The Seattle Film Festival concluded its 11th annual edition last weekend (Oct. 1–4) at Burien’s Tin Room Theater, bringing filmmakers, actors and audiences together for four days of independent cinema, conversations and special events.
The 2026 program paired established names with emerging filmmakers, featuring:
- Edward Burns’ Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies, starring Jennifer Ehle
- Tao Ruspoli’s documentary The Dulcinée Dialectic
- Quinn Topper Marcus’ science-fiction short ACB-223
- 14-year-old Maxwell Weidenfeldt’s comedy The Home
- Bob Lindenmayer’s Making Megaforce
- Carlos R. Correa’s documentary Sound Again
- Greg Roth’s documentary We Ride Why;
- Luis Reyes Cantón’s thriller Bad Death
The festival also featured Kipp Marcus in ACB-223; John Cameron Mitchell in Cockroach, and Melissa Mars in Al Mhajba, while filmmaker Q&As gave audiences the opportunity to hear directly from the artists behind the work.
The festival culminated on Sunday, Oct. 4 with its annual awards show. Top jury honors went to Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies, which received the Grand Jury Award for Best Feature Film, and ACB-223, which received the Grand Jury Award for Best Short Film.
Additional category awards included Bonding for Best Feature Film, The Home for Best Short Film, and Parasomnia for Best Student Short Film. Natalie Gonzalez received Best Actress in a Short Film for Baby Sea Turtle.
Edward Burns received Best Director Feature Film for Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies, and Jennifer Ehle received the festival’s Outstanding Performance in Film award. Luis Reyes Cantón received Best Director Short Film for Bad Death, while Tao Ruspoli received Best Director Documentary Film for The Dulcinée Dialectic, and We Ride Why won Best Documentary Film.
Festival Director Awards were presented to Bob Lindenmayer for Making Megaforce and Luis Reyes Cantón for Bad Death. A Fateful Weekend received the Seattle Filmmaker Award.
Across the four-day event, the festival continued its focus on distinctive independent work, giving emerging filmmakers space alongside established artists and creating a setting where audiences could connect directly with the people behind the films.
The 2026 Seattle Film Festival was led by Festival Director William Wayne, Executive Director Michael Rey, Creative Director Bobby LePire and Programmer Michael Johnson.
Sponsors and Partners
The Seattle Film Festival gratefully acknowledges the support of The Tin Room, The Tin Theater, B-Town Blog / South King Media, Citadelle Gin de France, Planteray Rum, and Maison Ferrand.
Festival Information
- Website: theseattlefilmfestival.com/2026festival
- Instagram: @seattlefilmfestival
