Deadline: SXSW 2026 Winners List

South by Southwest has announced its Film & TV Festival Jury and Special Award winners. They recognize “superlative creativity and talent demonstrated by filmmakers and designers in the SXSW Film & TV program.”

SHORT FILM COMPETITION

Narrative Shorts Competition

Winner: Souvenir directed by Renée Marie Petropoulos

“Led by moving, raw performances, this film meets viewers in an intimate space. Layering the complexities of love, trust, and the vulnerability of being perceived, this short is a beautiful piece of storytelling that sheds light on the most intrinsic and intimidating aspects of relationships and girlhood.”

Inside Film: Short film ‘Souvenir’ heads to SXSW

Writer-director Renée Marie Petropoulos’ short film Souvenir has been selected for this year’s SXSW in Austin, Texas, where it will screen in the Narrative Short Competition.

Produced by Yingna Lu, the film follows a young closeted teen who must confront the unnerving hold her girlfriend has over her after she takes unwarranted photos of her during sex. The cast includes Tanzyn Crawford, Emily Grant, Julian Garner, Athésia and Erika Nbide. It was produced via Screen NSW’s Short to Feature Fast Track initiative, laying the groundwork for Petropoulos and Lu’s feature Keep Walking. 

Inside Film: Rising Talent List 2024

Yingna Lu is a creative producer with a background in advertising. She co-founded Spaceboy Studios with Steve Anthopoulos, which received Screen Australia Enterprise funding in 2023.

Lu’s first gig was with Bill Leimbach, working in feature development and music management for Lime Cordiale. From there, Lu produced scripted digital shows for ABC and Foxtel with Matilda and Bryan Brown and numerous Vimeo Staff Pick videos, including music clips for Rüfüs Du Sol, SBCR and short film We’re All Going to Die. Lu was among Screen Producers Australia’s Ones to Watch in 2016, winning Screen Australia’s $20,000 screen Internship...

IF: Screen NSW names teams for Short to Feature Fast Track initiative

The Short to Feature Fast-Track initiative sees each team receive $75,000 to support production of a short film/proof of concept and script development for a feature film. Screen NSW has also facilitated the attachments of experienced executive producers.

BBC: Iris Prize: 'Queer joy' hard to find this year - director

Steve Anthopoulos, director of My Summer in the Human Resistance, a sci-fi short film, said his first draft was a lot darker.

IF: Screen Australia announces $4.6 million in Enterprise funding

Business recipients include production companies Blacksand Pictures, Closer Productions, SAM Content, Unless Pictures, Blackfella Films, GARUWA, Oombarra Productions, and Pink Lake Creative. Each Enterprise individual will be paired with a personalised creative and strategic business mentor to provide dedicated highly-specialised advice to further support their goals.

IF: Shorts ‘Voice Activated’, ‘Hafekasi’ and ‘Blood’ selected for Tribeca

A Tribeca selection follows a successful local run for Voice Activated. Originally funded under Screen NSW’s Screenability program, it first premiered at Sydney Film Festival last year and went on to be nominated for an AACTA Award.