The documentary André Is an Idiot, about a man trying to die happily after a terminal diagnosis, and the narrative film The Marching Band, about two brothers who come together after one receives a leukemia diagnosis, won Best of Fest at the Sedona International Film Festival.
The two films address cancer in very different ways. With André Is an Idiot, which premiered at Sundance earlier this year, documentarian Tony Benna follows his friend André Ricciardi, who receives the terminal cancer diagnosis after he misses a colonoscopy that might have detected the cancer in time. It’s a portrait of a man who refuses to follow any of society’s rules, including about how to die.
The Marching Band, directed by Emmanuel Courcol, is about an orchestra conductor (Benjamin Lavernhe) who undergoes a DNA test in search of a bone marrow donor after he is diagnosed with leukemia. He discovers that he is adopted and has an older brother (Pierre Lottin), a a cook who plays trombone in a marching band. The film premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
The awards capped nine days of films in beautiful for the 32nd edition of the Sedona Intenational Film Festival, one of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee and 25 Coolest Film Festivals.
The complete list of winners follows.
Sedona Film Festival 2026 Winners
Directors’ Choice Awards 2026
Best Feature – Drama: Mr. Burton
Best Feature – Comedy: Ethan Bloom
Best International Feature: The Marching Band
Best Humanitarian Feature: Muganga
Best Indie-Spirit Feature: The Fallow Few
Most Impactful Film: Shambhala Story
Most Inspirational Film: Mistake
Best Family Film: The Secret Floor
Best Documentary Feature: Sons of Detroit
Non-Fiction New Visions Award: Room to Move
Best Indie-Spirit Documentary: Creede U.S.A.
Best Non-Fiction Storytelling: Natchez
Most Inspirational Documentary: Dream Touch Believe
Best Documentary Short: A Sacred Pause
Best Indie-Spirit Documentary Short: Exodus
Best Humanitarian Documentary Short: Rovina’s Choice
Best Short Non-Fiction Storytelling: On Healing Lands, Birds Perch
Best Short – Comedy: “Daniel Van den Berg is Dead”
Best Short – Drama: “The Art of Inflation”
Best International Short: “The Reach”
Best Humanitarian Short: “Fundbox – A Love Story”
Best Student Short: “The Demon Core”
Best Animated Short: “WildKind”
Best Indie-Spirit Short: “Two People Exchanging Saliva”
Programmer’s Choice Best Short: Emergency
Marion Herrman Excellence in Filmmaking Award: La Orquesta
Screenplay Winners
Feature Scripts: Burgirlry by Evan Laughlin
Short Scripts: “Burning Hammer” by Dylan Wilson
TV Pilots: Sally White by Katrina Jaxson
Audience Choice Awards 2026
Best Short – Drama: “The Ride”
Best Short – Comedy: “Fitted Sheet”
Best Student Short: “The Demon Core”
Best Animated Short: “Forevergreen”
Best Documentary Short: “Icebreakers”
Best Documentary Feature: Dream Touch Believe
Best International Documentary Feature: Mr. Nobody Against Putin
Best Feature Drama: The Secret Floor
Best Feature Comedy: Switch & Bait
Best International Film: The Fallow Few
Best of Fest
Documentary: André Is an Idiot
Narrative: The Marching Band
Main image: André Ricciardi in André Is an Idiot. Sedona International Film Festival
