Dian Weys' 'Vultures' Takes Top Prize at HollyShorts, Qualifying for Oscar Consideration
Dian Weys' short film Vultures has won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film at the 22nd HollyShorts Film Festival, an award that automatically qualifies the film for Academy Award consideration (Deadline). The prize also carries a $60,000 Panavision camera package and three hours of legal consultation from the law firm Sheppard Mullin.
The 15-minute film did not stop at one trophy. Vultures also collected HollyShorts' Best International award, capping a festival run that began at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival and included stops at Tribeca, Red Sea International, and Zagreb. Edwin van der Walt, Jill Levenberg, and Albert Pretorius star. Weys' previous credits include the shorts Bergie (2022) and Versnel (2017), and the feature Koffie en Sigarette (2023).
HollyShorts, held at the TCL Chinese Theatres at Ovation Hollywood, ran August 13–23 this year and selected more than 400 films from worldwide submissions (HollyShorts). The festival is Oscar-qualifying across four short film categories: Best Short Film, Best Live Action, Best Animation, and Best Documentary.
The Best Live Action award went to Pale Sun, directed by Adrian Moyse Dullin and Jawahine Zentar and starring Anass El Hmami, Baki Bousmaha, and Sylvie Fasano. Kiana Naghshineh's With Tapes and Toasts in the Car (Im Auto Tapes und Butterbrot) took Best Animation. The Best Documentary jury prize went to Rosella Tursi's The Time My Grandmother Was Held Hostage by Bank Robbers, which recounts the true story of the director's grandmother, held hostage in her Montreal home in 1983 by two men fleeing a bank robbery.
HollyShorts also debuted a new Best Performance Award in 2026. Russell Tovey won the inaugural prize for his turn in I Am the Prize. Jessy Moussallem's Faux Bijoux earned Best Director, while Alyssa Loh's Copy, Save took Best Drama. JJ Adler's The Oracle won Best Comedy, Junxiong Zhu's The Kalgan Horse earned Best Cinematography, Altay Ulan Yang's HYENA won Best Editing, and Peter Vass' Banshee collected Best Horror.
What makes the HollyShorts platform matter is its track record at the Academy. Nine festival alumni received nominations at the 98th Academy Awards, and nineteen alumni films landed on the Oscars shortlist (HollyShorts). For a short film like Vultures, the Grand Jury Prize is not just a trophy — it is the paperwork that opens the door to the same stage.
The festival's reach is also expanding. A third annual HollyShorts London edition is set for November 12–15, 2026, and a second Dubai edition follows January 14–17, 2027 (HollyShorts).
