The 2026 Shorts International Miami Film Festival takes place at the University of Miami’s Bill Cosford Cinema this weekend from Feb. 6 – 8. Photo Courtesy of Konstantia Kontaxis.

By Hanna Himelstein
2-3-2026
This story originally appeared in The Miami Hurricane.

Need some weekend plans? The 2026 Shorts Miami International Film Festival (SMIFF) is on campus this weekend, Feb. 6 – 8, at the University of Miami’s Bill Cosford Cinema.

SMIFF is free for all UM students and promises to be a fun-filled weekend of great cinema. Celebrating its fourth year of running, the festival has something for everyone. Each night showcases films from different genres followed by award ceremonies and after parties.

Over the weekend, attendees will get to view short films from all over the world. Viewers will get to watch films from France, Peru, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Canada and Germany.

For those interested in narrative short films, Friday is a night not to miss. Starting at 6 p.m., 11 short films will be shown followed by two award announcements at 8 p.m. and then an opening reception at Cosford Patio until 10:30 p.m.

Saturday will feature nine documentary short films from the United States, United Kingdom, Austria, Greenland and Turkey. Awards announcements and an after party at Cosford Patio will follow.

Capping off the weekend, Sunday is all about showcasing local students in the Miami area, featuring six screenings of UM student produced and directed short films. Following the screenings, awards will be handed out and a closing reception will take place at the rooftop of Thesis Hotel.

Prior to the screenings, there will be a cinema and technologies panel discussion where attendees can hear from experts in immersive media, AI and virtual production. The panelists include founder and executive Director of FilmGate Miami Diliana Alexander, multidisciplinary artist Alec Jerome Kreisberg and UM filmmaker Perry Feder.

The most engaging films will be awarded with cash prizes. This year, five awards will be handed out: Best of the Festival award with a prize of $1000, Best Narrative, Best Documentary, Best Narrative Made in Miami and Best Documentary Made in Miami will each receive a prize of $500.

A jury of ten film professionals will award the cash prizes. Notable names such as actress Sope Aluko from “Black Panther” and actor, director and screenwriter Nestor Carbonell are among the jurors.

Co-anchor of “Good Morning America” Saturday and Sunday Gio Benitez, executive producer of special projects at ABC News Studios Muriel Pearson, film producer Michael Zakin and producer Cher Hawrysh are also jurors.

David Frankel, known for his work as a director for “The Devil Wears Prada,” “Marley & Me,” “The Big Year” and more, will also serve as a juror.

And of course, UM’s very own Frances L. Wolfson Chair in Communication, Antonio Mora, rounds out the esteemed group.

For more information about the event, visit shortsmiami.com. The link to register can be found on the website as well.