The StoryTeller Universe Film Festival, a New York-based independent event founded by filmmaker Venkat Sai Gunda, will add Vertical Storytelling as an official award category beginning with its 2026 edition, formally recognizing the vertical format as cinema.
The move follows the festival’s first live event on January 17, which welcomed international filmmakers for a boutique program of screenings and awards. The 2025 edition focused on more traditional categories, but festival leadership says future editions will broaden the festival’s view of what cinematic form can be.
Vertical storytelling refers to narrative work conceived specifically for a vertical frame, developed from script through post with cinematic intent rather than cropped or reformatted from horizontal projects. The format has seen rapid growth in markets including China and India and is gaining visibility in the U.S. via platforms such as ReelShort and DramaBox, though it has largely remained outside major festival recognition.
“Cinema has never been static,” said Gunda, Festival Director of The Storyteller Universe. “The language of storytelling changes with how audiences experience the world. Recognizing vertical cinema isn’t about trends. It’s about acknowledging a form that already exists and giving it the same creative respect as any other.”
Organizers note that the festival is independently operated and self-funded, established by a working filmmaker who launched the event after experiencing the realities of releasing a debut feature. The stated aim is to build a creator-first festival that can evolve alongside new modes of storytelling rather than rely on fixed tradition.
While the decision may challenge long-held assumptions about presentation and exhibition, it aligns with a shift already underway across the industry as audience viewing habits and distribution channels continue to diversify. Festival representatives stress that the Vertical Storytelling category will be evaluated on narrative integrity, craft, and cinematic intent, not on platform performance or social metrics.
Submissions for the 2026 edition are currently open. Additional details on eligibility and curation criteria are expected later this year.
Winners
- Best Feature Film : Mohammadmahdi Katirachi – In Other Words
- Best Short Film : Moon Romance, Moon
- Best Documentary : Matthew Floyd – Lessons from 100 : Reflections In My Centennial Year
- Best Director : Nadan Pines – Father’s Son
- Best Actor : Taha Mohammadi – In Other Words
- Best Actress : Anja Bothe – Loslassen
- Best Screenplay : Christine Marie Bush – Serenity Peak
- Best Comedy : Greg Kirkpatrick Jr. – Another Day
- Best Editing : Javier Yañez – Amira
- Best AI Film : Michal Jan Owerczuk – Broken Arrow
- Best Horror/Thriller : Darwin Reina – Blood Mist
- Best Social Impact Story Award : Douglas Ryan – 3 Minutos
- Best Debut Filmmaker : Making Megaforce
- Best Documentary Short (Jury Award) : Brian Knappmiller – Sheepdogs
- Best Micro Short : Julia Ulbrich Horta – The Other One
- Best Experimental Film : Ethann Néon – Blickity Black
- Best Music : Malik Maliki – In the Bad Times
- Best Sci-Fi Film : Maxence Bossé &Nolan Corlay – Ignis Oppidum
- Best Animation : Cristina Colmenares, Manuel-Antonio Monteagudo – Memoria Colectiva
- Best South Asian Film : Rishi Raj Acharya – Drawapadi
- BestPhoto/ Visual Art : CR Sherman – Drawing in Dreams
- Storyteller Appreciation Award : Guruswamy Raviteja – Cockery
