2026 Selections

2026 AWARD GALA SHOW

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

LARRY NAMER

KTOWN International Film Festival Announces Larry Namer as Recipient of the "2026 Lifetime Achievement Award in Cinema."

Larry Namer is the co-founder of E! Entertainment Television and a pioneering media executive whose career spans more than five decades.

As one of the architects of E!, he helped redefine entertainment television and build a global platform connecting audiences with some of the most recognizable personalities in entertainment and popular culture, including Joan Rivers, Ryan Seacrest, Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, and Howard Stern.

Throughout his career, Namer has remained at the forefront of cable television, international broadcasting, digital media, streaming, and emerging technologies, while championing storytelling that connects cultures and audiences around the world.

Today, as President of Metan Global Entertainment Group and Chairman of LJN Media, he continues to develop international entertainment and cross-cultural media ventures.

The KTOWN International Film Festival proudly honors Larry Namer with the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award in Cinema, recognizing his extraordinary contributions to global entertainment, media innovation, and storytelling.

lEAH CLAPMAN

KTOWN International Film Festival Announces Leah Clapman as Recipient of the "2026 Lifetime Achievement Award in Education."

Leah Clapman is the recipient of the 2026 KTOWN International Film Festival Lifetime Achievement Award in Education, recognizing more than 30 years of leadership in public media, journalism, and educational innovation.

A graduate of Princeton University, Leah has dedicated her career to empowering young people through storytelling, media literacy, and civic engagement. During her distinguished career with PBS NewsHour, she developed pioneering educational initiatives that have inspired students and educators across the globe. In 2009, she founded the award-winning Student Reporting Labs (SRL), transforming it into one of the nation’s leading youth journalism programs. Since its inception, SRL has empowered hundreds of thousands of students, supported 12,000 educators, and reached schools in all 50 states and more than 90 countries. The program has received numerous national honors, including the Edward R. Murrow Award for its youth mental health podcast, On Our Minds.

Today, as Executive Director of PBS News Student Reporting Labs, Leah continues to build partnerships with educators, schools, universities, public media stations, and national organizations to amplify youth voices, advance media literacy, and prepare the next generation of storytellers, journalists, and civic leaders.

Leah’s lifelong commitment to education, mentorship, and expanding opportunities for young people reflects the core mission of the KTOWN International Film Festival. Her unwavering belief in the power of storytelling to educate, inspire, and create positive social change makes her a truly deserving recipient of the KTOWN IFF Lifetime Achievement Award in Education.

SPECIAL AWARDS

MICHAEL SCHULTZ BEST ACTOR AWARD:

Robert Miano – Animal (United States)

BEST ACTress AWARD:

Nana Mori – Burn (Japan)

Yang Mal-Bok – Manok (South Korea)

lEAH CLAPMAN YOUNG STORYTELLER AWARD:

Roah Nho – Berklee Music (United States)

RICHARD RIEHLE RISING STAR AWARD:

TBD

"ILYA SALKIND" FEATURE FILM AWARD

Winner (FESTIVAL):

“The Fox King” – Woo Ming Jin (Indonesia, Malaysia)

The Fox King is a 2025 drama film directed and written by Woo Ming Jin. It stars Dian Sastrowardoyo, Idan Aedan, and Hadi Putra. It is a co-production between Malaysia and Indonesia, marking the second collaboration between Woo’s Greenlight Pictures with Jakarta-based KawanKawan Media, following Stone Turtle.

Winner (INTERNATIONAL):

“A House Named Shahana” – Leesa Gazi (Bangladesh)

The story follows the turbulent life of Dipa, a young divorced woman whose refusal to suffer silently makes her a misfit in a rural town in 90s Bangladesh.
She is raised by weak and ineffectual parents in a peculiar family dynamic dominated by her maternal uncle and aunt. Under their authority, Dipa is married off to a widower in England over a trunk-call wedding ceremony to protect her from the dangers of teenage passions. Dipa suffers marital rape, refuses to settle and escapes.
Seven years later, Dipa has become a transformed and confident professional, yet she still must fight the social stigma and the burden of “family honour” to live on her own terms.

“Burn”- Makoto Nagahisa” (Japan)

Ju-Ju, a troubled teenage girl, watches with satisfaction as flames engulf Kabuki-cho.
One year earlier, she runs away from home and finds refuge in Toyoko Square, where Kami, a self-proclaimed protector of troubled teens, welcomes her into a community of young outsiders. There, Ju-Ju finds friendship, belonging, and a new home.
But beneath the surface lies a darker world of prostitution, drugs, violence, and suicide. As tragedy surrounds her, Ju-Ju loses faith in Kami and the place she once called home.
Gradually, one thought begins to consume her: burn it all down.

FINALIST:

“10s Across the Borders” – Sze-Wei CHAN (Germany, Philippines, Singapore)
“A Dance In Vain” – Hong-chi Lee (China)
“Another Birth” – Isabelle Zarrina Kalandar (Tajikistan)
“ChaariKaandha” – Biswanath Rath (India)
“Drained by Dreams” – shekh al mamun (Bangladesh)
“FOREIGN TONGUE” – Boris Mojsovski (Canada)
“ISLE CHILD” – Thomas Percy Kim (United States)
“KID WEEK (The Week Without the Parents)” – Joseph Hiatt (United States)
“Manok” – Yu-jin Lee (South Korea)
“Silence of the Womb” – Soumodeep Ghosh Chowdhury (India)
“Steppe” – Maxim Akbarov (Kazakhstan)
“Two Sisters” – Lukasz Karwowski (Poland)

SHORT FILM AWARD

Winner:

“Vox Humana” – Don Josephus, Raphael Eblahan (Philippines)

In the aftermath of an earthquake, the police find a man in the woods. A zoologist, a sound recorder, and a news team grapple with the truth that he may be the cause of all the natural disasters that devastated this small mountain town.

FINALIST:

“Ackee and Saltfish” – Jasmin Nunes (United Kingdom, United States)
“Daddy’s Girl” – Josephine Lohoar Self (United Kingdom)
“First the Blush, Then the Habit” – Mariam Al Ferjani (Italy)
“FLOCK” – Mac Nixon (United Kingdom)
“In My Body” – Annelien Nijland (Netherlands)
“INFINITY!” – Benjamin To (United States)
“Kotowari” – Coralie Watanabe Prosper (France)
“KPOP Smoothie” – Haneol Lee (United States)
“Please, Stop!” – Patricia Holihan (United States)
“Red Heels” – Alina Baitokova (Kyrgyzstan)
“Sole (얼)” – Haneol Lee (United States)
“Sweet Boy” – John Kim (United States)
“The Brave” – Catarina Mourão (Portugal)
“The home after them” – Armin Azadian (Iran)
“The Spirit Room” – A.Jay Ung (United States)
“Trance” – Jona Schloßer (Germany)
“Under The Wave Off Little Dragon” – Jian Luo (United Kingdom)
“What have you done, Zarina?” – Camila Sagyntkan (Kazakhstan)

ANIMATION FEATURE AWARD

Winner:

“A Magnificent Life” – Sylvain Chomet (France)

A Magnificent Life (Marcel et Monsieur Pagnol) is a 2025 animated biographical drama written and directed by acclaimed French filmmaker Sylvain Chomet, the Academy Award-nominated director of The Triplets of Belleville and The Illusionist.

The film had its world premiere as an Official Selection in the Special Screenings section of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. Celebrating the life and imagination of legendary French filmmaker, playwright, and author Marcel Pagnol, the film has continued to receive international recognition, including nominations at major animation and film awards.

Blending Chomet’s distinctive hand-drawn animation with Pagnol’s remarkable legacy, A Magnificent Life is a moving celebration of cinema, memory, creativity, and a life devoted to storytelling.

FINALIST:

“Battle for Dream Island” – Sam Thornbury (United States)
“In Half” – Jorge Morais Valle (Spain)
“Lighting Candle” – Surapong Wetsuwanmanee (Thailand)

ANIMATION SHORT AWARD

Winner:

“Como si la tierra se las hubiera tragado” – Natalia León (France)

Olivia, a young woman who has lived abroad for years, returns to her hometown in Mexico hoping to reconnect with her roots and her past. But the violence she witnessed as a child still lingers, and her return awakens painful memories that are difficult to reconcile. Through evocative animation, the film explores memory, identity, displacement, and the lasting impact of violence.

“Paper Daughter” – Cami Kwan (United States)

Joy, an immigrant from China, enters the U.S. under a false identity as a “Paper Daughter,” memorizing details of a deceased girl named Mae and creating a paper mask in her likeness. Arriving at Angel Island, she faces detention and interrogation, discovering carved poems that echo the struggles of immigrants before her. During questioning, her mask begins to unravel until Mae’s ghost appears, guiding her to answer and helping her pass. With her papers approved, Joy leaves for San Francisco, where Mae’s spirit fades into the wind, urging her to live for them both. Joy steps forward into freedom, carrying Mae’s memory with her.

FINALIST:

“Atomik Tour” – Bruno Collet (France)
“Douce” – Isabelle Lenoble (France)
“Forever” – Anissa Terrier (France)
“Just A Girl and Her Creature” – Julia Spellman (United States)
“Novavita” – Francesco Bruno Sorrentino, Antonio Genovese (Italy)
“Sean the Baby” – Jee Suk Kim (United States)
“Signal” – Emma Carré, Mathilde Parquet (Belgium, France)
“Steps to fly” – Nicolás Conte, Rosario Carlino (Argentina)
“The Boy’s Fish” – Hasan Ali (Lebanon)
“The house by the sea” – Fulvio Davide Ricca (Italy)
“Vanity Dies Last” – Natalia Zambon (Brazil)
“You Play Too Much” – Rob Shaw (United States)

MUSIC VIDEO AWARD

Winner:

“More Than This” – Chris Sarfin (United States)

More Than This (musical): In this original musical short film featuring music by Academy Award–winners Stephen Schwartz (composer, lyricist, and producer of Wicked) and Dean Pitchford (screenwriter and songwriter of Footloose), Lawrence and Luann set out on a soul-searching road trip through roadside attractions as Lawrence sings of reaching a pivotal crossroads in his life.

“Oasis” – Glen Jacques Park (South Korea)

In the vast expanse of a cosmic multiverse, different selves of Kim Jaejoong embark on their journeys. Through the trajectory of his life—glory, love, fans, and solitude—the film gives voice to the worries, sorrows, and regrets that an artist carries. At the end of this long odyssey, the scattered selves slowly converge. In the moment they finally unite as a single band, ‘OASIS’ reveals its true meaning: not escape or salvation, but the profound story of a shattered soul returning to its own voice—an artist’s journey of choosing to sing again, and a tale of healing and redemption.

FINALIST:

“1 am in the morning” – Anna Guseva (Country not listed)
“Sleepless nights” – Frank A. Pereira (Chile)
“Snake” – Miyo Sato (Japan)
“Those Eyes” – Bryan Garcia (United States)
“Voices – Vortex” – Adrián Ríos Ortíz (Chile, United Kingdom, United States)
“Without words” – Sascha Klar (Germany)

AI FEATURE FILM

Winner:

“Cambria: Guardian Of The Last Light” – Pierre-Luc Desy (Canada)

When an ancient cosmic villain threatens to consume all existence, a candid teenage girl is thrust into a perilous journey across a vast and crumbling fantasy world. To protect the universe’s final spark of light, she must evolve from a vulnerable youth into a mythic savior capable of mastering forbidden magic and chaining the legendary Hydras. This 54-minute feature explores the cost of heroism and the strength of the human spirit in a world teetering on the edge of the void.