Out On Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQ+ film festival, has announced its 2026 Audience, Jury, and Screenplay Award winners after the 11-day festival from Sept. 24 to Oct. 4.
“La Bola Negra,” a film by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi about three generations of men spanning pivotal moments in Spanish history, won the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature. The film is Spain’s submission for the 2027 Oscars in the Best International Feature Film category.
“Receiving the Audience Award at Out On Film means everything to us,” Calvo and Ambrossi said in a press release. “Even from afar, we heard about the festival’s incredible energy. Knowing the Atlanta queer community turned out and felt connected to our film is the best gift we as filmmakers could ask for. Thank you for embracing ‘La Bola Negra’ so warmly and we hope that audiences will come out to see it in theaters very soon—long live the magic of shared cinema!”
“Love Patrick: Nothing is Impossible,” a documentary directed by the Horne Brothers about designer and former Atlantan Patrick Kelly, was the Audience Award winner for Best Documentary Feature.
Two screenplays that were staged during the festival also won awards. Malik Brown, an Atlanta-based LGBTQ+ advocate and the Managing Director of the Atlanta LGBTQ+ Community Center Initiative, won the Feature Screenplay award for“Undecided.” The script follows a burnt out White House advisor as he returns home for Christmas and finds himself torn between a charming British journalist and the ambitious ex-boyfriend who broke his heart: Atlanta’s newly elected mayor. “Three Burned Bodies” by Erik Jasaň, Terézia Čikoš, and Javaria Waseem took home the award for Best Short Screenplay.
Actor, singer, and director Jelani Alladin also won the 2026 Rising Star Award. His short film “Next Year” had its world premiere at the festival and was a runner up for Best Drama Short. As an actor, Alladin has starred in “Fellow Travelers”, “The Walking Dead: World Behind”, “tick, tick… Boom!”, and “Strangers On a Beach.” He played the titular character in Disney’s “Hercules” at the Public’s Delacorte Theatre and made his Broadway Debut as Kristoff in “Frozen the Musical,” which earned him a Drama Desk and Drama League nomination.
“Each year, our audiences and jurors are faced with the difficult and rewarding task of choosing among an extraordinary range of LGBTQ+ films and this year was no exception,” Out On Film Festival Director Jim Farmer said. “The films recognized this year represent the very best of queer storytelling — bold, beautifully crafted, emotionally resonant and often deeply personal. From powerful documentaries and compelling narratives to the incredible work being done in short films, these filmmakers reminded us once again of the breadth and vitality of LGBTQ+ cinema.”
2026 Out On Film award winners
Jury Awards
- Best Narrative Feature: “Gugu’s World” (directed by Allan Deberton)
- Runner-Up: “In a Whisper” (directed by Leyla Bouzid) and “Out of the Woods” (directed by Sal Bardo)
- Best Narrative DIrector: Allan Deberton, “Gugu’s World”
- Runner-Up: Leyla Bouzid, “In a Whisper”
- Best Documentary Feature:“Barbara Forever” (directed byBrydie O’Connor)
- Runner-Up: “Time Warp” (directed by Allison Berg)
- Best Performance: Teca Pereira (“Gugu’s World”)
- Runner-Up: Yuri Gomes (“Gugu’s World”) and Eya Bouteraa (“In a Whisper”)
- Best Ensemble: “In A Whisper” (directed by Leyla Bouzid)
- Runner-Up: “Dreamers” (directed by Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor)
- Best First Film: “Dreamers” (directed by Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor)
- Best International Film: “In a Whisper” (directed by Leyla Bouzid)
- Best Screenplay: “Out of the Woods” (by Sal Bardo)
- Runner-up: “Maspalomas” (by Jose Mari Goenaga)
- Best Documentary Short: “Southern Son Shine” (directed by Kevin Dapree Anderson)
- Runner-Up: “Come On, Boy” (directed by Sarah Fleming)
- Best Drama Short: “See You Tomorrow Tomorrow Tomorrow” (directed by Desdemona Chiang)
- Runner-up: “Fly” (directed by Carlton Daniel) and “Next Year” (directed by Guto Barra and Peter DiMario)
Audience Awards
- Best Narrative Feature: “La Bola Negra” (directed by Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi)
- Runner-Up: “In Between” (directed by Nicholas Molencupp and Juli-Ann De Barros)
- Best Documentary Feature: “Love, Patrick: Nothing is Impossible” (directed by The Horne Brothers)
- Runner-up: “Give Me the Ball!” (directed by Elizabeth Wolff and Liz Garbus)
- Best Narrative Short: “Scissors” (directed by Hannah Alline)
- Runner-Up: “Okay?” (directed by Carrie Meyer Schrader)
- Best Documentary Short: “The Gloria Project” (directed by Kelly Burkhardt)
- Runner-Up: “One of the Girls” (directed by Alexandra Ross Chandra)
