VERNAL, Utah — V6 Media announced the winners of its inaugural Short Film Challenge at the Frightful Family Film Fest on Saturday, October 13, 2026, recognizing top films across the Adult, Middle School, and Elementary School & Younger divisions.
The Short Film Challenge invited participants of all ages to create original short films centered on spooky, fun, mystery, playful suspense, and imaginative storytelling. Ten finalist films were selected ahead of the festival, and winners were announced live at the event.
More than 850 people attended this year’s Frightful Family Film Fest, turning out to watch the finalist films and celebrate the winners.
This year’s winners are:
Adult Division
- 1st Place: “Fox” by Cody Jaron Navarro
- 2nd Place: “The Peephunter” by Michael Stone
- 3rd Place: “Seeing Red” by Casey De Luca
Middle School Division
- 1st Place: “The Fourth Hiker” by Kinley Betts
- 2nd Place: “What Was That?!?” by The Pierce Family
- 3rd Place: “Magical Face” by Milo Lincoln Dunbar
Elementary School & Younger Division
- 1st Place: “Camp Story” by Gabriella Solomon
- 2nd Place: “The Alley” by Nolan Sullivan
- 3rd Place: “The Scary Mario Adventure” by Dayson-Kaitlyn Hemphill-Allred
The Short Film Challenge’s High School Division received no eligible submissions in this inaugural year.
“The level of craft in these films caught us off guard, in the best way,” said Coby Coonradt, V6 Media’s Creative Team Supervisor. “From the editing to the sound design to the storytelling itself, these filmmakers, some of them working on their very first project, brought a level of polish you don’t expect from a first-year challenge. Our winners earned it.”
“The Short Film Challenge was exactly the kind of addition we wanted for the Frightful Family Fest,” said Dale Allred, V6 Media’s Video Supervisor. “Watching families fill Western Park to celebrate these young filmmakers alongside our feature film was everything this festival is supposed to be about.”
The complete slate of finalist films remains viewable online at v6.media/short-film-challenge. For more information about the Short Film Challenge, visit the same page.
To learn more about the Frightful Family Film Fest, visit v6.media/frightful.