Kochi: The Film Writers Union has announced the winners of the Short Film Festival 2026 – Season 1. A jury headed by acclaimed filmmaker Blessy selected winners across 16 award categories. The jury panel also included directors Jeethu Joseph, Anwar Rasheed, Tarun Moorthy, and cinematographer Jomon T. John.
The Best Film award was presented to Coverty, while Opponent was named Second Best Film. Prema Palaharam received the award for Best Entertaining Film.
Amos T.G. won the Best Director award for Opponent. The Best Screenplay award went to Vimal Gopalakrishnan and Rohin Ravindran Nair for Coverty, while Sharath Ankad received the Best Story award for May Day.
Acting and Technical Award Winners
The Best Cinematography award was shared by Sandeep S. and Sunil R. Borkar for Coverty. Ashish Unnikrishnan won Best Editor for Prema Palaharam.
In the acting categories, Kishore Roshik won Best Actor for Opponent, while Rajisha Vijayan received the Best Actress award for her performance in Coverty. Aniket Anoop was honoured as Best Child Artist for Chicken Curry.
Special Jury Awards
The jury also presented several Special Jury Awards.
- Naseem Saab won the Special Jury Award for Direction for Prema Palaharam.
- Sharath Ankad received the Special Jury Award for Screenplay for May Day.
- Sharath Raghavan earned the Special Jury Award for Acting for KL 13 Oru Metadorian Yaathra.
- Vaishakh Raghavan received the Special Jury Award for Child Performance for the same film.
- Helen Elizabeth George won the Special Jury Award for Acting for Prema Palaharam.
Award Ceremony on July 18
The awards, comprising a trophy, certificate, and cash prize, will be presented on 18 July at 3:00 PM at Hotel Luminarai, Paramara Road, Kochi.
The Best Film winner will receive a cash prize of ₹1,00,000, while the Second Best Film will be awarded ₹50,000.
Film Writers Union Short Film Festival 2026 – Major Winners
| Category | Winner |
|---|---|
| Best Film | Coverty |
| Second Best Film | Opponent |
| Best Entertaining Film | Prema Palaharam |
| Best Director | Amos T.G. (Opponent) |
| Best Screenplay | Vimal Gopalakrishnan & Rohin Ravindran Nair (Coverty) |
| Best Story | Sharath Ankad (May Day) |
| Best Cinematography | Sandeep S. & Sunil R. Borkar (Coverty) |
| Best Editor | Ashish Unnikrishnan (Prema Palaharam) |
| Best Actor | Kishore Roshik (Opponent) |
| Best Actress | Rajisha Vijayan (Coverty) |
| Best Child Artist | Aniket Anoop (Chicken Curry) |
