Ripcord Halloween Fest Awards $100,000 Short Film Prize
Julian Doan's Long's Long Lost & Mini Mart took the top prize at the inaugural competition, announced at a filmmaker breakfast in Los Angeles.
Ripcord's Halloween Film Festival announced the winners of its inaugural short film competition on the morning of October 30, 2026, at a filmmaker breakfast in Los Angeles. Julian Doan's Long's Long Lost & Mini Mart took the first prize of $100,000, according to Bloody Disgusting.
Sophia Parella's Zippy's House won second prize and $50,000, while Carl Fry and Maxwell Nalevansky's Harold Eats Maude placed third with $25,000. J. Zachary Thurman's It Helps was named runner up and received $4,000.
Nine further shorts received honorable mentions of $3,500 each: Blossom Needs a Ride Home, Breeder, Dirty Fuzz, Dream Creep, Hour of Blood, Make Me a Pizza, Rat!, Spanked by a Ghost and We Need to Talk About Balloons.
Finalists screened in Hollywood
On October 29, 2026, the finalists screened at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, the night before the winners were revealed. Thirteen films competed in the finals.
The 13 finalists were chosen from 50 shorts curated from more than 500 submissions, with fans voting online to help select the lineup; the fan vote came close.
Quick answers
Who won first prize at Ripcord's Halloween Film Festival?
Julian Doan's short Long's Long Lost & Mini Mart won the $100,000 first prize.
Where did the finalists screen?
The finalists screened at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on October 29, 2026.
How much did the runner up receive?
J. Zachary Thurman's It Helps was named runner up and received $4,000.