Ojai Film Festival 2026 Winners — Full List

As Ojai Film Festival wraps up its 27th year, the winners of this year’s awards have been announced. The opening night title, Grant Gee’s Everybody Digs Bill Evans, won Best Dramatic Feature, while tonight’s closing night film, Rob Burnett’s In Memoriam, won Best Comedic Feature during Sunday’s awards ceremony. In Everybody Digs Bill Evans, Anders Danielsen Lie stars as the eponymous jazz piano legend in the 10 days after bassist Scott LaFaro’s sudden death, as grief, addiction and creative paralysis threaten to silence one of jazz’s great innovators. The film won the Silver Bear at Berlin. In Memoriam stars Marc Maron as a dying, aging actor who becomes obsessed with landing a spot in the “In Memoriam” reel at the Oscars. Watch on Deadline Other honorees at this year’s Ojai Film Festival include Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone, Bill Pullman, Paul Schrader and more. See the full winner’s list below. Distinguished Artist AwardsMelissa McCarthy and Ben FalconeRandall Einhorn, DP The Luminary AwardBill Pullman The Storyteller AwardPaul Schrader Best Original ScreenplayAnchor Babyby Eduardo Moral Escudero Social Impact and Vision AwardHonorable Mention:BEN’IMANAMarie-Clémentine DusabejamboWinner:It All Comes BackJeremy Seifert and Evan-Marie Petit PANAVISION Limelight Award-Best Student FilmJakeAddison Melfi Best Documentary ShortTo Write LoveOwen Dubeck Best Documentary FeaturePapertownJeremy Seifert The Sergio Aragonés Award for Best Animated ShortPillowzzzBenavram Akal Best Narrative ShortArleneElizabeth Dement The Bill Paxton Award for Best Gold Coast FilmIn Spite of OurselvesJosh Loeb Festival Theme Award(the Festival Theme Award honors the film that most powerfully embodies our guiding mission: enriching the human spirit through cinema)The Ballad of Lieutenant DanSteve Beebe Best Comedic FeatureIn MemoriamRob Burnett Best Dramatic FeatureEverybody Digs Bill EvansGrant Gee