Slamdance Festival Winners: 'Whisperings of the Moon,' 'You Look Fine'

Mar 4, 2026 1:45pm PT ‘Whisperings of the Moon,’ ‘Silver’ and ‘Zumeca’ Among 2026 Slamdance Film Festival Award Winners By Payton Turkeltaub Plus Icon Payton Turkeltaub Latest ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s 2’ Sets Peacock Streaming Release Date 6 hours ago Maria O’Brien, ‘Days of Our Lives’ Acting Coach and Actor, Dies at 75 20 hours ago ‘Zootopia 2’ Sets Disney+ Release Date 1 day ago See All Films including “Whisperings of the Moon,” “Silver” and “Zumeca” were among the winners at the 32nd Slamdance Film Festival. Dedicated to celebrating emerging filmmaking talent from around the world, the in-person awards ceremony took place on Feb. 25 at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles.  This year, the festival’s lineup consisted of 141 films — 50 of which were world premieres — selected from a pool of 10,000 submissions.  Related Stories Eric Dane, 'Grey's Anatomy' and 'Euphoria' Star, Dies at 53 'House of the Dragon' Season 3 Trailer: Rhaenyra Sends More Dragons to Battle for the Iron Throne; June Release Date Set Comedian Jarod Snow’s documentary “You Look Fine,” which details his battle with sickle cell anemia, won both an audience award and a jury award, and was awarded a theatrical distribution offer from Utopia.  Popular on Variety “Whisperings of the Moon,” directed by Yuqing Lai, won the grand jury prize for narrative feature. Lai was awarded the honor posthumously, as the director passed away in Dec. 2025.  “‘Whisperings of the Moon’ is a dizzying love story between two star-crossed Cambodian women who meet through the art of theater,” said the awards jury in a statement. “The haunting performances and visceral imagery will burrow its way into your soul. We have lost the writer-director Yuqing Lai too soon — an irreplaceable voice in filmmaking.” Steve Kang, president of the Board of Public Works and chief film liaison for the city of Los Angeles, opened the awards ceremony and unveiled a new pilot program that will make filming in the Los Angeles area more accessible to low impact and independent productions. The city will significantly reduce permit fees for productions applying through FilmLA, as well as expand access to iconic locations, Kang announced.  This year’s Slamdance festival is also a testament to the power of the grassroots film community; the festival’s audience grew by 10% from the year before, selling over 12,000 tickets and recording a six-figure net in box office receipts. Nearly all LA screenings sold out.  “As the entertainment industry continues to face massive disruption, Slamdance in Los Angeles is proof that through event experiences you can still grow cinema and fill every seat in the house,” said Slamdance President and Co-Founder Peter Baxter in a statement. “Some might think celebrity culture remains the only way to do this but Slamdance has known for a long time that when it comes to recognizing talent, launching careers and attracting an audience a grassroots community can really do it themselves.”  The full Slamdance lineup is available online on the Slamdance Channel through March 6. See the full list of winners below.  GRAND JURY AWARDS – FEATURES Narrative Feature Grand Jury Prize: “Whisperings of the Moon” (Yuqing Lai, Hong Kong, Cambodia, India) Honorable Mention: “Ten Will” (Max DeFalco, United States) Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize: “Silver” (Natalia Koniarz, Poland, Norway, Finland) Honorable Mention: “House 4” (Philipp Schaeffer, Germany) Breakouts Feature Grand Jury Prize: “Zumeca” (David Maler, Dominican Republic) Honorable Mention: “BRB” (Kate Cobb, United States) Episodes Grand Jury Prize: “Vicky Wakes Up” (Victoria Blade, United States) Honorable Mention: “Cat & Nat” (Aaron Hughes, United States) GRAND JURY AWARDS – UNSTOPPABLE Unstoppable Feature Grand Jury Prize: “You Look Fine” (J.Snow, United States) Honorable Mention: “The Tallest Dwarf” (Julie Forrest Wyman, United States) Unstoppable Short Grand Jury Prize: “Everhand” (Shane Hillier, United States) Honorable Mention: “Girl of Wind” (Nanxi Yuan, China) JURY AWARDS – 99 Special 99 Special Jury Award: “Dead Grandma” (Rachel Kempf & Nick Toti, United States) Honorable Mention: “Pickup” (Viktoriia Lapushkina, Russia, United States) JURY AWARDS – SHORTS Narrative Short Grand Jury Prize: “Beaks” (Xavier Demoulin, France) Honorable Mention: “It Means Hope” (Shadi Karamroudi, Iran) Documentary Short Grand Jury Prize: “Panther Pat” (Ashley Brandon, United States) Honorable Mention: “In Exchange For Flesh” (Sandro Ramani and Corey Devon Arthur, United States) Experimental Shorts Grand Jury Prize: “I Would Have Liked to Make a Different Film” (Suse Itzel, Germany) Honorable Mention: “Whose Woods Are These” (Kate Nartker, United States) Animated Shorts Grand Jury Prize: “Busy Bodies” (Kate Renshaw-Lewis, United States) Honorable Mention: “One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six” (Yingdan Lai, United States) FESTIVAL WIDE AWARDS: The AGBO Fellowship, presented by Joe and Anthony Russo, Award Winner: Jiin Oh, director of “SPEEDY!” Summer Chastant Episodic Award: “Cat & Nat” (Aaron Hughes, United States) Slamdance Acting Award: Angela Canó from “Zumeca” George Starks Spirit of Slamdance Award Winner: Jalen Wilson-Nelen, director of “Puke Bitch” AUDIENCE AWARDS: Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature: “Three Colors: Pan-African” (Elijah Davis, Allison A. Waite, Tyler Ocasio Holmes, USA) Audience Award for Documentary Feature: “Kings Of Venice” (Sveinn Ingimundarson, S.D. Saltarelli, USA) Audience Award for Unstoppable: “You Look Fine” (J. Snow, USA) Jump to Comments Can New Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro Weather AI, Revitalize ‘Star Wars’ and Marvel and Save the Magic Kingdom? Dish Countersues Disney and ESPN Over Sling TV Short-Term Subscription Passes, Alleging Antitrust Violations and Breach of Contract Kat Dennings Says Marvel ‘Did Scan Me. They Could Put Me in Anything They Want at This Point. I’m in the System’ Chris Pratt Pitched Marvel a ‘F—ing Great’ Idea for Star Lord’s Return and Sent James Gunn a Photo Wearing a Batman Mask: ‘I Photoshopped It’ and He Laughed Josh D’Amaro Says He Got ‘Choked Up’ When Disney CEO Job Was Offered to Him Disney and F1 Expand ‘Fuel the Magic’ Partnership With Uniqlo Collection, WEBTOON Comic Series and Mickey Mouse Plush Toys JavaScript is required to load the comments. Loading comments...