Austin Film Festival Reveals Audience Award Winners, Sets Dates For 2027 Film & Script Competitions

EXCLUSIVE: The screenwriter-forward Austin Film Festival has officially wrapped its 2026 edition, revealing its Audience Award winners and turning to plans for 2027, setting the opening of submissions for its Film and Script competition beginning next month. Vincent Grashaw’s Bruton, the drama based on true story and starring Theo Rossi, Aya Cash, Tammy Blanchard and Tony Hale, won the Marquee Feature Audience Award, the fest said, while Vincent Lin’s Chopin took the Narrative Audience Award title. Alec C. Cohen’s Petunia, about a wild night with a sick cat, scored a special recognition prize in the Narrative category. See the full list of Audience Award winners below. Watch on Deadline Two pics that won competitive jury awards at this year’s fest — documentary short Buried Under Years of Dust and the digital series Matched — also won Audience Awards. Dust, from director Sophie Sartain and which traces the journey of Emily Grodin, a woman silenced by autism who finally finds her voice, will air on PBS’ Independent Lens in January. Another Audience Award winner, the documentary feature Cradled By Grace, an Austin-produced documentary about jazz trumpeter Ephraim Owens, will air on PBS stations beginning in February. AAF also has set plans for its 34th annual Festival & Writers Conference, which will take place October 14–21, 2027. Submissions for its Film and Script competitions open December 7. The 2026 Writers Conference featured more than 200 panels, workshops, roundtables and pitch competition sessions, while the festival drew more than 35,000 attendees and showcased 199 films from 24 countries. Below is the AFF Audience Award winners list. MARQUEE FEATURE Bruton (U.S.; U.S. premiere)Writer-director: Vincent GrashawCast: Theo Rossi, Aya Cash, Tammy Blanchard, Tony HaleA tragic accident leads Bryan Bruton on a wild and unforgettable experience within the Florida prison system. NARRATIVE FEATURE Chopin (U.S.; world premiere)Writer-director: Vincent LinCast: Eddie Liu, Violett Beane, Leon Dai, Min WuA second-generation Taiwanese American returns to his small American hometown to reconnect with the workaholic father he barely knows. NARRATIVE FEATURE – SPECIAL RECOGNITION Petunia (U.S.; world premiere)Writer-director: Alec C. CohenCast: Charlie McDermott, Vanessa Marano, John Ross Bowie, Devon WerkheiserWhen their kitten falls ill, an impulsive photographer and his overworked girlfriend scramble through a chaotic night of dead-end vet visits, financial roadblocks, and emotional clashes as they fight to save their pet and their relationship. DOCUMENTARY FEATURE Cradled by Grace (U.S.; world premiere)Director: Vanessa ReiserCast: Ephraim Owens, Peter Bay, Sam Lipman, Giveton GelinAs iconic Austin trumpeter Ephraim Owens and composer Sam Lipman undertake an ambitious collaboration uniting Ephraim’s jazz style with the Austin Symphony Orchestra, a health challenge requires them to confront new realities and limits. COMEDY VANGUARD FEATURE Christmas Pop-Up (U.S.; world premiere)Writer: Geena PietromonacoDirector: Molly MuseCast: Geena Pietromonaco, Zach Gilford, Mano Agapion, Ayanna BerkshireDesperate for a fresh start, an unlucky-in-love set decorator takes a job designing a Christmas Eve pop-up for a jaded celebrity chef, hoping to escape her current hell, living with her ex and his new girlfriend, before he proposes on New Year’s Eve. DARK MATTERS FEATURE Frank Stein M.D. (Canada; world premiere)Writers: Rowen Kahn & Aidan KahnDirector: Rowen KahnCast: Rick Worthy, Rowen Kahn, Sarah Jeffery, Peter KelamisAfter a freak accident, a brilliant young neurosurgeon must do the unthinkable: Bring his estranged, mad-scientist father back to life. From the Kahn Brothers comes a brainy comedy about fathers and sons, science and madness, and second chances. ANIMATED SHORT A Little Death (Denmark)Writer: Jonathan RockefellerDirectors: Leto Meade, Jonathan RockefellerCast: Nami Annette Gillet, John SparkesDeath’s patience is tested as his sweet and gentle apprentice appears incapable of the task, leading him to seek professional help from the most unlikely of places. DOCUMENTARY SHORT Buried Under Years of Dust (U.S.)Writer: Emily GrodinDirector: Sophie SartainCast: Emily Grodin, Valerie Gilpeer, Tom Grodin, Marta AmayaHow does someone go from not communicating for 25 years to narrating her life story? Buried Under Years of Dust traces the remarkable journey of Emily Grodin, a woman silenced by autism, who finally finds her voice… and has a lot to say. NARRATIVE SHORT The 65th (U.S.)Writers: Lesley Paterson, Brian Bloom, Oscar TorresDirector: Anthony NardolilloCast: Anthony Ramos, Ismael Cruz Cordova, JR Villareal, Luke MitchellKorea, 1952. A Puerto Rican soldier and his brothers must defend a vital hill against overwhelming forces, fighting not only for survival, but to prove they belong to the country they are willing to die for. STUDENT SHORT Pressure Points (US)Writer-director: Janelle Lee AustinCast: Joan Deschamps, Norma Jean, Hung Nguyen, Bill KarnovskyWhen two lifelong friends discover the spark in their marriages has faded, their sex lives are unexpectedly reignited by an unassuming elder with “magic hands” who unlocks desire and proves that sexuality has no expiration date. PRODUCED DIGITAL SERIES Matched (U.S.)Writer: Dominique SalernoDirector: Elvira IbragimovaCast: Dominique Salerno, Jason Veasey, Michelle Hurd, Jason KravitsAn elite matchmaker creates a secret “dating ring” pairing her wealthy clients with out-of-work actors.