2026 SUBMISSION
2026 SUBMISSION

Awards

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Awards
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The Beverly Hills Film Festival (BHFF)

The Beverly Hills Film Festival takes pride in investing in the advancement of the arts and humanities within its community, supporting literacy and the next generation of artists. The following prestigious titles are the official awards presented at the International Beverly Hills Film Festival Gala Awards Ceremony. It is for the purposes of preserving the arts and enhancing literacy that the BHFF has further created a new category for K-12, undergraduate, and graduate students, offering grants: Student Film & Screenplay Competition. The attending recipients of these prestigious awards will experience a once-in-a-lifetime evening during the Gala Awards Ceremony is an exclusive, black-tie event that takes place on the fifth and final evening of the festival.

Special Awards

The BHFF Golden Palm Award is given to the best film competing in ALL categories

The film that wins the Golden Palm is a film that not only reflects mastery of the filmmaking art, but of storytelling and humanity, whether it is fiction or nonfiction in nature.The winner, in short, is the film that grabs us by body and mind, and it never let’s go.

The BHFF Golden Palm Award

Given to the best title competing in ALL categories. The film that wins the Golden Palm is a film that not only reflects mastery of the filmmaking art, but of storytelling and humanity, whether it is fiction or nonfiction in nature. The winner, in short, is the film that grabs us by body and mind, and it never let’s go.

The BHFF Living Legend Award

Introduced by past award winner and former member of the BHFF Board, Hector Cruz Sandavol, The Living Legend Award recognizes and honors legendary figures that have distinguished themselves by their contributions as leaders; trailblazers, trendsetters, teachers and/or mentors. The BHFF Living Legend award is dedicated to recognizing those members of the entertainment industry whose efforts and contributions have paved the way for many in the entertainment industry. The BHFF honors those unsung heroes whose efforts might otherwise go unnoticed. The BHFF Living Legend award exists because of a need to recognize and promote the achievements of those individuals and to help secure their place in history.

The Digital Evolution ACE Award

The media landscape is in the midst of dramatic change as new technologies, formats and distribution models rewrite the rules of content creation and consumption. The captive channels and high costs of the existing media industry are buckling under the rapid proliferation of inexpensive digital tools and global broadband networks that democratize the landscape and open vast new possibilities for creative expression. The Digital Evolution ACE Award recognizes those pioneers on the front-lines of this sea of change whose work has made a significant impact toward empowering and inspiring future generations of storytellers, writers, artists, and musicians.

Student Film & Screenplay Awards

To allow and encourage the participants in this category to be part of the rare opportunity of preserving and investing in the arts and humanities, the BHFF invites all K-12, undergraduate, and graduate students within and outside of the United States of America to participate in this remarkable competition by sharing their film or screenplay with uniquely chosen artists from around the globe. Student participation qualifications and criteria are listed here.

BHFF Jury

The Beverly Hills Film Festival Jury members choose their favorite films and present three awards at the Gala Awards Ceremony.

Best Feature

When deciding on the Best Feature Film for this category, The BHFF Jury looks for strong plot and character development, absorbing dialogue, engaging talent, strong visual appeal, and overall outstanding achievement. Any Official Selection feature film screened at the Beverly Hills Film Festival is eligible to compete for the ultimate award: the Golden Palm Award.

Best Documentary

The BHFF Jury makes its selection for this award based on the criteria that a good documentary not only gives the viewer an in-depth view of the subject matter, but presents the material in a compelling and interesting way.

Best Short Film

A short film needs a captivating story, well-rounded characters, and aesthetic values unique to the medium. The BHFF Jury makes its selection for this award by selecting a short film that fits these factors.

BHFF Audience Choice Awards

Throughout the festival, the audiences are asked to cast their vote for their favorite films through an electronic platform. All electronic votes are anonymous, and only the attending audiences are eligible to vote once in every set category. The voting results are announced during the Awards Ceremony.

Best Feature

Having a feature film screened at the Beverly Hills Film Festival is a marvelous experience that enhances the success potential of every film. The Audience Choice Award for Best Feature adds another level to this rare opportunity, and it gives filmmakers direct access to the next stage of their filmic career. Any Official Selection feature film screened at the Beverly Hills Film Festival is eligible to compete for the ultimate award: the Golden Palm Award.

Best Documentary

The BHFF audience is an educated and cultured group that has a wide span of interests in the documentary field. The BHFF presents this award to the best documentary film upon receiving the audience’s total vote count.

Best Short Film

The BHFF audience is particularly fond of the short film category. Our short screenings are well attended and often help launch the careers of independent filmmakers based on audience assessment alone.

The BHFF Awards

Best Director Award

It’s been said that being a good director is akin to learning how to herd cats. This role takes foresight, imagination, endurance, persistence, and acute attention to detail. The BHFF honors an individual with exceptional talent in this area.

Best Male Performance Award

Mae West once said, “An ounce of performance is worth a pound of promises.” The best male performance award at the BHFF is presented to an actor who draws us in with honest reactions and shows us the essence of what acting is all about; we want to see the character’s personality and motives as a living, breathing entity. An actor accomplishes this through body language, facial expressions, interactions, and dialogue delivery. We select the recipient of this award based on these standards.

Best Female Performance Award

“An actor is something less than a man, while an actress is something more than a woman,” actor Richard Burton is quoted as saying. The best female performance award at the BHFF is presented to an actress who is capable of summoning a wide range of emotions, has taken risks and stretched the dimensions of her character, and is in command of the necessary skills to invoke a captivating performance. We select the winner of this award based on these principles.

Best Producer Award

A good independent film producer knows the ins and outs of movie production, details of financing and marketing, and understands that those are just the basics. For a film to succeed, the producer must be organized, rapid decision maker, diplomatic, patient, energetic and last but not least, an expert negotiator. The BHFF honors a producer in this category who has mastered these qualities with flair.

Best Film Screenplay Award

Expert storytelling can include a number of aspects, such as: well-developed characters, inspiration, conflict, romance, a mission, obstacles, drama, comedy, and risking losing something or someone. When selecting the recipient of this award, the BHFF looks for the heart of the story, the driving force; we want to see what’s at stake and feel so compelled with the story that it’s hard to stop imagining. The BHFF dedicates this award to the best screenplay for which a film, accepted as an Official Selection, screens at the festival.

Best Cinematography Award

The BHFF presents this award to a skilled cinematographer who has drawn from a range of styles and equipment to tell a story. He or she may have also created a new style to develop individual scenes. The artistic use of angles, shots, and lighting is, in itself, a form of storytelling. These aspects capture mood, create ambiance, and highlight themes and emotions.

Best Editor Award

Film editing technology has developed immensely over the past two centuries. But no matter how sophisticated the equipment, the true genius is in the eyes and ears of the editor. Often referred to as the “invisible art,” editing can be a laboratory for independent and experimental cinema. The BHFF recognizes achievement in this area based on the talent of an editor who knows how to balance all the elements of the story, its dialogue, performances, music, sound effects, visual effects, rhythm, and pace.

Best Foreign Film Award

Foreign cinema has the unfortunate quest of overcoming limited releases and distribution. The BHFF highly values these films that cross cultural boundaries. We recognize them for their humanity, artistic merit, cultural identity, and innovation. Foreign films challenge our perspectives and beliefs and give us inside views into life. This award is given to a foreign film that encompasses these aspects.

Best Animation Award

Technology has certainly changed the world of animation, but creativity, skill, and vision are integral parts to this flavorful genre. Animation can distort reality, challenge the laws of physics, dazzle with images, make us laugh so hard that we cry, or cry so hard that we laugh. The BHFF awards an animated film that reaches across many dimensions and captivates through technique and story.

Screenplay Awards

Golden Palm Screenplay Award

The BHFF awards the Golden Palm to a screenwriter that possesses extraordinary writing ability and a deep understanding of structure, premise, character development, and dialogue. We want to feel the heart of the story beating and be swept up by its driving force; we want to see what’s at stake and feel so compelled with the story that it’s virtually impossible to stop reading it.

First Runner-Up Screenplay Competition Award

Each year the BHFF receives thousands of phenomenal screenplay submissions. Making a final decision about the First Runner-Up is a lengthy process. With great care, we determine the winner of this award, based on the criteria of the Golden Palm Screenplay Award.

Second Runner-Up Screenplay Competition Award

Each year the BHFF receives thousands of phenomenal screenplay submissions. Making a final decision about the Second Runner-Up is a lengthy process. With great care, we determine the winner of this award, based on the criteria of the Golden Palm Screenplay Award.

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BHFF 2026

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