Women's Global Film Festival Celebrates Storytelling from Emerging Directors Around the World

LOS ANGELES - Aug. 17, 2026 - PRLog -- TThe Women's Global Film Festival (WGFF), a festival dedicated to short films by women directors, has wrapped its latest edition, honoring two bold new voices in independent filmmaking and bringing together women in film from across the globe for a wide-ranging conversation on the future of the industry.

Best Narrative Winner: Imole Ladipo, "8:38"

Nigerian-born, American-based filmmaker Imole Ladipo took home Best Narrative for 8:38, a psychological thriller in which a woman named May wakes with no memory of how she arrived in a locked room and just one lifeline call to uncover the truth before time runs out.

Ladipo brings an unusual combination of backgrounds to her filmmaking, having trained in Mathematics and Chemical Engineering before studying at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Her previous short, *What Happens Now?*, starred Oscar nominee Eric Roberts and drew acclaim for its exploration of grief, justice, and forgiveness.

8:38 grew from Ladipo's experience of watching her grandmother lose her memory. She wanted audiences to feel and not merely witness her protagonist's disorientation.

Best Documentary Winner: Cristina Rubio Salcedo, "Ataranda"

Spanish director Cristina Rubio Salcedo won Best Documentary for *Ataranda*, which searches for the story of Laura, a woman institutionalized at the Zaragoza Asylum in 1934 — reconstructing a life from the fragments left behind by others' records.

Rubio Salcedo is a sociologist and researcher-lecturer whose work lives at the intersection of archival research, documentary film, and feminist scholarship. She trained in Documentary Filmmaking at offESCAC and in Screenwriting through RTVE, and has served as a programmer, curator, and festival juror with a particular focus on championing women directors.

Festival Highlights

Beyond the screenings, this year's festival featured a global panel discussion bringing together women working in film from around the world, alongside a featured guest conversation on the rapidly expanding world of vertical storytelling. While the winning short films themselves are not available for public streaming, the full panel and guest conversation are archived and available to watch on the Women's Global Film Festival's YouTube channel.

Submissions for the next Women's Global Film Festival open in November 2026.

About WGFF

WGFF champions women filmmakers worldwide, showcasing bold storytelling and connecting women in film across borders.