February 2026 Season

And the winners are…

The jury of the Palermo Independent International Film Festival
proudly announces the laureates of the February 2026 season.

April X poster
Best Feature

April X

Dir. Michel K Parandi

In the near future, twins Bax and April struggle to survive on the fringes of a decaying city. When April disappears without explanation, Bax plunges into the city's criminal underworld, unsure whether he's uncovering the truth or losing his mind.

SCUSA (SORRY) poster
Best Shorts

SCUSA (SORRY)

Dir. Giulio Novelli

Diego and Giovanni, inseparable friends, face the battle against the degenerative illness shaping Giovanni's life, always finding a reason to joke. Through laughter, tears, and moments of deep connection, they know their bond is about to face the most painful farewell.

The Enchantment of Darkness poster
Best Shorts

The Enchantment of Darkness

Dir. Salvatore Bongiorno

A family fleeing the bombings seeks shelter in an abandoned farmhouse. In the dead of night, a mother weaves a magical tale inspired by Sicilian mythology to soothe her children's fears — a story that will haunt them for a lifetime.

Refuctoring
Best Shorts

Refuctoring

Dir. Louis Momméja

At his own birthday, Moody only wants one thing: to escape the party he never wished for. But chasing him down, wanting to know if he liked his gift or not, his friends force Moody to choose what he wants in life.

Bye Sweet Carole poster
Best Animation

Bye Sweet Carole

Dir. Chris Darril

Lana Benton, threatened by the gelid Mr. Kyn, must confront bizarre creatures between the human world and a mysterious kingdom as she follows the last traces of her best friend who escaped from the austere Bunny Hall orphanage.

Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution poster
Best Documentary

Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp and the Biotech Revolution

Dir. Bill Haney

Narrated by Mark Ruffalo, this inspiring story follows Phil Sharp's journey from a Kentucky farm boy to Nobel laureate — whose 1977 discovery of RNA splicing rewrote the rules of molecular biology and ignited a life-saving scientific revolution.

OMBRA - Shadow poster
Best Experimental

OMBRA — Shadow

Dir. Lino Palena

A Japanese woman lives unknowingly caught between the grind of a monotonous job and a secret life she leads at night. On the brink of an emotional collapse, she becomes aware of the deep rift that divides her into two distinct personalities.

Soap&Skin - Girl Loves Me poster
Best Music Video

Soap&Skin — Girl Loves Me

Dir. Ioan Gavriel & Anja Franziska Plaschg

To look at the outside world from your hideout, while madness reigns around you. Two relationship models, two spheres of consciousness, collide — leaving behind hollow shells clinging to themselves while wandering off into the dark night.

U CHIUMMU poster
Best Genre

U CHIUMMU

Dir. Francesco La Mantia

Set in a Sicilian context, CIUNNA — dominated by the monotony of a marriage that cages him — decides to clumsily take action, unleashing a series of paranormal events that will bring him, ironically, back to square one.

A Break in the Rain poster
Best Director

A Break in the Rain

Dir. Don Scardino

Jake Watson has been on the road for ten years since his wife passed away. When his grown son dies, he comes home to a life he walked out on. One rainy afternoon he picks up Catriona Walsh — a Nashville singer with her own secret.

JAD poster
Best First-Time Director

JAD

Dir. JAMIL NAJJAR

Inspired by a true story — Jad follows the journey of Ahmed, whose life is turned upside down when his brother falls into a critical state. Trapped in an overcrowded public hospital, Ahmed discovers a reality he had never truly perceived before.

G.L.A.D.I.S poster
Best Young Director

G.L.A.D.I.S

Dir. Sasha Beauregard, Markos Mavroleon, Isabel Nash

Four unruly volcanology students arrive at Europe's most active volcano, Mount Etna, to test G.L.A.D.I.S — their prototype eruption prediction device. But as their priorities shift and romances simmer, all readings point to catastrophe: guaranteed.

The Missing Post Office poster
Best DOP

The Missing Post Office

Dir. Clement Lefer

In the Seto Inland Sea, the abandoned post office of Awashima was transformed into a sanctuary for undelivered letters. At 91, postmaster Katsuhisa Nakata continues to care for these fragments of memory — a cinematic meditation on time, absence, and words that may never be read.

A Break in the Rain poster
Best Original Score

A Break in the Rain

Dir. Don Scardino

Catriona sets his poems to music, and Jake begins to heal — as they both find their way home.

Bye Sweet Carole poster
Best Original Soundtrack

Bye Sweet Carole

Dir. Chris Darril

A dark animated fairy tale — with an original soundtrack that transports the audience between the human world and a mysterious kingdom.

A Break in the Rain poster
Best Feature Screenplay

A Break in the Rain

Dir. Don Scardino

One ride becomes a two-week road trip. A story of loss, healing, and finding your way home — with a screenplay the jury unanimously celebrated.

La forma imperfetta dei ricordi poster
Best Short Screenplay

La forma imperfetta dei ricordi

Dir. Elisa Adelaide Faccioni

The ticking metronome marks the days of Adele and her daughter Sara. Adele suffers from Alzheimer's and is not ready to admit it. But even when memory fades, the heart continues to remember — though its form is imperfect.

Yard Saleing poster
Best Original Story

Yard Saleing

Dir. Tom Logan

Sally dreamed of finding hidden treasure. What she found was more than she bargained for.

Marilyn's Dark Paradise poster
Best Color Editing

MARILYN'S DARK PARADISE

Dir. Remi Gangarossa

Before the world knew her as a legend, Marilyn Monroe endured a childhood marked by trauma and a career shaped by relentless pressures — as she confronts her past and wrestles with what it means to be enough.

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