SXSW 2026: Lewis Pullman and Maya Hawke’s ‘Wishful Thinking’ Nabs Top Film Prize
The South by Southwest 2026 Film Festival grand jury awarded Graham Parkes’ “Wishful Thinking,” a sci-fi romantic comedy starring Maya Hawke and Lewis Pullman, the top Narrative Feature prize.
Additionally, Susan Kent’s work in “The Snake,” a Canadian comedy film directed by Jenna MacMillan, won the Special Jury Award for Performance. Among the winners was also “Summer 2000: The X-Cetra Story” directed by Ayden Mayeri, which scored the top Documentary Feature award.
“This week reminded me, once again, why we do this,” Claudette Godfrey, VP of Film and TV, said in a statement. “The world has felt heavy. But inside our theaters, something extraordinary happened. Strangers became collaborators, audiences showed up with their whole hearts and filmmaker after filmmaker reminded us exactly why we gather. We are so proud to celebrate this year’s jury and special award winners. Trust us, you’re going to be hearing a lot more from them.”
See the full list of winners below.
NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION (presented by Kickstarter)
Winner: “Wishful Thinking” directed by Graham Parkes
Special Jury Award for Performance: Susan Kent, “The Snake”
Special Jury Award for Screenwriting: Robb Boardman, Cory Loykasek, Donny Divianian and Frankie Quinones, “Plantman & Blondie: A Dress Up Gang Film”
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION
Winner: “Summer 2000: The X-Cetra Story” directed by Ayden Mayeri
Special Jury Award: “The Last Critic” directed by Matty Wishnow
Special Jury Award: “Stormbound” directed by Miko Lim
SHORT FILM COMPETITION (Presented by Vimeo)
NARRATIVE SHORT COMPETITION
Winner: “Souvenir” directed by Renée Marie Petropoulos
Special Jury Award: “Supper” directed by Savannah Braswell
DOCUMENTARY SHORT COMPETITION
Winner: “In The Morning Sun” directed by Serville Poblete
Special Jury Award: “Eructation” directed by Victoria Trow
ANIMATED SHORT COMPETITION
Winner: “Paper Trail” directed by Don Hertzfeldt
Special Jury Award: “Hag” directed by Anna Ginsburg
MIDNIGHT SHORT COMPETITION
Winner: “Tongue” directed by Lim Da seul
Special Jury Award: “Man Eating Pussy” directed by Emily Lawson
TEXAS SHORT COMPETITION
Winner: “Forcefield of Love” directed by Liz Moskowitz and Riley Engemoen
Special Jury Award for Standout Ensemble: “Stalin Boys” directed by Ora DeKornfeld and Bianca Giaever
MUSIC VIDEO COMPETITION
Winner: Rawayana and Bomba Estereo – “Fogata” directed by Paola Ossa
Special Jury Award: Doechii – “Anxiety” directed by James Mackel
INDEPENDENT TV PILOT COMPETITION
Winner: “In My Blood” from Showrunner and Director Alex Bendo
Special Jury Award: “Son of a Bikram” from Showrunners and Screenwriters Ash T and Johnny Rey Diaz and Director Johnny Rey Diaz
XR EXPERIENCE COMPETITION
Winner: “Body Proxy” by Danny Cannizzaro and Samantha Gorman
Special Jury Award: “The Forgotten War” by Hayoun Kwon
SPECIAL AWARDS
Agog Immersive Impact Award
Winner: “A Long Goodbye” directed by Kate Voet and Victor Maes
Green Lens Award
Winner: “Plantman & Blondie: A Dress Up Gang Film” directed by Robb Boardman
Janet Pierson Champion Award
Winner: Benjamin Wiessner
NEON Auteur Award
Winner: “The Peril at Pincer Point” directed by Jake Kuhn and Noah Stratton-Twine
Redbreast Unhidden Award
Winner: “We Were Here” directed by Pranav Bhasin
SXSW Best of Texas Award
Winner: “Stages” directed by Ryan Booth
Vimeo Staff Pick
Winner: “Mantis Stream! Like & Subscribe” directed by Lincoln Robisch and Sarah Maerten
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