43rd Miami Film Festival Announced 2026 Award Winners
- 2 days ago
- 1 min read
The 43rd edition of the Miami Film Festival (MFF43) officially concluded its acclaimed 2026 run with a celebratory Closing Night and Awards presentation. Wrapping up a spectacular season of global and local cinema, the festival organizers expressed deep gratitude to the attendees, filmmakers, and supporters who contributed to the event's success before revealing the highly anticipated jury selections.
The evening's top honors recognized exceptional storytelling across multiple feature categories. The prestigious Marimbas Award, accompanied by a $10,000 cash prize, went to On the Road, directed by David Pablos. Local cinema was celebrated with the Made In MIA Feature Film award, which granted $15,000 to Gabriel de Varona for The Old Man and the Parrot. Additionally, Zinnini Elkington took home the $10,000 Jordan Ressler First Feature Award for Second Victims , while William D. Caballero won the Documentary Feature category for TheyDream, alongside honorable mentions for Revolution’s Daughter and Everybody to Kenmure Street.
The festival also awarded a diverse and competitive lineup of short films. Gabriela Garcia Medina’s SKRRRT! won the $5,000 Made in MIA Short Film prize sponsored by ArtesMiami, with runners-up including September All Over and Colada. Other notable wins included Ovary-Acting for the $4,000 Miami International Short Film Award , If You Really Love Me, Outlive Me for the Reel South Short Award , Ghost of the Marsh for the Cinemaslam Competition Award , and Oh Whale! for the UM Documentary Short Award. While the jury prizes have been distributed, attendees can stay tuned as the festival prepares to unveil the final Audience Awards.