrafted Nukhu ball
The Top 10 Finalists continue competing for audience votes through September 19.
Watch the Finalists and vote:
https://nukhu.com/view/0?stack=0
UPDATE LOG
August 12, 2026: Initial 39-project Semi-Finalist field published.
August 23, 2026: 11 additional Semi-Finalists activated, expanding the live field to 50 projects from 20 countries.
August 27, 2026: How To Stay Awake, written and directed by Vanessa Magic, activated as the 51st Semi-Finalist.
August 29, 2026: The Nukhufest 2026 Top 10 Finalists were announced and advanced to the Cinema Village competition.
September 11-17, 2026: Top 10 Finalists screen at Cinema Village in New York City while audience voting continues.
September 19, 2026: Audience voting closes at 8 PM ET and the 2026 Best Nuvee is announced.