Bec Bignell’s short film collected three awards, while Nicole Kidman and Causeway Films co-founders Kristina Ceyton and Samantha Jennings received special honours.

Stitch Up emerged as the major winner at the 2026 Australian Women’s Film Festival, collecting three awards at a red carpet ceremony hosted by Kylah Day in Sydney.

Written and directed by Bec Bignell and produced by Bignell, Laura Maitland and Sophia Armstrong, the film was named best film, best dramatic film and best screenplay at Event Cinemas George Street on Tuesday night.

The annual festival brought together filmmakers, industry leaders and audiences for a program celebrating women working across Australian short-form storytelling.

As the recipient of the festival’s top award, the Stitch Up team received a prize package designed to support its next production. It includes a Sony ILME-FX6 Cinema Line camera, $10,000 equipment rental packages from VA Hire and Disney Lighting, a $5,000 post-production package from Spectrum Films, and a one-year WIFT membership and mentorship.

Elsewhere, We Don’t Have Long won best comedic film and the audience award, while Ginkgo was named best animated film.

Ganibarra received the award for best documentary, with filmmakers Sonya Takau and Alix Livingstone sharing best director. Spiders on My Lashline won best cinematography, and Alyssa Valenti was named best actor for her performance in Shelf Life.

The Judges One to Watch Award went to Ginkgo director and animator Jiayun Zhang. The award recognises an individual selected by the judging panel as demonstrating exceptional promise.

AWFF co-founder Kelly Tomasich said the winners embodied the festival’s mission to create opportunities for women across the screen industry.

“This year’s winners represent exactly why we created AWFF, to give women storytellers a platform, to celebrate their achievements and to create meaningful opportunities for them to continue building their careers,” Tomasich said.

The festival also presented three special industry honours.

Nicole Kidman received the 2026 Trailblazer Award, recognising her contribution to Australian and international cinema as an actor, producer and creative force.

Across her career, Kidman has championed ambitious storytelling and helped create opportunities for women both in front of and behind the camera. Through Blossom Films, she has backed projects centred on complex female characters while supporting emerging writers, directors and creatives.

The 2026 Groundbreaker Award was presented to Causeway Films co-founders Kristina Ceyton and Samantha Jennings. The producers were recognised for their contribution to Australian cinema and their role in reshaping the international perception of Australian genre filmmaking.

Through Causeway Films, Ceyton and Jennings have helped bring films including The Babadook, The Nightingale, Talk to Me and Bring Her Back to audiences around the world.

“We are incredibly proud to celebrate women at every stage of their career, from emerging filmmakers finding their voice to women who have spent decades changing what is possible for those who come after them,” AWFF co-founder Tahyna Tozzi said.

The festival’s expanded 2026 program continues on Wednesday evening with All That Glisters, the feature directorial debut of writer-director Trilby Glover. The screening will be followed by an in-conversation event with Glover.

The inaugural AWFF masterclass, Inclusive by Design: Making Films That Pass Every Test, will take place in Sydney on Thursday, Sept. 24.

Moderated by Tozzi, the session will feature Screen Australia director of First Nations strategy Rachel Perkins, Natalie Beak from AFTRS, actor, writer and comedian Nina Oyama, actor and filmmaker Lianne Mackessy, and Bus Stop Films’ Dianna La Grassa.

The discussion will examine how inclusion can be embedded throughout filmmaking, from development and storytelling to production practices and creative collaboration.

The complete list of 2026 AWFF winners follows:

• Best Film: Stitch Up
• Best Dramatic Film: Stitch Up
• Best Comedic Film: We Don’t Have Long
• Best Animated Film: Ginkgo
• Best Documentary Film: Ganibarra
• Best Cinematography: Spiders on My Lashline
• Best Screenplay: Stitch Up
• Best Actor: Alyssa Valenti, Shelf Life
• Best Director: Sonya Takau and Alix Livingstone, Ganibarra
• Judges One to Watch: Jiayun Zhang, Ginkgo
• Audience Award for Best Film: We Don’t Have Long