As the Santa Barbara International Film Festival wraps up its 41st edition, the jury has selected this year’s winning films.
During a ceremony on Saturday at El Encanto, SBIFF announced the winners of the 2026 festival, with directors Tia Lessin and Carl Deal’s Steal This Story, Please taking home the Audience Choice Award.
The winning titles also include Nicola Rinciari’s A Mosquito in the Ear, Laura Wandel’s Adam’s Sake, Katie Camosy’s Gaslit, Andrés Clariond Rangel’s Versailles, Florence Miailhe’s Papillon and more.
“We are thrilled to celebrate such a wonderful array of winning films that represent the best independent creatives working today,” said Claudia Puig, SBIFF programming director. “All these outstanding films tell essential stories that speak eloquently about the human condition. The jury winners this year hail from Mexico, India, Belgium, Japan, France, Italy and Germany, and their stories are set in scenic locales from Malaysia to Minneapolis. We are very grateful to our discerning jurors and heartily congratulate all the winning filmmakers.”
This year’s winning films were selected by the SBIFF 2026 jury members, including Adam Guettel, Adrien Martinez, Jordana Brewster, Joseph Novoa, Karla Quintero, Langdon Page, Marissa Chibas, Michael Patti, Tina Sawtelle and Travis Preston.
See the full list of winners below.
The Audience Choice Award sponsored by The Santa Barbara Independent
Steal This Story, Please
Dir. Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
Panavision Spirit Award for Independent Cinema
A Mosquito in the Ear
Dir. Nicola Rinciari
The Jeffrey C. Barbakow Award for Best International Feature Film
Adam’s Sake
Dir. Laura Wandel
The Best Documentary Award
Gaslit
Dir. Katie Camosy
The Nueva Vision Award for Spain/Latin America Cinema
Versailles
Dir. Andrés Clariond Rangel
The Best Animated Short Film Award
Papillon
Dir. Florence Miailhe
The Best Documentary Short Film Award
A Short Documentary About a Giant Pencil
Dir. Daniel Straub
The Best Live-Action Short Film Award
Agnes
Dir. Nora Arnezeder
The Social Justice Award sponsored by the Fund for Santa Barbara
Steal This Story, Please
Dir. Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
The ADL Stand Up Award sponsored by ADL Santa Barbara/Tri-Counties
Bookends
Dir. Mike Doyle
The ASC Award for Best Cinematography sponsored by The American Society of Cinematographers
Lost Land
Dir. Akio Fujimoto