Chain NYC Film Festival Crowns Its 2026 Award-Winners

In an era in which New Yorkers often stay home and stream a new movie rather than travel to the theatre, the Chain 2026 NYC Film Festival experienced a record number of in-person audience members and participating filmmakers.

The 14th annual event screened 169 independent films from around the globe over the course of ten days.

"This year's incredible selection told a story for the state of the world," Chain Theatre artistic director Kirk Gostkowski told Patch. "We saw a lot of films about caring for the aging generation as well as themes of advocacy — using art as a way to bring awareness and challenge the system."

More than 200 filmmakers attended and competed to receive 41 awards in categories such as Best of Fest, New York Filmmaker Award, Filmmaker Favorite, Best Web Series and Best Comedy Feature.

The awards ceremony took place at the Chain Theatre on West 36 Street in Manhattan on Sunday, August 11.

Brian Di Lorenzo, who directed The A-Level, took home the New York Filmmaker Award and How We See was awarded Best of Fest.

Directed by Christiane Arbesu, How We See is about a blind musician who has navigated the streets of Manhattan independently for more than fifty years.

In addition to Paul & Greg & Amelia being awarded Best Narrative Feature, the 2026 lineup of winning films included Stop Time, starring Academy Award-nominee Patty McCormack, as well as the documentaries We Grew Up, If You Can Make It Here and An Island of Dreams.

Irregular won Best Comedy Feature while Woozy, starring Emile Hirsch, won Best Horror Feature. The Last Message won Best Documentary Feature and the Slovenian film, Whites Wash at 90, won Best International Feature.

"The quality of the films was outstanding and we have met so many new collaborators,"Gostkowski added. "We are very inspired."

Among shorts, Blank Slate won the Filmmaker Favorite award, Joan’s Teeth, starring Kathleen Turner, won the Audience Choice and Best Actress award, and Fatal Negligence, starring and directed by Juliette Fairley, won the Best New Work award.

The Personal Stories and Original Ideas awards when to Wooly Bully and Once More for Safety, respectively. Best Web Series was awarded to House of the Seven Gables

Other films that either won awards or screened at the festival were Lisa Short’s Ms. Omela, Snowflakes, With an End in Mind, The First Year, A Moment in Time, A Son’s Burden, Don’t Forget to Pray, starring Michael W.Gaines, the sports drama Diamond starring Cynthia Bailey and former NFL star-turned-actor Vernon Davis, the Book of Ahmad, and Wanna Be a Star!

This was the second year the festival awarded the Helena Weinrauch Humanitarian Award, which was started in 2025 to honor Helena Weinrauch who died at 101 years old.

The 2026 Helena Weinrauch Humanitarian Award went to Won't Be Displaced.

"Helena's legacy of living life to the utmost and bringing people together carries on through this award," Hamilton told Patch. "Won't Be Displaced is about LGBTQIA refugees fleeing persecution."

For full review of all the films that screened, visit the 2026 Chain Film Festival website.