The Omaha Film Festival concluded its 2026 edition on Sunday and announced the awarded winners in independent film, screenplay writing and local Nebraska storytelling across 104 films screened at Aksarben Cinema.
FILM AWARDS
- Best Feature Film — Bonding by Victoria Trofimenko
- Best Documentary — Uvalde Mom by Anayansi Prado
- Best Animated Short Film — 113 Words for You Today by Bo Qing Tang, Xiao Lan Zeng
NEBRASKA FILM AWARDS
- Best Nebraska Short Film — Documentary – Healing Ribbons, One Stitch at a Time by Margaux Towne
- Best Nebraska Short Film – Animated — Bunny and Bear by Christine Burright, Matt Geiler
SCREENPLAY AWARDS
- Best Feature Screenplay — The Pale Ones by Sara Caldwell
- Best Teleplay — The Back End by Daniel Gessner & Kyle Campbell
- Best Short Screenplay — Mistakes by John McGuigan
AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS
- Audience Choice Narrative Feature Film — Magic Hour by Jacqueline Christy
- Audience Choice Documentary — Magic & Monsters by Norah Shapiro
- Audience Choice Short Film — Chapter 21 by Katie Stoneburner, Ellen Burling
SPECIAL RECOGNITION
Inaugural Ian Snyder Award — Cody Jones
Omaha Performing Arts will feature Bob Dylan on March 21 at 8 p.m. at the Orpheum Theater as part of his Rough and Rowdy Ways Tour.
Noted as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Bob Dylan is best known for pushing the boundaries of American music tradition, even being awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his contributions. He continues a tradition of poetic lyricism and defying convention in his latest worldwide tour. Dylan has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. For tickets and more information, visit here.
The Tenaska Center for Arts Engagement will host “Painting Hope: Where Art Meets Medicine” on March 22. Artist and Creighton associate professor of drawing and painting Rachel Mindrup will share powerful portraits from the exhibit Many Faces of Neurofibromatosis. It highlights the lives of people with Neurofibromatosis, aiming to raise awareness and federal funding for research. The event is part of the Voices AMPLIFIED! series, opening on March 22. For tickets and information, visit here.
Omaha Performing Arts will also present SIX at the Orpheum Theater from March 25 through 29 with various times. From Tudor Queens to Pop Icons, the SIX wives of Henry VIII are reimagined into a modern, high-energy pop, girl group competing to see which wife had the hardest life. The SIX: LIVE ON OPENING NIGHT Broadway album debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard cast album charts and surpassed 6 Million streams in its first month. For tickets and more information, visit here.
Omaha Symphony will perform the music of rock legends, The Who, on Saturday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m. at the Hollands Performing Arts Center. Maestro Ernest Richardson will lead the orchestra, vocalists and rock musicians for a one-night-only performance. Jeans ‘n Classics will join the orchestra to perform hits from the albums My Generation, Meaty Beaty Big & Bouncy, The Who Sell Out, Who’s Next, Quadrophenia, Who Are You and the rock opera Tommy. The Who was a legendary English rock band, recognized and well-known in the 1960s and 70s alongside The Beatles and The Stones. Tickets for Music of The Who start at $26. Visit here for more information.
