The 32nd San Luis Obispo International Film Festival wrapped up this week with eight days of screenings, spotlight presentations, and plenty of reasons why the Central Coast has become a destination for serious filmmakers and passionate audiences alike. Running April 23-28, SLOIFF pulled in over 8,000 attendees—enough to require additional screenings throughout the festival to handle the overflow. That’s not just traffic; that’s momentum.
The George Sidney Independent Film Competition crowned If I Go Will They Miss Me, directed by Walter Thompson-Hernandez, as Best Narrative Feature, while A Life Illuminated, helmed by Tasha Van Zandt, took Best Documentary Feature. These weren’t the only stories worth telling. The audience favorites painted a slightly different picture: How To Date Again, featuring Haley Joel Osment (who received a Spotlight Presentation/Craft in Focus Award), won Best Narrative Feature from the audience voters. And Y Vân: The Lost Sounds of Saigon pulled double duty, winning both Best of the Fest and Best Feature Documentary in the audience awards.
But the real crowd-pleaser was The Strawberry, a film shot entirely in San Luis Obispo County that won both the jury prize for Best Central Coast Film and the audience award for Best Overall Film from the Central Coast. There’s something satisfying about a local film breaking through—it speaks to SLOIFF’s commitment to showcasing work rooted in the community it calls home.
The festival also introduced this year the Dolce Vita Award, a partnership between SLOIFF and the Noci Film Festival in Italy. The inaugural award went to Everything Must Go, directed by Tiffany So, recognizing an emerging American director whose work the Italian festival believes will resonate with its audiences. It’s the kind of international bridge-building that elevates a festival beyond its regional boundaries.
Haley Joel Osment and Britt Lower were honored with Craft in Focus Awards, cementing SLOIFF’s status not just as a showcase for emerging voices but as a place where seasoned talent engages seriously with independent work. Executive Director Skye McLennan called it right: “The spirit of independent film was alive and thriving at the festival this year, and the festival continues to be a beacon of light and creativity on the scenic Central Coast.”
Sitting halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, San Luis Obispo offers filmmakers and audiences something increasingly rare—a festival that feels genuinely engaged with the work, not just checking boxes. The laid-back vibe is real, but the programming sensibility is sharp. That combination, year after year, is why SLOIFF matters.
2026 SLOIFF Winners
George Sidney Independent Film Competition:
Best Narrative Feature: If I Go Will They Miss Me, (Walter Thompson-Hernandez, Director)
Best Documentary Feature: A Life Illuminated (Tasha Van Zandt, Director)
Best Narrative Short: Vultures (Dian Weys, Director)
Best Documentary Short: A Man Who Takes Pictures Of Flowers (Yoo Lee, Director)
Best Music Video: Animus Ingus (Yu-Ming Huang and Rui Wang, Directors)
Best Episodic: One For The Team (Rain Valdez, Director)
Best Horror Film: Benny’s Second Birthday (R.J. Glass, Director)
Honorable Mention – Short Narrative: What If They Bomb Here Tonight (Samir Syriani, Director)
Central Coast Filmmaker Showcase:
Best Central Coast Narrative Feature: The Strawberry (Kyle Plummer and Carlos Plummer, Directors)
Best Central Coast Narrative Short: May I Put You On Hold (Ash Blodgett, Director)
Best Central Coast Documentary Short: The Other Roe (Wendy Eley Jackson, Director)
Audience Awards:
Best of Fest: The Strawberry (Kyle Plummer and Carlos Plummer, Directors)
Best Narrative Feature: How To Date Again (Matt Flanders, Director)
Best Narrative Short: My Only Friend Is A Robot Named Beans (Anika Kan Grevstad, Director)
Best Documentary Short: The Right Fil (Nicolas Collins and Max Mollring, Directors)
Best Music Video: The Thought of Me (Elliot Peters, Director)
Best Central Coast Narrative Short: Mi Vida. Mi Futuro (Andres Quintero, Director)
Best Central Coast Documentary Short: That’s So Drag (Jenny Gosnell, Director)
Dolce Vita Award:
Everything Must Go (Tiffany So, Director)
About SLOIFF: Celebrating its 32nd anniversary in 2026, the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival is a six-day annual event showcasing creative, diverse, and impactful works from around the world. Named to MovieMaker Magazine’s “25 Coolest Film Festivals” and USA TODAY’s 10 Best Readers Choice Awards, SLOIFF is an Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Qualifying Festival in the category of “Best Documentary Short.” For more information, visit slofilmfest.org
Header Image: photo credit Brittany App
