The results of the Astetica Film Festival awards for 2026 were announced on Sunday at the conclusion of its 16th edition in York, UK, highlighting how short films capture experiences ranging from illness and displacement to memory, exile, and the search for identity.
British and Afghan films win
According to results published on the festival's official website on November 8, the British film "Don't Touch the Artwork" by director Shams Al-Zahra Mansour won the Best Film award, as well as the Best Artist Film award. The work depicts a young person's confrontation with the rigid appearance of a museum, launching a visual rebellion that transforms familiar rules of reality.
In the documentary category, the joint British-Afghan film "The Forgotten Astronaut" by director Ilham Ihsas won the award, recounting the journey of Abdul Ahad Momand, the first Afghan astronaut, to space in 1988, and his communication with his mother from orbit, a story that illuminates the impact of migration on individuals and their families.
Diverse human experiences
The Spanish film "No One Barks" by director Julia Coldwell Serra won the Best Comedy Film award, presenting the story of a woman who accidentally hits her niece's dog with her car, then hides what happened and invents a legend about the dog's search, a story that blends the absurd situation with the consequences of lying on the relationship between the aunt and the child.
The Best Animated Film award went to the Australian film "This Is Not a Memoir" by director Josh Earl, which documents the experience of Australian Chris Ramsey, a resident of London, after being diagnosed with bowel cancer, and the psychological, family transformations and confrontation with the unknown that accompany the illness.
Family films and cinematic experiences
The film "To Catch a Mermaid," a co-production between Germany, Switzerland, and the UK by Swiss director Raffaella Wagner, won the Best Family-Friendly Film award. It tells the story of a refugee girl searching for her mother, whom she imagines as a sea mermaid, using the atmosphere of a fairy tale to approach loss and uprooting from a child's perspective.
The awards also included films in the fields of drama, experimental, dance, music, and thriller, as well as virtual reality and gaming works. The festival program ran from November 4 to 8, featuring film screenings, workshops, professional meetings, and events focused on new forms of narrative.
The Astetica Festival, held annually in York, UK, is a platform for independent and short films, bringing together works from multiple countries within competitions that include cinematic genres, digital arts, and immersive experiences.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
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