PIFF 2026 NOMINEES & AWARD WINNERS:
Best Feature
By the Grape of God
Detention
Til Death… Do You.
Touched - WINNER
Best Short
The Axe Forgets
Five Stages Until
J.J.
A King’s Curtain
Paredes Entre Tú y Yo (Walls Between You and Me)
12 Hours
The Ride
This is Private - WINNER
Trending
Best Documentary Feature
Boundless Borders
Going For Home
The River of Life & Death - WINNER
Best Documentary Short
Altadena: The Heart, The Art, & The Soul - WINNER
California is Burning
Dick’s-A-Thon
One Fighting Irishman
Who Knew: Dyslexia is a Way of Thinking
Best Feature Screenplay/Teleplay
Bless-ed (Is This Town?) by Wendy M. Wilkins
The Ghost Of You by Megan Smith-Harris
Made Clean by Seth Christian
Punch The Line by Paul Roland
Tales of the Southern Gothic by Patrick Groff - WINNER
Best Short Screenplay/Teleplay
Naya and the Goldfish by Vanessa Lua
Nothing To Lose by Scott Anthony Lopez & Jesus Francisco Jauregui
Poe & Co by Lawrence Riggins - WINNER
Senior Center by Erin Gonyeau
Trophies by Phillip Cook
Best Stage Play
Save The Man by Kevin Stuart Brodie - WINNER
Cryptic by Ed Vela
Even Koalas Can Get Chlamydia by Ed Vela
Best Student Film
Abducted and Alone
Dance Floor ’86
The Demon Core - WINNER
Forerunner
Sticky
Best Animation
Flocky
Lotus Lagoon
Rain Check
Vasco Da Gama: The Infinite Sea - WINNER
Best Actor (Feature)
Kirk Baltz - By the Grape of God
Michael Beach - Til Death… Do You.
Mark Vidano - Touched - WINNER
Best Actress (Feature)
Cassie Earl - Touched - WINNER
Joyce Hii - Touched
Anna Mulia - Detention
Best Actor (Short)
Robert Craighead - The Day is Young
Brian Shakti - Eclipsed Hearts
Connor Paolo - The Demon Core - WINNER
Orion Smith - Higher Education
Charles E. Gerber - A King’s Curtain
Reed Birney - standby
Ross Rebennack - What Are We?
Best Actress (Short)
Dee Wallace - The Day Is Young
Faith Lavon - Five Stages Until
Leonora Pitts - 12 Hours
Elizabeth LiMei - Higher Education
Heidi Berg - Internal Color
Anne Beyer - J.J.
Floriane Andersen - Pas Vraiment Ordinaire - WINNER
Best Director (Feature)
Myles Yaksich - Blood Yolk
Colmcille Donston - By The Grape Of God
Emma Cameron & Mark Cameron - Detention
Andra Fuller - Til Death… Do You. - WINNER
Marco Bazzi - Touched
Best Director (Short)
Frank Reynolds - Criterion
Taymour Ghazi - The Day Is Young
Josh Litman - F Minor
David Aguilar - Hangtown - WINNER
Kelly Stanphill - 12 Hours
Catherine Cobb Ryan - Lifesaver
Ishq Pradhan - Portrait
Layla O’Shea - The Silent Contender
LeAndre Thomas - This is Private
Best Horror
All You Need
All Your Sisters
Flowers
Lone Wolf
Seance for the ‘Gram - WINNER
Best Thriller
Chocolate Milk
The Interview - WINNER
Mommy Knows Best
Palate Cleanser
The Stones of Dunamase Castle
Best Sci-Fi
Amadeus
Dungeon of Deceit
Eclipsed Hearts
The Hiring Protocol
Invasion ’53
The One-Minute Problem - WINNER
Best Comedy
1247 Steps
Cindy
Clean Slate
Little Matchmakers
No Feedback
What Are We? - WINNER
Best Film Score
Greg Mulyk - Making Beauty - WINNER
Tony Kanal - Pas Vraiment Ordinaire
João Paulo Nunes - Vasco da Gama: The Infinite Sea
Best Music Video
1.21 Gigawatts
Call Me
Embers - WINNER
W.H.W.D.
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PIFF 2026 PROGRAM & SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, APRIL 9
​Block 1 - 1:35 PM
NANI
I CAME WITH EARRINGS
OUT OF THE HOUSE
ASHER BABY
J. J.
LIFESAVER
MARCELO DREAMS OF CHARROS
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Block 2 - 3:40 PM
CALIFORNIA IS BURNING
ALTADENA: THE HEART. THE ART & THE SOUL
GRIND
PAREDES ENTRE TU Y YO (WALLS BETWEEN YOU AND ME)
THE MOTORCYCLE MAN
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Block 3 - 5:40 PM
WHAT HAPPENS IN VEGAS
1.21 GIGAWATTS
COSMIC CRUSADERS
DANCE FLOOR ‘86
RECOVERING
DUNGEON OF DECEIT
THE ONE MINUTE PROBLEM
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Block 4 - 7:45 PM
CHOCOLATE MILK
BLOOD YOLK
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​RADICAL REWIND '80s BASH - 9:00 PM
Opening Night Party
Our '80s-themed Opening Night Party will take place at Brews Brothers NoHo Pub and they are giving all badge/passholders HAPPY HOUR prices all night long! They are a short walk from the theatre, and they are staying open late especially for us. They are also hosting our nightly Passholders Lounge.
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FRIDAY, APRIL 10
PIFF 2026 PANEL - 12:00 PM
State of the Industry today from a Talent Agent's Perspective:
Self tapes, self submissions, marketing yourself, creating your own content, changing your mindset to "book the room" and the job, finding the right agent for representation.
Jake O'Flaherty representing the Dangerfield Talent Agency.
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Block 5 - 1:25 PM
SAKE BATTLE
CINDY
GO DOWN, DILLER
ISLE OF DEVILS
THE RIDE
Block 6 - 3:30 PM
THE FORGOTTEN DOOR
HANGTOWN
BOUNDLESS BORDERS
Block 7 - 5:35 PM
THE M.J. MISHAP
BETTY& MARY: THE ACTORS PREPARE
MID-LENNIAL LIFE CRISIS
STANDBY
THE COMPANY
Block 8 - 7:40 PM
RAIN CHECK
BY THE GRAPE OF GOD
Block 9 - 9:55 PM
THE LAST HUNT
BLINDSIDED
INVASION ‘53
BETWEEN DOG AND MAN
LONE WOLF
INTERNAL COLOR
ANIMAL GAMES
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SATURDAY, APRIL 11
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Block 10 - 11:30 AM
A WITNESS
EAST DID MEET WEST
ECLIPSED HEARTS
THE DEMON CORE
ONLY HERE AND NOW
Block 11 - 1:25 PM
2020
THE TALK
UNFORGOTTEN
ECHOES OF THE PALISADES
THE WREN IN THE WOOD
LINEAGE
THE LAST ACT
Block 12 - 3:20 PM
MORS
FORERUNNER
THE HIRING PROTOCOL
AMADEUS
DRAGON AND ME: PROLOGUE
ABDUCTED AND ALONE
Block 13 - 5:20 PM
TOUCHED
Block 14 - 7:35 PM
MOONFLOWER
TIL DEATH… DO YOU.
Block 15 - 9:50 PM
CALL ME
W.H.W.D.
THE TOWER
ALL YOUR SISTERS
MOMMY KNOWS BEST
TRENDING
ALL YOU NEED
PUBERTY FOR HUMANS
PARTY PEOPLE
SEANCE FOR THE ‘GRAM
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SUNDAY, APRIL 12
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Block 16 - 12:00 PM
MARINA’S FIRST GREAT ADVENTURE
TATTERS!: A PUPPET STORY
LOTUS LAGOON
YELLOW JERSEY
MAKING BEAUTY
Block 17 - 1:55 PM
LITTLE MATCHMAKERS
THE MCROOMMATE
SEASONAL WORK
A MAN APART
NO FEEDBACK
AMERICAN WEI
DAD BOD
WHAT ARE WE?
THIS IS PRIVATE
Block 18 - 4:00 PM
ARE YOU A FRIEND OF DOROTHY?
VIOLET VENDETTA
THE HIKE
THE AXE FORGETS
FOXBODY
THE INTERVIEW
Block 19 - 6:00 PM
THE ROCKET
ANTONIO’S ROAD
Block 20 - 8:00 PM
LORDS
FLOWERS
DETENTION
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MONDAY, APRIL 13
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Block 21 - 2:00 PM
ALREADY ARRIVED
THE INTENTION INVENTION
OUR ATTIC
QUICK FIX
ARMAN
CLEAN SLATE
PORTRAIT
Block 22 - 4:00 PM
THE MAN IN THE UPPER ROOM
WHO KNEW: DYSLEXIA IS A WAY OF THINKING
BHANGRA BABY
ALPHA AID
YOKOJI
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Block 23 - 6:05 PM
THE SILENT CONTENDER
LIFE SUPPORT
SHADOWS
FOOTPRINTS
WALKIES
LUCY’S LAST DANCE
PAS VRAIMENT ORDINAIRE (NOT REALLY ORDINARY)
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Block 24 - 7:55 PM
3 MINUTOS
FLAMINGO
FLOCKY
TEENHOOD
12 HOURS
RECONSOLIDATION
MY DEAD MOM
FIVE STAGES UNTIL
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TUESDAY, APRIL 14
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Block 25 - 1:35 PM
DEFNE
IS THAT A MIRAGE?
DICK’S-A-THON
EMMANUEL
Block 26 - 3:40 PM
1247 STEPS
EL BAR DE HERNANDO
THE TOURIST
STICKY
FIRST DATE CONVERSATIONS
KNIGHTS AND RELATIONSHIPS
ACROSS THE AISLE
THE DEBT
Block 27 - 5:45 PM
TRANSFERENCE
THE RETIREMENT PARTY
F MINOR
GUIDED ECHOES
DIZZY
CRITERION
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Block 28 - 7:50 PM
MASCLOOKING
SIRENS
PALATE CLEANSER
THE STONES OF DUNAMASE CASTLE
CALIFORNIA DREAMING
THE DAY IS YOUNG
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WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15
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Block 29 - 1:35 PM
THE RIVER OF LIFE AND DEATH
CHANGE MAKERS
VASCO DA GAMA: THE INFINITE SEA
Block 30 - 3:45 PM
OFF THE RECORD
MASHHAD
ONE FIGHTING IRISHMAN
HIGHER EDUCATION
Block 31 - 5:50 PM
EMBERS
GOING FOR HOME
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Block 32 - 8:00 PM
COMETS
SAVERIO
DANNY BOY
IN THE DARK
CAKE
A KING’S CURTAIN
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Screenplays, Teleplays & Stage Plays -
PIFF 2026 Official Selections:
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BLESS-ED (IS THIS TOWN?) by Wendy M. Wilkins (Feature Screenplay/Teleplay)
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BLIND PURSUIT by Debi Yazbeck (Feature Screenplay/Teleplay)
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BURNT UMBER by Seth Christian (Feature Screenplay/Teleplay)
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CRYPTIC by Ed Vela (Stage Play)
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DEATH IN POLAND by Grant Huffman (Feature Screenplay/Teleplay)
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DOG NAMED CISCO,A by Jean R.Vives (Feature Screenplay/Teleplay)
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EVEN KOALAS CAN GET CHLAMYDIA by Ed Vela (Stage Play)
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FIRST PRIZE by Israela Margalit (Stage Play)
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GHOST OF YOU, THE by Megan Smith-Harris (Feature Screenplay/Teleplay)
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HENCH by Chloe Hawker (Short Screenplay/Teleplay)
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HOT MANGA GIRL by Beatrice Yilin Jiang (Television Script - Sitcom)
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I FOUND A GUN by Will Lee, and Ian Hedman (Feature Screenplay/Teleplay)
LETTER OF LOVE & SORROW, A by Brett Howard Nelson (Feature Screenplay/Teleplay)
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MADE CLEAN by Seth Christian (Feature Screenplay/Teleplay)
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NAYA AND THE GOLDFISH by Vanessa Lua (Short Screenplay/Teleplay)
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NOTHING TO LOSE by Scott Anthony Lopez, and Jesus Francisco Jauregui (Short Screenplay/Teleplay)
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POE & CO. by Lawrence Riggins (Television Script - Drama)
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PUNCH THE LINE by Paul Roland (Feature Screenplay/Teleplay)
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REBEL by Maria K. Singh (Short Screenplay/Teleplay)
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SALLY WHITE by Katrina Jaxson (Television Script - Sitcom)
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SAVE THE MAN by Kevin Stuart Brodie (Stage Play)
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SENIOR CENTER by Erin Gonyeau (Short Screenplay/Teleplay)
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SENSELESS CONFIDENTIAL by Martin Bannon Beaudet (Feature Screenplay/Teleplay)
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SHOW, THE by Karen Dee Carpenter (Short Screenplay/Teleplay)
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TABLE FOR TWO by Christian Belmonte (Short Screenplay/Teleplay)
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TALES OF THE SOUTHERN GOTHIC by Patrick Groff (Feature Screenplay/Teleplay)
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THIS WASN’T IN THE SCRIPT by Terry Gingles (Feature Screenplay/Teleplay)
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TROPHIES by Phillip Cook (Television Script - Drama)
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WET BOYS by Ed Vela (Television Script - Drama)​​
THURSDAY, APRIL 16
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The PIFF 2026 Gala & Award Ceremony
6:00 PM - Red Carpet
8:00 PM - PIFF 2026 Gala & Award Ceremony
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Dress Code: Black Tie optional - 1920's attire suggested
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