DOCUTAH 2026 AWARD WINNERS

Trailblazer Award

Christopher Reeve

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

The story of Christopher Reeve is an astonishing rise from unknown actor to iconic movie star, and his definitive portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman set the benchmark for the superhero cinematic universes that dominate cinema today. Reeve portrayed the Man of Steel in four Superman films and played dozens of other roles that displayed his talent and range as an actor, before being injured in a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down.
Director(s): Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui
Producer(s): Lizzie Gillett, Robert Ford, Ian Bonhôte
Trailblazer Award

John Aliano

Being Adolph Gasser

Adolph Gasser contemplates the life of being a camera repairman, WWII veteran, inventor, best friend of legendary photographer Ansel Adams and owner of a business that supports local filmmakers and employees to flourish as artists and innovators. With threats of eminent domain, technology shifts and new business model challenges he fights for the survival of his San Francisco based Adolph Gasser Incorporated store.
Director(s): John C Aliano
Producer(s): John C Aliano
Legacy Award

Driven By Angels

Driven By Angels

A documentary of speed, loss, and the angels that keep us moving. 62-year-old Vaughn Shafer comes out of retirement in a bold attempt to reclaim his title as the fastest man on a motorized skateboard. What begins as a comeback story quickly spirals into chaos as his crew battles setbacks at the track and the loss of one of their own.
Director(s): Brett Buescher, Nick Costello
Producer(s): Nick Costello, Brett Buescher
Best Feature Award

Before The Moon Falls

Before The Moon Falls

BEFORE THE MOON FALLS was an intimate portrait of acclaimed Samoan writer Sia Figiel eight years in the making when tragedy struck. Now the film offers an in-depth and thought-provoking look at Sia’s tumultuous journey leading to that traumatic moment, illuminating the complexities of inconsistently treated mental illness and the devastating toll it can exact on individuals, families and entire communities.
Director(s): Kimberlee Bassford
Producer(s): Kimberlee Bassford, Linda Goldstein Knowlton
Best Short Award

I Wanted to Hear Your Voice

I Wanted to Hear Your Voice

After eight years of caring for his mother with severe dementia, a son struggles through their daily care routine. Recorded voicemails serve to show the progression of the disease, underscoring the frustration, isolation and burnout that comes with intensive caregiving.
Director(s): James Pellerito
Producer(s): David Barba
Best International Feature Award

Better Up There

Better Up There

Better Up There, a 45-minute film portrait, is the moving story of a unique life, that of Léo Slemett. Through his rise in the world of freeride skiing, Léo wages an incessant battle against adversity to pursue his dreams and push his limits. In the grandiose setting of the high mountains and the Freeride World Tour, we see Léo face incredible challenges and setbacks. We observe how the loss of his two life partners shapes Léo’s life, how he learns to live with this pain and continues to move forward.
Director(s): Mathis Dumas
Producer(s): Mathis Dumas
Best International Short Award

Congress, The

Congress, The

Indonesian activist, Rukka Sombolinggi believes the key to confronting the climate crisis is to unite and mobilize the Indigenous communities who are often impacted the most. Now, as the first female general secretary of the world’s largest Indigenous Peoples organization, she has the power to do just that. But the challenge is monumental.
Director(s): Eko Krisna
Producer(s): Gabriel Diamond, Phil Collis, Matthew Beighley, Chris Metzler
Emerging Filmmaker Award

Home Away from Home

Home Away from Home

Lehi High’s theater, a creative sanctuary led by Mindy Nelsen and fueled by Randy Blackburn’s selfless dedication, faces a bittersweet farewell. How will this loss reshape their cherished community?
Director(s): Tim Rollins
Producer(s): Tim Rollins
Best Student Film Award

Legend Has It: The Remarkable Rise of Stephen McCain

Legend Has It: The Remarkable Rise of Stephen McCain

From childhood dreams to Olympic triumphs, Legend Has It: The Remarkable Rise of Stephen McCain unveils the resilience, sacrifice, and heart of an athlete whose pursuit of greatness redefined what it means to be a legend.
Director(s): Hisonni Mustafa
Producer(s): Hisonni Mustafa, Stephen McCain, Ernest Brown, Devian Carlton
Best Cinematography Award

Hole Story, The

Hole Story, The

The discovery of a sixty-foot man-made hole on a California mountain implicates a small town’s unusual local industry in a bizarre unsolved crime. Abandoning the conventional investigative format, THE HOLE STORY unfolds as a multi-faceted oral history, immersing us in personal mythologies and painting a haunting and unsettling portrait of a community shaped by fringe belief.
Director(s): Elijah Sullivan
Producer(s):
Humanitarian Award

Presidents’ Tailor, The

Presidents’ Tailor, The

Martin Greenfield learned to sew while mending shirts for the Gestapo in Auschwitz when he was fifteen, and went on to make suits for US presidents and stars. This is the story of America’s greatest tailor, and the bespoke menswear empire he left behind.
Director(s): Rick Minnich
Producer(s): Mike Brandin, Rick Minnich
Humanitarian Award

Atomic Echoes

Atomic Echoes

Two friends, connected by family histories on opposite sides of World War II, set out to explore the lasting trauma of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. While Japanese hibakusha endure lifelong health complications and psychological scars, American atomic veterans who witnessed the bombings’ aftermath also struggle with radiation-related illnesses and PTSD.
Director(s): Beatrice Becette
Producer(s): Beatrice Becette
Distinctive Piece Award

Monster Slayer

Monster Slayer

After Monty is assaulted at the strip club where she works, she weaponizes public art to exact justice against a system’s refusal to act.
Director(s): Catie Skipp
Producer(s): Grace Oathout
Best Editing Award

Shuffle

Shuffle

Through the lens of his own recovery, a filmmaker offers a character-driven look inside the billion dollar addiction treatment industry where young people are bought and sold for their insurance policies and ushered into a system designed to keep them sick. What begins as an investigation of a street-level scam, explodes to uncover systemic conflicts-of-interest and collusion at the highest levels of government.
Director(s): Benjamin Flaherty
Producer(s): Carra Greenberg, Scott Paskoff, Harris Fishman, Benjamin Flaherty
Activist Award

About Face

About Face

Two Asian American dancers try to persuade the world’s leading ballet companies to jettison Asian stereotypes, including dancing in yellowface. Georgina Pazcoguin and Phil Chan battle entrenched tradition and political pushback.
Director(s): Jennifer Rita Lin
Producer(s): Jon Funabiki, Cory Lin Stieg, Jennifer Lin
Environmental Award

Remnants

Remnants

When a devastating wildfire ravages their land, a sixth-generation ranching family grapples with the legacy of the American cowboy in the face of government policies that threaten their livelihood and a changing culture that brands their lifestyle a thing of the past.
Director(s): Michael Catenacci
Producer(s): Matt Pirrall, Nick Reid, Lana Link, Rob Pfaltzgraff
Enlightenment Award

This is Pike County

This is Pike County

Mounting pressures – including an unsolved family murder – test a close-knit rural community. Between the temptation to give up and the urge to hold on, the film lingers on what it means to come of age in a place left behind. “Haunting, quietly searing, hard to forget.” – Arlie Hochschild, Author, Strangers in Their Own Land
Director(s): Laura Paglin
Producer(s): Laura Paglin, Thomas Lennon
Best Production Design Award

White Nine

White Nine

After three teen boys suffered devastating spinal cord injuries in the 1960s, they formed a profound bond and dedicated their lives to leading the independent living movement in Massachusetts. White Nine follows the story of these three survivalists turned activists and their fight for their civil rights.
Director(s): Nilou Safinya
Producer(s): Nilou Safinya, Bill Martin
Best Score Award

Hole Story, The

Hole Story, The

The discovery of a sixty-foot man-made hole on a California mountain implicates a small town’s unusual local industry in a bizarre unsolved crime. Abandoning the conventional investigative format, THE HOLE STORY unfolds as a multi-faceted oral history, immersing us in personal mythologies and painting a haunting and unsettling portrait of a community shaped by fringe belief.
Director(s): Elijah Sullivan
Producer(s):
Audience Favorite - Feature Award

Loving John

Loving John

LOVING JOHN is a deeply compassionate documentary that grapples with death and dying with vulnerable honesty and splashes of humor. John Godinet is an irrepressible Pacific Islander and ultra-runner living with his husband Peter in rural Maryland. He’s outrun abuse as a teenager and discrimination as an adult, but now has a new adversary: ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).
Director(s): Robert Rooy
Producer(s): Kimberlee Bassford, Anne de Mare, Robert Rooy
Audience Favorite - Short Award

Monster Slayer

Monster Slayer

After Monty is assaulted at the strip club where she works, she weaponizes public art to exact justice against a system’s refusal to act.
Director(s): Catie Skipp
Producer(s): Grace Oathout

DOCUTAH Festival 2026

International Documentary Film Festival

February 26–28, 2026
Megaplex Theatres at Sunset • St. George, Utah

Experience the Power of True Stories

These Special Events Are Free & Open
to the Public

Note: All film screenings require paid tickets (students free with ID).

DOCTalk Masterclasses

In-depth conversations with filmmakers
February 26 & 27 • 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Utah Tech University • Coffee provided

Learn More

Awards Ceremony

Celebrate the winning films and filmmakers
Saturday, February 28 • Evening
View our past winners from the 2025 Festival.

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Explore the Full Schedule

Screening times, theaters, films, and special events – all in one place.

View Complete Schedule →

Festival Passes & Tickets

$75

All Festival Badge

Unlimited access to every screening

$30

Day Pass

All films on one day of your choice

$10

Single Film

Admission to one screening

Students with valid ID attend FREE • Merchandise available

Get Tickets & Merch Now →

Box Office Hours

Thursday
February 26

11:30 AM

Friday
February 27

11:00 AM

Saturday
February 28

10:00 AM