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BREAKING: ShAFF 2026 Award Winners Revealed!

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Matt Heason

Ahead of the upcoming festival weekend, ShAFF has officially announced the winners of the 2026 film competition.

Following an intensive judging session, our panel of experts—Paul Hodgson, Hannah Maia, Simon Taylor, and Jimmy Hyland—have selected the standout films. Winners were crowned across 13 distinct categories, representing the very best in global and local adventure filmmaking.

We’ve long held the belief that we’d prefer to share our judges' thoughts and decisions with our audience before the festival so that you can make informed choices about what to watch on the weekend. Our judges met this week and spent a thoroughly enjoyable evening discussing the 105 films showing at this year’s festival.

The Best of ShAFF 2026 Session

For those who want to see the "best of the best" in one go, we have curated the Best of ShAFF 2026 session. This showcase will screen four times over the festival period:

Preview Evening: Friday 13th March

Festival Weekend Screenings: Saturday (one session) 21st March and Sunday 22nd March (two evening sessions)

Tickets to these sessions are selling fast, so we recommend booking immediately to avoid disappointment.

At A Glance: The 2026 Winners

Best Film Champions of the Golden Valley

There is an Afghani skiing scene in the same Bamyan valley where the Taliban blew up the famous 1,500 year old giant Buddha statues, although most of the best skiers are refugees, and this film tells their remarkable story. The film-making is top drawer, with beautiful photography and witty story telling, so it is both eye opening and entertaining, with no pat happy endings: the Taliban have banned women from skiing and indeed all sport. The patriarchy remains boring. Paul Hodgson - Judge

Silver - Catching Pinecones | Bronze - The Oldest Munro Bagger

Best Activism Film The Big Sea

Much like Dark Waters (Hollywood film exposing the dangers of Teflon and non-stick coatings), this film is such an important exposé of the health implications and deaths caused by the production of neoprene. I learnt a lot from this film, and I will 100% be making better choices from now on. A film that’s definitely not to be missed. Frit Tam - festival director

Silver - Best Day Ever | Bronze - Sand Dancers

Best Artistic Film To Scale: The Last Observers

Deeply poignant on a number of levels. Beautiful. Simon Taylor - Judge

Silver - Aqua Ballet | Bronze - A Little Story About Forever

Best Bike Film Mandala

Really nicely made film about adventure biking in Nepal. Lots of great local colour. It's a "making of" film as much as well as a narrative documentary, which adds to the drama. French language and all the better for it. The "mandala" motif is annoying at first but makes quite a lot of sense by the end. Recommended, definitely worth your time. Paul Hodgson - Judge

Silver - Best Day Ever | Bronze - A Life In Tandem

Best Climbing Film Catching Pinecones

What a couple! What a woman! I loved this film. Unusual counter cultural people doing their own thing and giving back to the world with zero ego. Hannah Maia - Judge

Silver - Girl Climber | Bronze - A Baffin Vacation - Love On Ice

Best Made in Sheffield: The Bells

Silver - Retro | Bronze - Life In The Ravines

Best Running Film Winner Gets Cake

A film with a nice pace and great music that captures the world of fell running perfectly. Simon Taylor - Judge

Silver - Fellsman | Bronze - Bad River - The World's Oldest River

Best Short Film The Hold

Loved the water light effects on the walls, and loved the intentional use of 4:3 aspect ratio throughout. This is what adventure short films can do! Tell a story, look great, immerse us into an experience we may never have. Frit Tam - Festival Director

Silver - Fellsman | Bronze - Aqua Ballet

Best Spirit of Adventure Find Mor

Canyoning is the next level in British and Scottish adventure sport. Intense, fascinating and deeply human. A must-watch. Paul Hodgson - Judge

Silver - To The Sea | Bronze - The Oldest Munro Bagger

Best Soundtrack Catching Pinecones

Absolutely excellent climbing biopic with superb archive footage filmed by pioneer climbers Herb and Jan Conn between the 1940s and the 1980s. It's fascinating, extremely well made and highly engaging to watch. Also has great music recorded by the couple themselves. This one's really worth your time - you will come out of this film with a spring in your step and your eyes on the wild horizon. Paul Hodgson - Judge

Silver - The Last Observers | Bronze - Mandala

Best Snow Film Champions Of The Golden Valley