Woods Hole Film Festival

Woods Hole Film Festival Celebrating 35 years of bringing great independent film to Cape Cod with this summer’s festival from Saturday, July 25 – Saturday, August 1, 2026.

Festival passes and ticket packages available now, all individual film tickets on sale starting July 1st. The Woods Hole Film Festival is presented by the Woods Hole Film Festival, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation established to: organize the annual Festival; form relationships and strategic alliances with other film festivals and organizations to showcase independent film; emphasize the w

ork of first-time and New England filmmakers; showcase the work of independent filmmakers who have a relationship to Cape Cod or whose films are relevant to or enhance the quality of life on Cape Cod and to develop and foster a creative independent film community within the Festival and on Cape Cod. The Festival also works with individuals, businesses and institutions to develop and present programs and events that further its goals. As a non-profit corporation, the Woods Hole Film Festival is supported by donations, sponsorships, grants, and event admissions to produce and present the excellent programming enjoyed by attendees and the film community. We look forward to your continued support as we enter our second decade. Your donation is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law. Please visit our donation and sponsorship page for opportunities to support the Woods Hole Film Festival. Financial information for Woods Hole Film Festival, Inc. is available for inspection at our office.

Here’s a little postcard from the 35th Woods Hole Film Festival 💌 It’s been nearly 2 weeks since it ended.. and time to...
08/14/2026

Here’s a little postcard from the 35th Woods Hole Film Festival 💌

It’s been nearly 2 weeks since it ended.. and time to take a moment to recognize the incredible team of people that worked so hard to make this year’s Festival so special. Thank you to the whole team of staff members, interns, volunteers, board members, and supporters who make the movie magic happen behind-the-scenes.

Special thanks to the champion of independent cinema, director and co-founder Judy Laster, who’s lead the Festival into its 35th year. See you all back in Woods Hole for the 36th!

📸 Photo credits to the lead photographers .f.creative and and thank you to .brannmuffin and for stepping in on day 8.

Check out this article from The Falmouth Enterprise announcing 2026 Woods Hole Film Festival Winners 🏆
08/12/2026

Check out this article from The Falmouth Enterprise announcing 2026 Woods Hole Film Festival Winners 🏆

The 35th Woods Hole Film Festival, “Bold Films, Bright Futures: 35 Years of Films That Matter,” concluded on August 1 with the announcement of the festival’s winners at The Captain

🏆Congratulations to the 2026 Woods Hole Film Festival Short Film Audience Award Winners!🏆Best Documentary Short🥇Winner: ...
08/10/2026

🏆Congratulations to the 2026 Woods Hole Film Festival Short Film Audience Award Winners!🏆

Best Documentary Short
🥇Winner: THE BADDEST SPEECHWRITER OF ALL by Ben Proudfoot & Stephen Curry
🥈Runner Up: OLD LADIES AGAINST UNDERWATER GARBAGE by Liz McGregor
🥉2nd Runner Up: THE CORAL RESCUERS by Jason Spingarn-Koff

Best Dramatic Short
🥇Winner: DRIVING LESSON by Gillian Gordon
🥈Runner Up: THE SALE by Meera Angelica Joshi
🥉2nd Runner Up: THE SWING by Yaz & Haz Al-Shaater

Best Comedy Short
🥇Winner: THIS BLOWS by Talia Smith
🥈Runner Up: MEETING YOUR MAKER by Gregory JM Kasunich
🥉2nd Runner Up: SPICY BOB by Adam Yates

Best Animated Short
🥇Winner: BEAST OF THE SEINE by Jon Portman
🥈Runner Up: SOMETHING GREATER THAN YOU by Gordon LePage

🏆Congratulations to the 2026 Woods Hole Film Festival Feature Documentary Audience Award Winners!🏆Best Documentary Featu...
08/07/2026

🏆Congratulations to the 2026 Woods Hole Film Festival Feature Documentary Audience Award Winners!🏆

Best Documentary Feature
🥇Winner: LOS LOBOS NATIVE SONS by Doug Blush & Piero F. Giunti
🥈Runner Up: THE CYCLE OF LOVE by Orlando von Einsiedel
🥉2nd Runner Up: BEST DAY EVER by Ben Knight & Berne Broudy
🥉2nd Runner Up: LEAVING ANGOLA by Andrew Kukura

🏆Congratulations 2026 Woods Hole Film Festival Jury Award Winners!🏆Best Documentary Feature🥇Winner: THE GREAT EXPERIMENT...
08/06/2026

🏆Congratulations 2026 Woods Hole Film Festival Jury Award Winners!🏆

Best Documentary Feature
🥇Winner: THE GREAT EXPERIMENT by Stephen Maing & Eric Metzgar
🥈Runner Up: SAVING ETTING STREET by Dena Fisher & Amy Scott
🥉2nd Runner Up: KIKUYU LAND by Andrew H. Brown & Bea Wangondu

Best Dramatic Feature
🥇Winner: ISLE CHILD by Thomas Percy Kim
🥈Runner Up: IT COMES IN WAVES by Fitch Jean

Best Comedy Feature
🥇Winner: YESTERDAY ISLAND by Sam Voutas
🥈Runner Up: THE PERIL AT PINCER POINT by Noah Stratton-Twine & Jake Kuhn

Best Documentary Short
🥇Winner: A PICTURE OF MY FATHER by Jonathan Miller & Zach Russo
🥈Runner Up: MAKE A JOYFUL NOISE by Alice Stone
🥉2nd Runner Up: THE HARDEST WORKING MAN by Aaron Cassara
🥉2nd Runner Up: THE BADDEST SPEECHWRITER OF ALL by Ben Proudfoot & Stephen Curry

Best Dramatic Short
🥇Winner: DRIVING LESSON by Gillian Gordon
🥈Runner Up: THE FRENCH LESSON by Tim L. Glover
🥉2nd Runner Up: DEFNE by Hamdi Furkan Yıldırım

Best Comedy Short
🥇Winner: MEETING YOUR MAKER by Gregory JM Kasunich
🥈Runner Up: THIS BLOWS by Talia Smith

Best Animated Short
🥇Winner: BEAST OF THE SEINE by Jon Portman
🥈Runner Up: WHO’S WAITING FOR YOU? by Daniel Palala, María Lempicka & YUCA

Best Sound Design in a Short Narrative
🥇Winner: OGUN ORU by Christopher Rucinski
🥈Runner Up: UNTIL FUTHER NOTICE by Thato Rantao Mwosa

🏆Congratulations to the 2026 Woods Hole Film Festival Feature Narrative Audience Award Winners!🏆Best Dramatic Feature🥇Wi...
08/05/2026

🏆Congratulations to the 2026 Woods Hole Film Festival Feature Narrative Audience Award Winners!🏆

Best Dramatic Feature
🥇Winner: IT COMES IN WAVES by Fitch Jean
🥈Runner Up: DANCING ON THE ELEPHANT by Julia Neill & Jacob Smith
🥉2nd Runner Up: LITTLE AUDREY by Michael Mailer

Best Comedy Feature
🥇Winner: MALLORY’S GHOST by Arabella Oz
🥈Runner Up: HONEYJOON by Lilian T. Mehrel
🥉2nd Runner Up: RUN AMOK by NB Mager

🏆Congratulations to the 2026 Woods Hole Film Festival Directors’ Choice Award Winners!🏆Lifetime Achievement 🌟THE BEND IN...
08/05/2026

🏆Congratulations to the 2026 Woods Hole Film Festival Directors’ Choice Award Winners!🏆

Lifetime Achievement
🌟THE BEND IN THE RIVER by Robb Moss

Emerging Filmmaker
⭐️A SAFE DISTANCE by Gloria Mercer

Fortitude in Filmmaking
🌟THE LAST PLACE ON EARTH by David Booth Gardner

Best Adult Performance in a Feature Film
⭐️Amber Gray in HEARTWORM by Miriam Louise Arens & Mitchell Arens

Best Youth Performance in a Feature Film
🌟Ethan Hwang in ISLE CHILD by Thomas Percy Kim

Best Adult Performance in a Short Film
⭐️Claudia Pereyra in MAMITA LINDA by Jose Duran

Best Youth Performance in a Short Film
🌟Riley Vinson in THIS BLOWS by Talia Smith

Best Ensemble Cast
⭐️ THE LEADER by Michael Gallagher

Best Cinematography in a Feature Documentary
🌟KIKUYU LAND by Andrew H. Brown & Bea Wangondu

Best Cinematography in a Feature Narrative
⭐️THE PERIL AT PINCER POINT by Noah Stratton-Twine & Jake Kuhn

Best Cinematography in a Short Documentary
🌟FJALLFERÐ by Jesse Smolan, Josh Fairmont & Ollie Smith

Best Cinematography in a Short Narrative
⭐️THE AXE FORGETS by John Christopher

The IQ One World Award is presented annually by International Quorum of Motion Picture Producers — a unique global netwo...
08/04/2026

The IQ One World Award is presented annually by International Quorum of Motion Picture Producers — a unique global network of film and media experts. This year, Woods Hole Film Festival had the honor of presenting the award to two films that exemplify cinematic excellence and universal storytelling that fosters global understanding.

Runner Up: THE BADDEST SPEECHWRITER OF ALL by Ben Proudfoot and Stephen Curry. This short documentary preserves the story of Dr. Martin Luther King's speechwriter, Clarence B. Jones. We were honored to be joined by his son, Ben Jones, for a powerful opening day screening honoring his father's legacy in the fight for racial justice.

Winner: THE LAST PLACE ON EARTH by David Booth Gardner, a feature documentary whose filmmaking team went through personal risk and sacrifice to investigate the palm oil industry and protect the Leuser Ecosystem in Indonesia.

In accepting the award David Booth Gardner stated: "It's a testament to all of these people fighting to protect ecosystems we've never heard of that benefit all of us here. I think we all need to come together as one in unity to protect this fragile planet." 🌎🎥

Congratulations to both THE BADDEST SPEECHWRITER OF ALL and THE LAST PLACE ON EARTH.

The 2026 Best of the Fest award goes to LOS LOBOS NATIVE SONS which was also awarded the Audience Award for Best Documen...
08/04/2026

The 2026 Best of the Fest award goes to LOS LOBOS NATIVE SONS which was also awarded the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature. 🏆It was an honor to have co-directors Doug Blush and Piero F. Giunti attend the Festival, and lead a master class on Directing a Music Documentary earlier in the week.

The audience was thrilled to have the band in attendance for the Q&A following the East Coast premiere of the film. The film follows their journey as one of the longest running bands who revolutionized Latin rock in America. Congratulations to the whole team!

Thank you also to 88.7 MVYRADIO for sponsoring the screening and on-air host Amy Vanneman for leading the conversation after the film.

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89 Water Street, 2nd Floor
Woods Hole, MA
02543

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