SXSW 2026 Awards: ‘Wishful Thinking’ and ‘Summer 2000: The X-Cetra Story’ Take Top Honors

SXSW: The juried awards were handed out on Wednesday evening, and audience picks will follow later this week.

As the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival winds down, the annual Austin, Texas-based event took a pause on Wednesday night to hand out its annual juried awards. Among the top winners: Graham Parkes’ Lewis Pullman- and Maya Hawke-starring dramedy “Wishful Thinking,” which won the narrative jury competition, and actress-turned-filmmaker Ayden Mayeri’s “Summer 2000: The X-Cetra Story,” which won its documentary equivalent.

Also of note: the narrative feature jury handed out a special jury award for performance to “The Snake” star Susan Kent and a special jury award for screenwriting to Robb Boardman, Cory Loykasek, Donny Divianian, and Frankie Quinones for “Plantman & Blondie: A Dress Up Gang Film.” The doc jury also bestowed a pair of special jury prizes to Matty Wishnow’s “The Last Critic” and Miko Lim’s “Stormbound.”

The 2026 SXSW juried prize winners are listed below, and the audience awards will be announced later this week.

NARRATIVE FEATURE COMPETITION
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

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 (CLUSTERF–K!)