POWER24 INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES ITS 2026 WINNERS

190 films. 20 countries. Power24 gives Durban a stage built for the storytellers the mainstream industry keeps overlooking.

Durban, South Africa — 24 August 2026: The 3rd Power24 International Film Festival, Africa’s Premiere Disability-Inclusive Film Festival, has announced its 2026 winners after three days of screenings, panels and red-carpet celebration in Durban.

Under the banner “Inclusion • Representation • Opportunity,” Power24 continues to build a platform for stories and filmmakers often overlooked by mainstream distribution, with a focus on disability-inclusive cinema, African stories, women, emerging filmmakers, and films addressing humanitarian, health and social issues.

Held from 21–23 August 2026 at the Southern Sun Garden Court Marine Parade, the festival drew 190 films from 20 countries and brought together filmmakers, actors, producers, disability advocates, creatives and audiences from South Africa and abroad. The event was graced by eThekwini Mayor Cyril Xaba and backed by the Durban Film Office, underscoring the City’s growing recognition of Power24 on Durban’s film and tourism calendar.

The programme included plenary sessions with industry bodies, among them the KZN Tourism and Film Authority, on production support, market access and the growth of inclusive filmmaking in the province. Guests at the 22 August awards ceremony also applauded the wider field of official selections whose filmmakers could not travel to Durban, with several nominated works acknowledged from the floor.

FilmFreeway Recognition

Power24’s standing on the international festival circuit was underlined this week by its performance on FilmFreeway, the submission platform filmmakers use worldwide to find and enter festivals. Power24 currently carries 57 filmmaker reviews on its listing, more than any other South African festival on the platform, ahead of the South African Independent Film Festival (45), Hluma Film Festival (37), the Durban International Film Festival (33), Jozi Film Festival (24) and the Encounters South African International Documentary Festival (8) — a strong showing given Power24 is listed as two years running against DIFF’s 47.

2026 Power24 International Film Festival Winners

Best International Feature Film

The Witchdoctor and the Windmill — Robert Hamilton, Australia

Best Documentary Film (two winners)

The Truth Will Out — Hector Abaunza, United States

Amanene Beyond Voices — Maggie Mercier, Cabinet and South Africa

Best African Film

Izenzo Zami — Lwazi Duma, South Africa

Best Health Awareness Film

Blood in my Stool — Pink Blue Project, Nigeria

Best Social Awareness Film (two winners)

Boys Born This Way — B Tain, Malaysia

Crossing the Line — South Africa

Best Producer / Actor / Actress / Director

Kev — Mike Bennion, United Kingdom

Best Short Film (two winners)

La loca Prudencia — Alessandro Molatore, El Salvador/Mexico

Conception Game — Natalie Arle-Toyne, United Kingdom

Best Low Budget Film

Indlela — Thangithini Mkhwanazi and Lungelo T. Sithole, South Africa

Best Student Film

Isinamuva — Thulisile Sithebe, South Africa

Best Women Film

The Polished Absence — Wen Shan Lin, Taiwan

Best Religion Film

Illusion of Faith — Aleksa Ristovic, Malta

Best Narration Award – Story Telling

The Secret of Montenegro Kanus — Miki Dragicevic, Montenegro

Best Children’s Film

Until the Rain Stops — Pai Chen, Taiwan

Best Disability Film

Kev — Mike Bennion, United Kingdom

Best Humanitarian Film

Aulda: Sentinel Heroes, South Africa

Best LGBTQIA+ Film

IUS OF TIME — Roberto F. Canuto and Xiaoxi Xu, Spain

Best Emerging Filmmaker

Mostly Cloudy — Antea Ratkovic, Croatia

Best Male Director

Bingo Man — Chris Beadnell, Australia

Best Music Score

Horror Tale For Night Fantasies — Gregory Golub, Israel

Special Jury Awards

Honorary Jury Award

Musa Zulu

Honorary Special Project Award

Aulda Heroes: Sentinel

Power24 founder Buhle Khumalo, whose own journey as an award-winning actor shaped the festival’s founding vision, said the 2026 edition showed how far the platform has come.

“When we started Power24, the goal was simple: make sure disabled filmmakers, African storytellers and voices from the margins get a stage that takes their work seriously,” Khumalo said. “Seeing 190 films arrive from 20 countries, and having the Mayor of eThekwini, the Durban Film Office and the KZN Tourism and Film Authority stand alongside us, tells me this festival is doing what it was built to do. Every entrant, whether they won or not, is part of why Power24 exists.”

Power24 congratulates every winner, nominee and filmmaker who took part in 2026, and thanks the City of eThekwini, the Durban Film Office, the KZN Tourism and Film Authority, and the speakers, panellists, partners, volunteers and audiences who made the third edition possible. The festival remains committed to a platform where filmmakers from diverse backgrounds can be seen, heard and given real opportunities, with disability inclusion embedded in the industry’s programmes and conversations.