#FIRSTLOOK: IMAGINENATIVE FILM + MEDIA ARTS FESTIVAL AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD WINNERS 2026

The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival has announced the winners of its 2026 Audience Choice Awards. Voted on by festivalgoers during the festival’s 26th edition, the awards recognize the audience’s favourite feature and short film from among the 20 features and 82 shorts screened this year.

Audience Choice Feature Award
Mārama
Directed by Taratoa Stappard

Set in the Victorian era, horror film Mārama has been touted as venturing into “bold new cinematic territory: Māori Gothic.” A young Māori woman Mary (Ariāna Osborne) travels to a grand English manor in search of her missing parents at the invitation of its owner, Nathaniel (Toby Stevens). Within its dark halls, she is haunted by visions hinting at something sinister and violent beneath the surface. The debut feature of London-based Kiwi Taratoa Stappard, Mārama wrestles with themes of colonization, Māori oppression, and the spiritual realm.

Audience Choice Short Award
Gaza Bride 17
Directed by Waseem Khair

A fisherman from Gaza is trapped in his haunting memories.

The 2026 Audience Choice Awards mark the close of the 26th imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival. imagineNATIVE extends its thanks to BMO for supporting both Audience Choice Awards.

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About imagineNATIVE:
The imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is the world’s largest Indigenous festival showcasing film, video, audio, and digital + interactive media made by Indigenous creators. The Festival presents compelling and distinctive works from Canada and around the globe, reflecting the diversity of Indigenous Nations and illustrating the vitality and dynamism of Indigenous arts, perspectives, and cultures in contemporary media. imagineNATIVE.org