WFF News & Interviews
The Cycle: Losing the Weight of Societal Expectations
Short film “The Cycle”, directed by Arpita Mukherjee, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. It’s hard for anyone to practice self-care, especially when you are drowning in your responsibilities with no one letting you take a breath for yourself.
Tom’s Second Suicide: A Slow Paced Meditation Filled With Absurdism
Israeli dark Comedy “Tom’s Second Suicide”, directed by Karni Haneman, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. For a movie centered on wanting to die, Tom’s Second Suicide has a surprising amount of heart and humor.
WFF 2026 Winners & Nominees
For our 14th Annual Winter Film Festival, we were honored to screen 103 outstanding films from 27 countries.
We congratulate all of our filmmakers for their outstanding work!
What Are Dreams Worth? A Love Story Trapped Inside the Machine
Sci-Fi short “Sweet Dreams”, directed by Gary Alvarez, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. What begins as an intimate story about pregnancy and abandonment evolves into a haunting meditation on capitalism, parenthood, and the price of staying alive.
Accomplices: Tracing the Architecture of Complicity and Harm
Feature thriller “Accomplices”, by Serbian director Marko Novakovic, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival.
After a car accident, Sofia and Branko’s idyllic life unravels. As they struggle to cope with the aftermath, their conscience haunts them, transforming their relationship and leading to a series of unexpected events. Accomplices examines how people and systems are shaped by individual choices – an exercise in reflection and accountability.
Enongo: The Many Facets of All Our Lives
Documentary-Animation hybrid “Enongo”, directed by Kevin Schreck, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. The film tells the inspiring story of rapper/producer/Ph.D. candidate, Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo, a.k.a., Sammus. With her autobiographical and afrofuturism-inspired music, Enongo tackles various subjects including (but certainly not limited to) mental health, growing up, and relationships.
Using Comedy to Criticize the Absurdities of Racism
Brazilian satirical short comedy “Lazy White Cows (Vacas Brancas Preguiçosas)”, directed by Asaph Luccas, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. After calling a classmate a ‘lazy white cow,’ a young Black student embarks on a virtual saga to avoid being canceled.
The Leadership We Long For: Nikita Hattangady’s “The Other Side”
Short film “The Other Side”, directed by Nikita Hattangady, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. Set in the pulsing heart of Mumbai, the film draws us into the lives of children and young adults hustling to survive as street artists and offers a vision of strength rooted in kindness, humility, and unwavering generosity.
Us vs. Them: Looking Beyond Simple Societal Labels
Documentary “Us vs Them”, directed by Alex Vishno and Charles Grady, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. The film invites audiences to reconsider their preconceived notions about criminal justice, no matter where they are on the political spectrum.
Nadar es Vivir: Swimming Is Life
Feature documentary “Breath”, directed by Jose Del Corral and Eduardo Muñoz, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. A Paralympic swimmer on the verge of quitting finds in his new coach the push he needs to keep going. The film immerses us in the journey of two friends; the real victory isn’t the medal, but the road they travel together toward the world’s greatest sporting event.
When Dusk is Dawn…A Story of a Mid-Career Adventure in Filmmaking
Feature comedy “Magic Hour”, directed by Jacqueline Christy, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. An alienated middle-aged suburban wife secretly enrolls in film school. But, when she gets fired off her own film, she must decide if her life’s ambition is pure folly or a dream worth saving.
Method to My Madness: Finding Authenticity Through Filmmaking
Iranian feature film “Method to My Madness”, directed by Hoda Hamzehali and Behrang Mortazavian, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. Made independently and in secret, film exists as an act of resistance, exploring the gap between what we present to others and who we truly are.
Navigating the Fragility of Life and Death in “The Chaplain & The Doctor”
Feature Documentary “The Chaplain & The Doctor”, directed by Jessica Zitter, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. Unflinchingly raw, bittersweet, and situationally poetic, the film is a celebration of life that makes “the wonderful business of dying” worth every second of living.
‘Memory for Burial’ Is a Truth-Seeking Treasure Trove for the Next Generation
Feature Documentary “Memory for Burial”, directed by French filmmakers Charlotte Jarrix and Maud Guillaumin, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. The film keeps one of the oldest Holocaust survivor’s story alive through the grit of candid interviews and the grace of theater.
Writer, director, and producer Tim Connery discusses his third genre film THE DRIFTLESS
Horror Feature “The Driftless”, directed by Tim Connery, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. Deep river valleys, tall limestone bluffs sawing through the sky… with its scenic beauty, this Midwest preserved primal landscape also conceals unimaginable terrors.
A Vivid Window into a Town on the Senegalese Coast
Short documentary “The Fishing Boats of Kayar”, directed by Álvaro Hernández Blanco, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. The documentary creates a complex and communal portrait of Senegalese actor Thimbo Samb and his birthplace.
A Poignant Look into Blue Evening
Short film “Blue Evening”, directed by Jett Jansen Hernandez, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. An authentic rags-to-riches story, the film is a touching story about redemption and self-discovery.
“More than Santa Baby” – a daughter’s tribute to her legendary father
Documentary film “More Than Santa Baby”, directed by Tamar Springer, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. The song “Santa Baby” is a Christmas classic, but Philip Springer, who wrote it with lyricist Joan Javits in 1953, has composed many other hits for some of America’s greatest artists.
Beautiful, Pam: A masterclass on identity, love and empathy
Feature film “Beautiful, Pam”, directed by J.R. Stokes, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. The film follows a Queer sex-worker in the midst of a mid-life crisis during the week of their son’s 18th birthday.
Life can change in a day in “Seems Like Love”
Romantic Comedy “Seems Like Love”, directed by Yana Klimova-Yusupova, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. The film captures majestic St. Petersburg – its singular character that inspires individuals to fall in love … both with the City itself and with each other.
ZOE: The Beautiful Chaos of Becoming
Romantic Comedy “Zoe”, directed by Emanuela Galliussi and Dean Matthew Ronalds, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. Zoe is a joyful, messy, romantic ride through three lives, three cities, and one woman’s search for herself—a love letter to second chances and the courage to become.
A Bear Named Wojtek: An Animated Triumph of History, Memory, and Heart
Animated film “A Bear Named Wojtek”, directed by Iain Gardner, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. The film’s heart is universal while the war is the backdrop. It celebrates friendship, compassion, and the bond between humans and animals.
“I wouldn’t be able to live with myself”: Filmmaking as Conscience
Short film “A Good Day Will Come”, directed by Amir Zargara, is an official selection of New York City’s 14th Annual Winter Film Festival. Stories that resist. Art that matters – a timely film driven by injustice, artistic courage, and moral urgency.
Winter Film Festival 2026 Lights Up NYC with 100+ Films & Unmissable Events!
Winter Film Festival is returning to the Big Apple for its 14th year! The festival places a special emphasis on highlighting the work of under-represented filmmakers, and for 2026, the festival will showcase 103 films from around the world – from animated films, documentaries, dramas, horror films and music videos, 20 student films, 34 first-time directors, half made by women and half by BIPOC directors.
Winter Film Festival proudly unveils 2026 Official Artwork
Original artwork by Matt Curtis has been selected to represent NYC’s 2026 Winter Film Festival
Winter Film Fest 2026 Opens for Submissions
Winter Film Festival is returning to the Big Apple for its 14th year – February 18-22 2026. The festival places a special emphasis on highlighting the work of under-represented filmmakers. Works of all genres and lengths are considered for selection.