Shorts Race Dispatch — 2026-11-02

Festival Updates

This week has seen a flurry of updates from top film festivals around the world. The Festival de Cannes and Palm Springs International ShortFest have both updated their short films selection and award winners pages, respectively. The Locarno Film Festival has also updated its awards palmares, with Deadline reprinting the official release verbatim, including sponsor names. Additionally, the Raindance Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and Ottawa International Animation Festival have all announced their award winners, with Variety, IndieWire, and AWN providing coverage.

Festival Challenges

However, some festivals have presented challenges in accessing their award winners and information. The Palm Springs International ShortFest's official website still only archives award winners up to 2024, while the Locarno Film Festival's official website is currently inaccessible. The Raindance Film Festival's website is also blocking Cloudflare egress, making it difficult to access information. Meanwhile, the Ottawa International Animation Festival's homepage does not list award winners, and the Venice International Film Festival's landing page does not include winners.

Upcoming Deadlines

Looking ahead to the next two weeks, two major documentary festivals are on the horizon. DOC NYC and the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam are both set to start on November 12, 2026. These festivals will likely showcase a range of new and exciting short films, and we will be keeping a close eye on them as the Oscar race heats up.

Stay Ahead of the Shorts Race

For the full picture on the road to the 99th Academy Awards, visit shorts-tracker.com/race for the latest updates, news, and analysis on the Oscar-nominated short films.