Huge congratulations to this year’s Cinemagic Young Filmmakers!
To everyone who entered, those who made the official shortlist, and of course, our incredible 2026 Winners and Highly Commended, you should all be immensely proud of what you’ve achieved!
The creativity, fresh perspectives, and passion brought to the screen this weekend has been absolutely inspiring. The future of film is in brilliant hands!
Keep telling your stories, pushing boundaries, and creating magic. We can’t wait to see what you all do next!
DRAMA Young Filmmaker of the Year
Winner: Lady Macbeth Was Never A Girl
Dir: Francesca McBride
Highly Commended: The Parents And Their Children
Dir: Angus Hayden
Highly Commended: Nothing Gold Can Stay
Dir: Matthew Lythgoe
FANTASTICAL Young Filmmaker of the Year
Winner: After The Rain
Dir: Roshan Balu
Highly Commended: We Dream In Colour.
Dir: Kane Wilson
Highly Commended: Drift
Dir: Samuel Cheshire & Benedict Hutchinson
ANIMATION Young Filmmaker of the Year
Winner: Dance Of The Spirits
Dir: Andreea-Lorena Florea
Highly Commended: Kova’s Courage
Dir: Anika O’Hagan-Ploug & Aisling Wallace
Highly Commended: MRI
Dir: Dougal Vecqueray
EXPERIMENTAL Young Filmmaker of the Year
Winner: Virus
Dir: Rancho Zhu
Highly Commended: Barren
Dir: Freya Marshall, Adrian McDonnell & Jemima Durden
Highly Commended: Tele’vision’
Dir: Joshua Savage
DOCUMENTARY Young Filmmaker of the Year
Winner: Trad
Dir: John McGarry & Neive McAlpin
Highly Commended: Other
Dir: Fionn Bowes
Highly Commended: Share The Pulse
Dir: Siana Chana
