The Jury Award for Best Short Film in the Official Section went to “Hyena”, by Altay Ulan Yang, while the award for Best Basque Short Film was presented to “The Body of Christ”, by Bea Lema.

In the Panorama Section, the award for Best Feature Film went to “SASYQ”, by Yerden Telemissov, while the award for Best Short Film was presented to “You Have to See It”, by Nacho Solana.

Festival audiences selected “The Open Window”, by Ana Graciani, as the Audience Award winner for Best Feature Film in the Official Section, while the Audience Award for Best Short Film went to “Poor Martian”, by Álex Rey.

The jury of the Bilbao Fantasy Film Festival – FANT, organized by Bilbao City Council and made up in the Official Section by Ángel Agudo, Alicia Albares, and Álex Mendíbil, awarded the Best Feature Film prize of this 32nd edition to “Buzzheart”, directed by Dennis Iliadis, “for deconstructing human relationships within a family context and finding terror in the games of behaviorist psychology,” according to the jury’s statement.

In the short film category, the award for Best Short Film in the Official Section went to “HYENA”, by Altay Ulan Yang, “for creating an atmosphere as magnetic as it is dreamlike in order to portray a recurring subject such as bullying in a highly original way,” according to the jury. In this 32nd edition, “Cara de cona”, directed by Guillermo de Oliveira, received a Special Mention “for offering us the bright reverse side of As Bestas.”

In addition, the jury selected “The Body of Christ”, by Bea Lema, as Best Basque Short Film, highlighting it “for the boldness of adapting her comic into an animation technique that combines tradition with modernity.”

In this 2026 edition, the Basque Screenwriters Association – Euskal Gidoigileak awarded the Best Screenplay for a Feature Film in the Official Section to “The Ice Tower”, by Lucile Hadzihalilovic, because it “proposes, through the tale ‘The Snow Queen’, a sober and restrained narrative about how the transition to adulthood inevitably leads one to ‘kill the idol’ one has created.”

Likewise, the Cineclub FAS Award for Most Innovative Direction went to “Camp”, by Avalon Fast, “for having more visual inventiveness and aesthetic personality than films with one hundred times the budget, for transforming mundane spaces into magical ones, and for its sincere, raw, grunge-like exploration of inner fractures and the power of female friendship.”

For its part, the Basque Actors Union – Euskal Aktoreen Batasuna (EAB) awarded the prize for Best Performance in Basque Short Films 2026 to Lorena Mariñelarena for her role as Joxepi in “Erreka Zoko Hortan”, directed by Ekaitz Bertiz. According to the jury, “it is a deeply committed acting performance, with a natural and restrained character introduction that gradually unfolds in expressiveness as Joxepi’s character arc develops. Lorena Mariñelarena’s performance reflects the contradictions of her character’s age in relation to the responsibilities she bears and her circumstances: fear, vulnerability, innocence, and lack of choice, contrasted with strength, responsibility, determination, empowerment, and courage. The young actress carries the weight of the short film through a sustained and balanced performance.”

Festival audiences awarded the Audience Award for Best Film in the Official Section to “The Open Window”, by Ana Graciani. In the Official Section short film category, audiences selected “Poor Martian”, by Álex Rey, as the winner.

FANTASY PANORAMA SECTION

The jury of the Fantasy Panorama Section, made up of Iván Barredo, María Larrea, and Miriam P. Álvarez, awarded the prize for Best Feature Film in the Panorama Section to “Sasyq”, by Yerden Telemissov, “for being a complete fantasy and science fiction work aimed at all audiences, approaching social and family themes with particular humanity and tenderness.”

In this section, the award for Best Short Film went to “You Have to See It”, by Nacho Solana, “for reflecting in an ironic and distressing way the fear of first-time parents who feel abducted by a new being in their lives.” This year, the jury also decided to award a Special Mention to the short film “The Veil”, by Gabriel Motta, “for creating an esoteric atmosphere that transports the viewer beneath the veil.”

MÉLIÈS SILVER AWARD

This year, as a new feature, a specific jury was formed to select the Méliès Silver Award for Best European Fantasy Short Film in the Official Section. Bego del Teso, Benja de la Rosa, and Andrea G. Bermejo awarded the prize to “Lo que te falta”, by Sara Bermejo, which — together with eleven other short films receiving this recognition at festivals belonging to the Méliès International Festivals Federation — automatically qualifies for the Méliès d’Argent competition, the Gold Award for a European fantasy genre short film.

AWARD FOR THE WOMEN SCREENWRITERS’ SHORT FILM SCRIPT COMPETITION

Bilbao Fantasy Film Festival continues to support film projects created by women. Proof of this is its collaboration with GIDOI – Basque Screenwriters and the third edition of the Women Screenwriters’ Short Film Script Competition, supported by (H)emen and focused exclusively on fantasy and horror scripts, in line with FANT’s identity. In the national category of the competition, the winner was Gigi Romero, who will receive €300. In the Basque category, endowed with €600, the winner was Tania García de Pedro. The main award-winning films will be screened on Sunday, May 17, at BBK Hall. At 5:00 p.m., the winning films from the Fantasy Panorama Section will be shown, and at 7:30 p.m., the award-winning titles from the Official Section.

FANT BILBAO 2026 A

WARDS OFFICIAL SECTION

JURY AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE FILM IN THE OFFICIAL SECTION “Buzzheart”, directed by Dennis Iliadis

JURY AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM IN THE OFFICIAL SECTION “Hyena”, by Altay Ulan Yang Special Mention for “Cara de cona”, by Guillermo de Oliveira

JURY AWARD FOR BEST BASQUE SHORT FILM “The Body of Christ”, by Bea Lema

AWARD FOR BEST PERFORMANCE IN BASQUE SHORT FILMS Lorena Mariñelarena for her role as Joxepi in “Erreka Zoko Hortan”, by Ekaitz Bertiz

CINECLUB FAS AWARD FOR MOST INNOVATIVE DIRECTION IN OFFICIAL SECTION FEATURE FILMS “Camp”, by Avalon Fast

BASQUE SCREENWRITERS ASSOCIATION – EUSKAL GIDOIGILEAK AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE FILM SCREENPLAY IN THE OFFICIAL SECTION “The Ice Tower”, by Lucile Hadzihalilovic

AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE FILM IN THE OFFICIAL SECTION “The Open Window”, by Ana Graciani

AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM IN THE OFFICIAL SECTION “Poor Martian”, by Álex Rey

PANORAMA SECTION JURY AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE FILM IN PANORAMA “Sasyq”, by Yerden Telemissov

JURY AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM IN PANORAMA “You Have to See It”, by Nacho Solana Special Mention for “The Veil”, by Gabriel Motta

MÉLIÈS SILVER AWARD FOR BEST EUROPEAN FANTASY SHORT FILM IN THE OFFICIAL SECTION “Lo que te falta”, by Sara Bermejo

AWARD FOR BEST PROJECT FOR THE PRODUCTION OF A SHORT FILM IN BASQUE “Gaua da luze”, by Itziar Lamarka and Ane Álvarez

AWARD FOR BEST SHORT FILM SCRIPT IN THE 3RD WOMEN SCREENWRITERS’ SHORT FILM SCRIPT COMPETITION National category: Gigi Romero Basque category: Tania García de Pedro

FANTASY STAR AWARD Eugenio Mira

FANTROBIA AWARD Bruno Martín

FANT HONORARY AWARDS Aránzazu Calleja and Fabio Testi