★ LOS ANGELES FANTASY FEST 2026 ★ LIVE IN LOS ANGELES ★ ONLINE ★ NOVEMBER 20–21 ★ SKIPTOWN PLAYHOUSE ★ THE CAT’S CRAWL ★ HORROR 🔪ིྀ SCI-FI ★ ANIMATION 🏆 THE OBSCURA AWARDS
NOV 20-21, 2026
Official Nominations
Los Angeles fantasy Fest 2026
November 20-21, 2026
Award Listing Qualifier
Award Listing Qualifier
Note – IMDb Nominations
Los Angeles Fantasy Fest is an official IMDb Award Listing event. If your project has been nominated, please click the IMDb logo and add your nomination to your IMDb page.
At this stage, please add NOMINATION ONLY. Do not add yourself as a winner.
Please make sure the nomination is entered correctly and under the appropriate category. If an incorrect or unauthorized nomination is added, the festival reserves the right to request its removal or correction.
Winners will be officially revealed on Saturday, November 21, 2026, during the Obscura Awards Ceremony, beginning at 9:00 PM at:
The Cat’s Crawl
660 Heliotrope Dr
Los Angeles, CA 90004
United States
Until then: Nominations only — no winners.
Step into the spotlight of independent cinema.
The Los Angeles Fantasy Fest 2026 Official Nominations celebrate the filmmakers, actors, and creative teams who redefine genre storytelling across animation, horror, and sci-fi.
Every nominated film represents artistic vision, technical mastery, and emotional impact — chosen from hundreds of submissions worldwide.
These finalists now stand as the year’s best in independent genre filmmaking, competing for our signature Fantasy Awards "Obscura" to be presented live at the The Cat’s Crawl, Los Angeles, on Saturday November 21, 2026 at 9:00 PM.
Explore the nominees below and discover the stories, styles, and spirits that define the new wave of cinematic imagination.
You are officially nominated!
If your project appears on this page, your nomination has been officially confirmed by our jury. Your nomination will not be removed, although in rare cases the festival may move it to another category if we believe that category is a better fit.
Your nomination remains valid whether you are participating Live in Los Angeles or Online. You do not need to be physically present at the venue to win an award. Online filmmakers are fully eligible to receive awards and are judged under the same standards as attending filmmakers.
Reaching this stage means your project has successfully passed through our selection and jury review process and has been recognized among the standout projects of this year’s edition.
LAUREL NOMINEE DOWNLOAD: CLICK HERE
Now it’s time to celebrate! Share your nomination, add your official nomination laurel to your project, and please remember to tag Los Angeles Fantasy Fest on social media so we can celebrate with you!
Congratulations once again, and best of luck at the Obscura Awards 2026!
Note: The nomination process is still ongoing. Additional nominees will be announced and added to this page regularly as our jury continues its review. Please check back soon for updates.
Best Horror / Thriller Feature Film
Note: For this award, Horror and Thriller Feature Films are combined into one category. These genres often overlap in tone, tension, suspense, and atmosphere, with many thrillers incorporating strong horror elements. By grouping them together, we can evaluate the films more cohesively based on their overall impact, storytelling, tension, originality, and execution.
- Unsavory Elements... - Dir. Tom Carter - 01:40:00 min - USA
- Tongues of Fire - Dir. Zé Kielwagen - 01:10:00 min - Brazil
- You Could Be Famous - Dir. Boogiewhip - 01:23:42 min - USA
- She Lives at School - Dir. SAMUEL CRISTOBAL MONTES DE OCA LEON - 01:00:00 min - Mexico
- The Yellow Balloon - Dir. Jason D. Morris - 01:27:00 min - USA
- View From The Edge - Dir. Michael Lippert - 02:00:00 min - Canada
- Mommy I don't want to - Dir. Asif Pervez - 01:33:40 min - United Kingdom, United States
- DEBONE - Dir. LEE DAEHAN - 02:01:38 min - South Korea
- Amnesia - It's Time to Forget - Dir. Dario Boldrini - 01:53:00 min - Italy
Best sci-fi Feature Film
- ReLive - Dir. Steve Lee Taylor - 01:20:00 min - USA
- The First Shapeshifter - Dir. Raúl Coria Martínez - 01:16:00 min - Spain
- Backwards Dad - Dir. Felix Nunez - 01:02:00 min - USA
- Triggered 3.0: The Final Cut - Dir. Mario Ricardo Rodriguez, Marcus Nel-Jamal Hamm - 36:22 min - USA
- The Attack Of The Astroharvesters - Dir. Xander Phillips - 01:21:04 min - United Kingdom
Best Horror Short Film
- The Quiet Beside Me - Dir. Sau - 6:02 miin - Indonesia
- OUTWIT THE DEVIL - Dir. Anthony Nicholas Moore - 12:24 min - USA
- At the foot of the bed - Dir. Nicola Pignatale - 6:14 min - Italy
- Meat Locker - Dir. Mark G. Lakatos - 7:25 min - Hungary
- FINAL CHAPTER - Dir. Chloe Selvey - 18:22 min - USA
- Skins: A Devil's Dancers Story - Dir. Jason Hough - 15:31 min - USA
- The Return of the Lifeblood - Dir. Arnold Sotomayor - 29:58 min - Peru
- Persephone - Dir. Jean-Sebastien BERNARD - 4:57 min - France
- The Storyteller - Dir. Patrick McGinley - 9:40 min - Ireland
- Transfert - Dir. Emeric Gallego - 8:00 min - France
- Imprecation - Dir. Ari Moretz - 3:00 min - Canada
- Superhost - Dir. A.P. P. Bergeron, Sophie Edell - 12:17 min - Canada
- Black Marrow - Dir. Sergio Pazos Conde - 8:46 min - Spain
- EGG - Dir. Max Larsson - 3:24 min - Sweden
- Home Sweet Home - Dir. Dylan Russ - 13:44 min - USA
- D3STRO - Dir. Joshua Torresvalle - 7:12 min - Mexico
- Rise of the Succubus (Part 2) - Dir. Jason Hough - 18:35 min - USA
- Acacio's Arm - Dir. Alonso Valdez I. - 5:00 min - Mexico
- Amber - Dir. Elisha Christopher Cecil, Jaren Hemphill - 7:21 min - USA
- Loop Hole - Dir. Hannah Riggs - 9:00 min - USA
- The Ghost of the Seine - Dir. Martin Pizarro Veglia - 4:00 min - France
- Follow Me Home - Dir. Stanislav Puzdriak - 10:00 min - USA
- HOWLIN FIELDS - Dir. Billy Caldwell - 15:40 min - USA
- If you were light - Dir. Maurilio Rodríguez - 22:21 min - Mexico
- The Ringing - Dir. Brandon Scullion - 8:44 min - USA
- Secret Admirer - Dir. Stephen Chen -11:02 min - USA
- FATHER! - Dir. Abe Smyth, Sophia Adli - 18:51 min - Ireland
- Uzeta - Dir. Robert Meza - 19:58 min - USA
- Bullet and Lace - Dir. Nick Noyes - 15:57 min - USA
- In The Wall - Dir. yucan ye - 19:59 min - China
Best Sci-Fi Short Film
- ARTIFICIAL PUNISHMENT - Dir. ONUR ONAY - 18:32 min - Türkiye
- CHAIKA - Dir. Ingrid Paola Bonilla Rodriguez - 14:35 min - Colombia
- Aroma-Vision - Dir. Shun Powell - 11:18 min - USA
- Apocalyptic Amulet - Dir. Stephen Paul Stelmach Jr - 8:30 min - USA
- The Hunt - Dir. Stephen Bigot - 5:00 min - France
- Rammr - Dir. Kyle Grogan - 13:40 min - USA
- The Astronaut - Dir. Adam Wells - 11:19 min - USA
- All Your Sisters - Dir. David A. Daniels - 9:07 min - USA
- Too Cheap - Dir. David Alejandro D'Urso - 10:50 min - Venezuela
- INTO NOWHERE - Dir. Iurii Karasev - 22:35 min - USA
- OUTWIT THE DEVIL - Dir. Anthony Nicholas Moore - 12:24 min - USA
- Before Us. The Silicon Bible - Dir. Iskra Pinchuk - 10:00 min - USA
- 333 - Dir. J. Julian Vacas - 13:00 min - Spain
- NIXIE - Dir. Mary Rachel Gardner - 7:22 min - USA
- ISH - Dir. Lyne COURTOIS - 12:44 min - France
- Love Machine - Dir. Nicholas Gearin - 9:15 min - USA
- Knights & Relationships - Dir. Sam Tung - 11:08 min - USA
- Love & Lazarite - Dir. Krí Schafer - 6:35 min - USA
- Outer Space Maniacs From Another World - Dir. Brandon Serneck - 3:28 min - USA
- One Night in Reinhold City - Dir. Matt J Bond - 19:48 min - USA
- PARARTSITE - Dir. Alejandro Massó 13:00 min - USA
- Out of the smoke - Dir. Anne Koolen - 4:00 min - USA
- MINE - Dir. Brandon Flyte - 8:08 min - USA
- Lovebug - Dir. Jalaludin Trautmann, David Mahmoudieh - 11:00 min - Germany
- DRONES - Dir. Steve Acevedo - 22:30 min - USA
- She Fell From Space - Dir. Seriina Covarrubias - 15:00 min - USA
- STARPOST - Dir. Nick Trivundza, Lexie Trivundza - 6:27 min - USA
- The 7th Kind - Dir. Ericka Page - 13:23 min - USA
- DEAD EXPOSURE - Dir. Billy Caldwell - 8:15 min - USA
- Children at the rooftop cinema - Dir. 侑紀 刷場 - 9:54 min - Japan
- Cosmic Horror of Dating - Dir. Kilián Bognár - 22:34 min - Hungary
Best Animated Short Film
- Angel & Meow - Dir. Clemhyn Escosora - 15:00 min - Japan, Slovakia
- Look At Me - Dir. Xuefan Cao - 2:24 min - Australia
- Night Crawling - Dir. Austin Peay State University Animation + VFX - 3:55 min - USA
- Zhong Kui Slaying Demons - Dir. 小东 王 - 8:33 min - China
- DEMO DAY - Dir. Ar Ducao - 25:11 min - Canada
- The Saccharine Fabulist - Dir. Wayne Howe - 5:23 min - United Kingdom
- creAtIon - Dir. Sav Vivanco, Angela Grace Aguas - 6:07 min - USA
- Phantominon: Community Service - Dir. Nathan Cadelina - 9:01 min - USA
- Commander Fame - Dir. Austin Peay State University Animation + VFX - 2:57 min - USA
- The necklace of blood - Dir. German L Ramos-Briñez - 25:19 min - Venezuela
- Whisper of the well - Dir. Elif DOKUR - 6:20 min - Türkiye
- Final Act - Dir. Babi Astolfi, Lisa Soares - 13:00 min - Brazil
- Nice Spare! - Dir. Katie Steuernagel - 7:00 min - USA
- Feral Melody - Dir. Juan Paulín Lara - 5:42 min - Mexico
- The Planet That Doesn't Exist - Dir. Nadav Embon - 8:00 min - Israel
- Dreadful Delivery - Dir. Austin Peay State University Animation + VFX - 3:17 min - USA
- Kopavi4 - Dir. Satoshi Inukai - 17:56 min - Japan
- AutoPilot - Dir. Micah Buzan - 4:13 min - USA
- DOA - Dir. Basile Vallet-Petit - 2:30 min - France
- Bo The Horror - Dir. Austin Peay State University Animation + VFX - 2:30 min - USA
- A Woodcutter's Promise - Dir. Salina Tjhan - 6:13 min - USA
- The Scavenger - Dir. Seth Savage - 14:30 min - USA
- Bloodline - Dir. Mia Lang, Nia Chantana - 5:38 min - USA
- The Decline and Fall of Holly Dew and Walter Melon - Dir. Lorin Morgan-Richards - 4:02 min - USA
- Burning Rope - Dir. Juan Belardi - 11:07 min - USA
- Comb Story - Dir. Ernesto Rodriguez Cruz - 3:00 min - USA
- Journey To Something Somewhere... - Dir. Isabelle Yu - 2:43 min - Canada
- The Bounty - Dir. Austin Peay State University Animation + VFX - 2:18 min - USA
- Dream Defenders - Dir. Nicole Nowel - 4:18 min - USA
- The Great Adventure of Bati, the Bat Knight - Dir. Jesús Pertíñez, Maria Carmen Hidalgo - 7:25 min - Spain
- Flower Bot - Dir. Director - Celio Dubus, Margaux Hallot, Tiphaine Houdeau, Loïs Pastor, Marie Piazza, Clémence Thomire, Ludovic Vasse, Aurélia Zerhouni - 6:50 min - France
- Soar Buddies - Dir. Xi Chow - 5:41 min - Malaysia
- Paty - Dir. Maria Luiza Staut - 5:15 min - Brazil
- The Final Exam - Dir. Surapong Wetsuwanmanee - 5:00 min - Thailand
Best Thriller Short Film
- Luiz Miguel against the Swamp Monster - Dir. Thiago Henrique Ferreira - 14:29 min - Brazil
- Sunday Bloom - Dir. Joy Ludwig - 14:28 min - USA
- Rise of the Succubus (Part 1) - Dir. Jason Hough - 16:06 min - USA
- The Last Sunset - Dir. Jamila Jackson - 5:08 min - USA
- The Year You Looked at Me - Dir. Karlos Alastruey - 29:00 min - Spain
- The Living Note - Dir. juwon Bae - 9:02 min - South Korea
- La Hora Azul - Dir. Lucía Giner González - 6:11 min - Spain
- To Nora - Dir. Brandon Maxwell - 4:00 min - USA
- Trudy - Dir. Xaimary Torres Ortiz - 14:51 min - USA
- The Liar - Dir. Sank Roshan - 17:08 min - Poland
- Four Itchy Boys - Dir. Andrew Hebert - 12:48 min - USA
- Bedlock - Dir. Carlos Vela-Martinez - 6:40 min - Canada
- Dolls and Drinks - Dir. Benedicte Kolberg - 10:38 min - Norway
- 20% - Dir. Jonathan Ruggiero - 10:00 min - USA
- The Seven Philosophies - Dir. Jackson Shemwell - 22:38 min - USA
- Never Trust A Charming Man - Dir. Reanna Cameron, Amanda Spinosa 11:24 min - Canada
- Comparable - Dir. Max Radbill - 9:58 min - USA
- Garden Valley - Dir. Manuel Navarro - 27:36 min - USA
- The Magic Trick - Dir. Leyla Chykulina - 14:13 min - Switzerland
- Into the Fold - Dir. Andrea Manners - 8:32 min - USA
- Continued Existence - Dir. Thiago Avilez - 14:55 min - USA
- I'M GOING TO BE LATE - Dir. Sophea Bethel - 18:05 min - USA
- Emerald Triangle - Dir. Mena Elizabeth Santos - 13:35 min - USA
- Level One - Dir. Roxy Shih - 7:11 min - USA
- The Dream Keeper - Dir. Rain Nikolla - 11:47 min - Greece
- Case 076 - Dir. Moises Suarez, Javier Carreon - 15:40 min - Mexico
- Autonomous - Dir. Jennifer Mosier - 10:47 min - Canada
- The Devil Wears Pants - Dir. Daffa Mangussara - 21:51 min - Indonesia
Best AI Short Film
- ILMIØ - Dir. Tuomas Järvenpää - 29:00 min - Finland
- Legend - Dir. Ryan Patterson - 19:00 min - Canada
- Prehistoric Players - Dir. Narwhal Zhou, Jing Peng - 9:18 min - China
- 血債 BLOOD DEBT - Dir. Arthur Liew - - 8:08 min Malaysia
- Vending Machine - Dir. Hanting Wang - 8:22 min - China
- The Weaker Brother Will Drown - Dir. Miroslav Trifonov - 4:53 min - Bulgaria
- Sous la lune - Dir. Pai Chen - 3:24 min - Taiwan
- Memory of Paris - Dir. Alesander Lune Sokolov - 14:10 min - France
Best Director (Overall)
- Dir. Joy Ludwig - Sunday Bloom - 14:28 min - USA
- Dir. Anthony Nicholas Moore - OUTWIT THE DEVIL - 12:24 min - USA
- Dir. Sam Tung - Knights & Relationships - 11:08 min - USA
- Dir. Benedicte Kolberg - Dolls and Drinks - 10:38 min - Norway
- Dir. Shun Powell - Aroma-Vision - 11:18 min - USA
- Dir. Mario Ricardo Rodriguez, Marcus Nel-Jamal Hamm - Triggered 3.0: The Final Cut - 36:22 min - USA
- Dir. Jason Hough - Skins: A Devil's Dancers Story - 15:31 min - USA
- Dir. Tom Carter - Unsavory Elements... - 01:40:00 min - USA
- Dir. Joshua Torresvalle - D3STRO - 7:12 min - Mexico
- Dir. J. Julian Vacas - 333 - 13:00 min - Spain
- Dir. Elisha Christopher Cecil, Jaren Hemphill - Amber - 7:21 min - USA
Best Cinematography (Overall)
- Sunday Bloom - 14:28 min - USA
- 333 - 13:00 min - Spain
- Aroma-Vision - 11:18 min - USA
- Thysia - 13:48 min - France
- OUR MOTHER - 27:41 min - Italy
- Backwards Dad - 01:02:00 min - USA
- The Pact Under the Full Moon - 19:38 min - Brazil
- Dolls and Drinks - 10:38 min - Norway
- Dance the Light Away - 19:51 min - New Zealand
- RUH - 25:00 min - India
- MEDICINE FOR GHOSTS - 29:00 min - Mexico
- Dogs reign - 13:24 min - France
- Unsavory Elements... - 01:40:00 min - USA
Best Visual Effects (Overall)
- OUTWIT THE DEVIL - 12:24 min - USA
- Out of the smoke - 4:00 min - USA
- Triggered 3.0: The Final Cut - 36:22 min - USA
- 2050 REBEL VOICES - 16:34 min - Italy
- Beyond the Void with Captain Dalton Mattix - 14:50 min - USA
- 333- 13:00 min - Spain
- ALONE - United Kingdom
- Aroma-Vision - 11:18 min - USA
- Follow Me Home - 10:00 min - USA
- Pleroma - 6:00 min - Canada
- Knitting Club - 4:36 min - Portugal
- Special Report - 2:02 min - France
Best Screenplay (Overall)
Note: This award recognizes the best screenplay from a completed film already selected for the festival. Both feature films and short films are eligible. This category is judged on the strength of the writing within the finished film and is separate from our categories for unproduced scripts.
- Sunday Bloom - 14:28 min - USA
- OUTWIT THE DEVIL - 12:24 min - USA
- D3STRO - 7:12 min - Mexico
- Backwards Dad - 01:02:00 min - USA
- Garden of an Angry God - 12:25 min - USA
- Jakob - 5:06 min - USA
- Triggered 3.0: The Final Cut - 36:22 min - USA
- THE SNEAKERS - 30:00 min - Argentina
- Skins: A Devil's Dancers Story - 15:31 min - USA
- Unsavory Elements... - 01:40:00 min - USA
- Bedlock - 6:40 min - Canada
- Aroma-Vision - 11:18 min - USA
- Luiz Miguel against the Swamp Monster - 14:29 min - Brazil
Best Script FEATURE
Note: This category is exclusively for unproduced screenplays/scripts features. Submitted scripts must not have been produced or released as a completed film at the time of submission.
- Drums of Freedom - Dir. Gabriel Mora Rodriguez - Costa Rica
- Battle of Planets: The 4th Circle of Hell - Wri. Rain Story - USA
- The Evil Order - Wri. Salvador Ochoa Lemus - Mexico
- The Last Days of the Phillipian - Wri. Chris Bennetts - Australia
- Leather Bound - Wri. Kelsey Nie - USA
- Soroban Impact Masks and Collars - Wri. Gregory Ranky - USA
- Cold West - Wri. Jason Myers - USA
- Bleed Over - Wri. Daniel Phillips - USA
- Zombies In The Wood - Wri. Felicia Ann Mead - USA
- Children of the Eternal Summer - Wri. Jerzy P. Suchocki - Mexico
- She Got Out - Wri. Nikki Durbin - XXXXXX
- Grad Nite - Wri. Sion-Raize - USA
- Saturday Night Slaughter - Wri. Michael Hansen - USA
- Bishop's Day - Wri. Christopher Kelly - USA
- Rattlesnake Ridge - Wri. Steven Lee Taylor - USA
- Lazarus Code - Wri. Carlos Garcia Moreno - Spain
- TOWNSHIP: LIANA - Dir. Darby Ellis Lewis Wilson, Chris Obershaw - USA
- Karma - Wri. Marco Antonio - Brazil
- Our Land - Dir. Laughlin McKee - Spain
Best Script Short
Note: This category is exclusively for unproduced screenplays/scripts shorts. Submitted scripts must not have been produced or released as a completed film at the time of submission.
- Sadie + Sam Forever - Dir. Scott Bastedo - USA
- The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth - Wri. Hayes Davis - USA
- Write Your Heart Out - Dir. Amanda L. Andrei - XXXXXX
- Serious Applicants Only - Wri. Cara McWilliam-Richardson - United Kingdom
- Winston Can't Let Go - Wri. Ben G. Bronson - USA
- Mala Gente - Wri. Nilson Bernardi Ferreira - Brazil
- Feeding the Foxes - Wri. Ross Dean Lovell - XXXXX
- Sundowning - Wri. Nicola Stuart-Hill - United Kingdom
- CROSSROADS WAITING ROOM - Wri. Michael J Volpe - USA
- Coriaria - Wri. Kylos August Brannon - USA
- It's a Curse - Wri. Cécile Duclos - United Kingdom
- This Email Could Have Been a Knife Fight - Wri. Elijah Jamil Broughton - USA
- Undying - Wri. David Creighton - Canada
- Dead Hearts - Wri. Jerzy P. Suchocki - USA
- Patibulum - Wri. Mark A. C. Brown - United Kingdom
- The Seal Below: A Key of Melusine Prequel - Wri. TK - USA
Note: The nomination process is still ongoing. Additional nominees will be announced and added to this page regularly as our jury continues its review. Please check back soon for updates.
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