Bruton, Chopin and Matched Win Audience Awards at Austin Film Festival
Vincent Grashaw's Bruton won the Marquee Feature Audience Award at the 2026 Austin Film Festival, Deadline reported on November 10. The film stars Theo Rossi, Aya Cash, Tammy Blanchard and Tony Hale.
The festival's other audience prizes went to a mix of features, documentaries and series. Vincent Lin's Chopin won the Narrative Feature Audience Award. Christmas Pop-Up took the Comedy Vanguard Feature Audience Award. Alec C. Cohen's Petunia received a special recognition prize in the narrative feature category.
Two documentaries also stood out with the audience. Buried Under Years of Dust, a documentary short directed by Sophie Sartain, won both a competitive jury award and an Audience Award. It follows Emily Grodin, a woman who was silenced by autism and finds her voice. PBS' Independent Lens will broadcast the film in January.
Cradled By Grace, a documentary feature about jazz trumpeter Ephraim Owens, won an Audience Award. It will air on PBS stations beginning in February. The digital series Matched also won a jury award and an Audience Award.
The festival drew more than 35,000 attendees, who watched 199 films from 24 countries. The Writers Conference, the part of the event aimed at people who write for the screen, ran more than 200 panels, workshops, roundtables and pitch competition sessions.
The festival was founded in 1994 with a focus on the screenplay, a theme that still runs through its programme. Its writing side is often where new scripts first meet buyers and producers, and where writers pitch their work face to face.
The next edition is already on the calendar. The 34th annual Austin Film Festival & Writers Conference will take place October 14 to 21, 2027. Submissions for the festival's Film and Script competitions open on December 7, so writers and filmmakers planning to enter have a few weeks to prepare.
