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Three feature directorial debuts — A.R. Ephraim's deeply empathetic coal-miner drama A Woman's Work, Reed Arnold's wedding comedy Do Us Part, and Adam Meeks' addiction drama Union County — were among the big winners at the Waco Independent Film Festival, which celebrated its 10th anniversary by highlighting big-swing indie cinema from central Texas and well beyond.
The festival, which has been one of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee and 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World, welcomed a wide array of features, shorts and documentaries, as well as events like an evening with The Chosen star Elizabeth Tabish and a 25th anniversary screening of Donnie Darko, featuring insights from the film's cinematographer, Steven Poster. MovieMaker was thrilled to be in attendance, and you can read our coverage here. You can also check out encore online screenings here.
A Woman's Work, which won the Feature Programmers Choice Award, is about an eldest sister who works in a coal mine to support her two younger sisters in Kentucky, while hiding her relationship with another woman. Ephraim, who is based in Amherst, Massachusetts, wrote it after volunteering in Appalachia, and seeing first-hand the struggles of coal miners and their families. The film stars Derry Girls actress Louisa Clare Harland.
Best Feature Film went to Union County, written and directed by Adam Meeks. It stars Will Poulter as a young man who undergoes a journey toward recovery after a court orders him into an addiction program. The film debuted earlier this year at Sundance.
Do Us Part is about a wedding day that turns chaotic when the groom's college best friend — and unrequited love — turns up to make a confession. Arnold, who is based in Oklahoma City, also stars in the film as the best man. The film won both the Audience Award Feature and Best Directing in a Feature.
"Meeting Your Maker," about a suicidal puppet, won Best Comedy Short and Best Performance in a Short for Jonathan Kite. The film's director, Gregory J.M. Kasunich, has a long history with Waco, having shot two films there, including "The Heart of Texas."
"Heart of Texas" sprang from Kasunich winning the Waco Independent Film Festival Screenplay Grant, which awards a $5,000 production package to recipients who film their scripts in the city. The award, which ensures that the festival not only recognizes great films but helps create them, is one of Waco Indie's hallmarks.
This year's winner of the grant was "American Values," a short screenplay by Ryan Mekenian about employees at a Blockbuster Video who push back after the story begins censoring titles.
The awards for both Best Texas Short and Audience Award Short went to "Thank You for Listening," directed by Gene Gallerano and Bob Ray, which tells the story of musicians Joshua Ray Walker as he prepares to return to the Grand Ole Opry after a cancer diagnosis.
Another big winner was Brett Weiner's "Everything Is Brand," a satire of branding culture that won the Festival Director’s Choice Award.
Congratulations to all the winners, listed below.
Waco Independent Film Festival Award Winners 2026
Short Film Awards
- Best Production Design in a Short: Beauty Sleep
- Best Cinematography in a Short: Pretty Boys
- Best Editing in a Short: The Boy with the Dinosaur Head
- Best Screenplay Short: Fireflies in the Dusk
- Best Performance in a Short: Jonathan Kite for Meeting Your Maker
- Best Directing in a Short: Taylor Coriell for Ladylike
- Best Music Video: Chingona
- Best Horror Short: The Pearl Comb
- Best Fantasy/Sci-Fi Short: The Ride
- Best Student Short: Night Feeds
- Best Comedy Short: Meeting Your Maker
- Best Drama Short: Beyond Silence
- Best Texas Short: Thank You for Listening
- Best Documentary Short: Houdini II: A Beautiful Day to Die
- Short Programmers Choice Award: I want to go to Moscow
- Festival Director’s Choice Award: Everything is Brand
- Audience Award Short: Thank You for Listening
- Best Short Film: When Big People Lie
Feature Film Awards
- Best Screenplay Feature: Due West
- Best Performance in a Feature: Anna Mirodin for The Legend of Juan Jose Mundo
- Best Directing in a Feature: Reed Arnold for Do Us Part
- Best Documentary Feature: Handmade Future
- Feature Programmers Choice Award: A Woman’s Work
- Audience Award Feature: Do Us Part
- Best Feature Film: Union County
Screenplay Contest
- Feature Screenplay: Salt Kiss by Bixby Elliot
- Honorable Mention Short Screenplay: Stealing Shayna by Heather Older
- Best Short Screenplay: American Values by Ryan Mekenian
Main image: Louisa Clare Harland in A Woman's Work, written and directed by A.R. Ephraim. Courtesy of Waco Independent Film Festival.
