
Narrative Feature Competition Winner
Charliebird
Director: Libby Ewing
Al is a devoted music therapist at a children’s hospital in Texas. Charlie is the rebellious teen patient assigned to work with h...
View film details →2027 Festival Dates
The Sarasota Film Festival returns April 9th to April 18th, 2027. Film submissions are open now through FilmFreeway.
Thank you to our filmmakers, audiences, sponsors, and volunteers for making the 2026 festival memorable. We look forward to welcoming filmmakers and audiences back to Sarasota in April 2027.
2026 Winners
Thank you for joining us for the 2026 Sarasota Film Festival. The next festival is set for April 9th to April 18th, 2027, and this site remains available as a 2026 archive of films, schedule, venues, and winners.

Narrative Feature Competition Winner
Director: Libby Ewing
Al is a devoted music therapist at a children’s hospital in Texas. Charlie is the rebellious teen patient assigned to work with h...
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Documentary Feature Jury Special Mention
Director: Alysa Nahmias
It’s Girl Scout Cookie season, and four tenacious girls strive to be a top-selling “Cookie Queen,” navigating an $800 million bus...
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U.S. Narrative Short Competition Winner
Director: Mark Hulsewe
Two interconnected stories reveal the ripple effects of silence, complicity, and unchecked cruelty. As cause and consequence coll...
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Documentary Short Competition Winner
Director: Sam Centore and Michael Madden
Set against the electric backdrop of Saratoga Race Course, 40 Days in Saratoga immerses audiences in the rhythms of a historic su...
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Animated Short Competition Winner
Director: Dominic Carola and Love Carola
Carl the cardinal's territorial ways are interrupted when Misty, a cheerful mountain bluebird, moves in next door.
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Narrative Audience Award
Director: Ari Selinger
Tom, a down on his luck auto mechanic, finds unexpected love with a fellow outcast, but their romance is put in jeopardy when the...
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Documentary Audience Award
Director: John H. Cunningham
Journey through the 1970s and early ’80s with the original members of Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band as they recount their con...
View film details →Curated collections of short films — buy tickets to the full program
Free panel discussions and special presentations
Est. 1999 · Sarasota, FL