Films in Competition

Presented at the Festival since its inaugural year in 1957, the Golden Gate Awards (GGAs) are among the most significant honors for emerging global film artists in the United States. Prizes are traditionally awarded in narrative, documentary, and short film categories.

Kirby Walker Documentary Award

American Doctor

Poh Si Teng (USA, Palestine, Malaysia, Qatar, Denmark 2026, 93)

Amílcar

Miguel Eek (France, Portugal 2025, 87)

A Child of My Own

Maite Alberdi (Mexico 2026, 90)

Enough Is Enough

Elisé Sawasawa (Democratic Republic of the Congo, France 2025, 65)

Hair, Paper, Water… 

Nicolas Graux, Trương Minh Quý (Belgium, France, Vietnam 2025, 71)

How to Clean a House in 10 Easy Steps

Carolina González Valencia​ (USA, Colombia, Mexico 2026, 80)

Time and Water

Sara Dosa (USA, Iceland 2026, 105)

Yo (Love Is a Rebellious Bird)

Anna Fitch, Banker White (USA 2026, 78)

Global Vision Competition

The Fox King

Woo Ming Jin (Malaysia, Indonesia 2025, 94)

Inside Amir

Amir Azizi (Iran 2025, 104)

Memory of Princess Mumbi

Damien Hauser (Kenya, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia 2025, 79)

Risa and the Wind Phone

Juan Cabral (Argentina 2025, 94)

Salvation

Emin Alper (Turkey, France, Netherlands, Greece, Sweden, Saudi Arabia 2026, 120)

Those Who Whistle After Dark

Pınar Yorgancıoğlu (Turkey, Bulgaria, Germany 2025, 108)

Ungrateful Beings

Olmo Omerzu (Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland, Slovakia, Croatia, France 2025, 110)

The World of Love

Yoon Ga-eun (South Korea 2025, 119)

New Directors Competition

Filipiñana

Rafael Manuel (Singapore, UK, Philippines, France, Netherlands 2025, 100)

Ghost School

Seemab Gul (Pakistan, Germany, Saudi Arabia 2025, 88)

Hot Water

Ramzi Bashour (USA 2026, 97)

If I Go Will They Miss Me

Walter Thompson-Hernández (USA 2026, 89)

If We Don’t Burn, How Do We Light Up the Night

Kim Torres (Costa Rica, Mexico, France 2025, 90)

Milk Teeth

Mihai Mincan (Romania 2025, 104)

The Son and the Sea

Stroma Cairns (UK 2025, 102)

Short Film Competition

Narrative

Callback

Part of Shorts 4: Shades of Menace

Matthew Puccini (USA 2026, 16)

A South Facing Window

Part of Shorts 2: Under Pressure

Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir (France, Mongolia 2025, 19)

Nava

Part of Still Playing + The Curfew + Nava

Dena Rassam (Iran 2025, 16)

The Veil

Part of Shorts 4: Shades of Menace

Gabriel Motta (Brazil 2025, 20)

Documentary

La Tierra del Valor (The Home of the Brave)

Part of Scenes from the Divide + The Baddest Speechwriter of All + La Tierra del Valor (The Home of the Brave)

Cristina Costantini (USA 2026, 23)

Buried Under Years of Dust

Part of Shorts 2: Under Pressure

Sophie Sartain (USA 2026, 30)

In the Morning Sun

Part of Shorts 1: Human Flow

Serville Poblete (Canada, Philippines 2025, 21)

Villa 187

Part of Shorts 1: Human Flow

Eiman Mirghani (Sudan, Qatar 2025, 8)

Animation

Long Live Livia 

Part of Shorts 3: Shapes of Love

Zach Dorn (USA, South Korea 2025, 16)

Because Today Is Saturday

Part of Shorts 2: Under Pressure

Alice Eça Guimarães (Portugal, France, Spain 2025, 12)

Corpus Christi

Part of Shorts 4: Shades of Menace

Bea Lema (Spain 2025, 12)

Paper Trail

Part of The Oldest Person in the World + Paper Trail

Don Hertzfeldt (USA 2026, 14)

Bay Area

The Baddest Speechwriter of All

Part of Scenes from the Divide + The Baddest Speechwriter of All + La Tierra del Valor (The Home of the Brave)

Ben Proudfoot, Stephen Curry (USA 2026, 29)

Tamashi

Part of Shorts 1: Human Flow

Jess X. Snow, Ashima Shiraishi (USA, France 2026, 13)

Betty St. Clair

Part of Shorts 3: Shapes of Love

Syra McCarthy, Kyle Casey Chu (USA 2025, 12)

Buckskin

Part of Shorts 3: Shapes of Love

Mars Verrone (USA 2026, 17)

Mid-Length

Scenes from the Divide

Part of Scenes from the Divide + The Baddest Speechwriter of All + La Tierra del Valor (The Home of the Brave)

Alison Klayman (USA 2026, 32)

Still Playing

Part of Still Playing + The Curfew + Nava

Mohamed Mesbah (France 2025, 37)

Youth Works

Paper Boat

Part of Shorts 6: Family Films

Yeobin Park (South Korea 2025, 10)

Cindy Undead

Part of Shorts 6: Youth Works

Mariella Gutiérrez (USA 2025, 3)

Dandelion Child

Part of Shorts 6: Youth Works

Isabella Montesi (USA 2025, 6)

Fishbowl

Part of Shorts 6: Youth Works

Hana Taylor (USA 2025, 8)

Little Things

Part of Shorts 6: Youth Works, Shorts 5: Family Films

Noam Rignault Clement (France, Spain, USA 2026, 6)

Out of the Blue

Part of Shorts 6: Youth Works

Vivian Nguyen (USA 2026, 3)

Rewinded

Part of Shorts 6: Youth Works

Aaliyah Idrissa (USA 2025, 7)

Rising Above the Ashes

Part of Shorts 6: Youth Works

Cade Savage Schwartz (USA 2025, 15)

Sonder

Part of Shorts 6: Youth Works

Lancey Quan (USA 2025, 9)

Tropical Fish

Part of Shorts 6: Youth Works

Shirley Xie (China 2025, 7)