June 23, 2026, Nantucket, MA – Shine Global announced that Edie Arnold Is a Loser has been awarded the 2026 Shine Global Children’s Resilience in Screenwriting Award at the Nantucket Film Festival. This annual prize includes $2,500 and is given to a film with outstanding storytelling that portrays the resilience and strength of children and young people.

Written and co-directed by Megan Rico, co-directed and produced by Kade Atwood, and produced by Bryson Alejandro, Edie Arnold Is a Loser is an irreverent coming-of-age comedy about Edie, a timid Catholic school student whose life changes after she attends a punk show and begins to discover her own voice. As Edie starts a punk band with her friends, navigating school, friendship, and the pressures of adolescence, she learns that self-expression can be an act of courage.

“Edie Arnold Is a Loser is the kind of fearless storytelling this award was created to honor,” said Alexandra Blaney, Co-CEO and Creative Director of Shine Global. “The film stands out for its irreverent take on young people finding their own voice in the face of pressure to conform. With humor and heart, and a little punk rock and sisterhood, Megan Rico’s screenplay captures the messy and courageous process of a young person discovering who she is. We are proud to recognize a film that celebrates the resilience of young people in daring to be themselves.”

The Shine Global Resilience Awards were created to recognize films that highlight the strength, dignity, and power of children in the face of adversity. Through the Children’s Resilience in Screenwriting Award, Shine Global celebrates screenwriters whose work brings depth and nuance to stories centered on young people.

This year marks the third year Shine Global has partnered with the Nantucket Film Festival to present a screenwriting award. Previous recipients include Los Frikis, written and directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz, which received the 2024 award, and DJ Ahmet, written and directed by Georgi M. Unkovski, which received the 2025 award.

Shine Global’s partnership with the Nantucket Film Festival reflects the organization’s ongoing commitment to supporting and amplifying stories that center children and young people with honesty, dignity, and care.

Website: https://ediearnold.com/
Instagram: @ediearnoldmovie

###
ABOUT SHINE GLOBAL
Shine Global is a non-profit media company that improves the lives of children by telling powerful stories to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce inspiring films and compelling content about underserved children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on Capitol Hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change.

Since our founding in 2005, Shine Global films have won more than 100 major awards, including an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject for Inocente and an Academy Award®-nomination and two Emmys® for War/Dance, and an Academy Award®-nomination for Anuja. Recent films include the documentary-animation hybrid Liyana, the hit documentary The Eagle Huntress, Through Our Eyes: Homefront which is available on HBOMax, the Ariel Award winner Home Is Somewhere Else, and Comedy Against the Odds. For more information about Shine Global, visit shineglobal.org.

ABOUT SHINE GLOBAL’S RESILIENCE AWARDS

The Shine Global Resilience Awards were created to honor films that highlight the strength, dignity, and power of children in the face of adversity. Past winners of Shine Global Resilience Awards include the feature documentaries Speak. (2025, Directed by Guy Mossman and Jennifer Tiexiera), Daughters (2024, Directed by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae), Name Me Lawand (2023, Directed by Edward Lovelace), and Lift (2022, Directed by David Petersen), Los Frikis (2024, written and directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz) in partnership with Nantucket Film Festival, the short Rise (2025, Directed by Jessica J. Rowlands), the short documentary Ayenda (2023, directed by Marie Margolius) in partnership with Heartland Film’s Indy Shorts International Film Festival, Okthanksbye (2023, Nicole Van Kilsdok) with ReelAbilities Film Festival, Savauges (2024, directed by Claude Barras), and Dounia – The Great White North (2024, directed by Marya Zarif and André Kadi) in partnership with the New York International Children’s Film Festival.

ABOUT NANTUCKET FILM FESTIVAL
The Nantucket Film Festival® was founded in 1996 by siblings Jill and Jonathan Burkhart. The Burkharts lived on the island year-round and knew it was the perfect place to begin a festival that combined with their love of film and community. In 1997, Mystelle Brabbée joined the team and today serves as the Executive Director. NFF® continues to thrive each year by always remaining true to its mission. These days, NFF has become one of the premier destination film festivals in the world. Visitors flock from all over to experience our preview screenings, Signature Programs, and stand out hospitality on a magical island rich with history, a friendly atmosphere, and beautiful sandy beaches. For more information about NFF, visit www.nantucketfilmfestival.org.

June 15, 2026, Sheffield, UK – Shine Global is proud to announce that One In a Million, directed by Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes, has won the Shine Global Children’s Resilience Award for Documentary at the 2026 Sheffield DocFest, the UK’s leading documentary festival and one of the world’s most influential markets for documentary projects. In addition, the short documentary Stalin Boys, directed by Bianca Giaever and Ora DeKornfeld, has been awarded the Children’s Resilience Award for Short Documentary.

The Shine Global Children’s Resilience Awards for Documentary recognize films that celebrate the strength and power of children in the face of adversity. Presented for the second year in partnership with Sheffield DocFest, the award honors documentary storytelling that expands understanding of children’s experiences around the world and the courage they show in confronting extraordinary challenges.

Filmed over the course of ten years, One In a Million follows 11-year-old Isra’a and her family as they flee war in Syria and attempt to rebuild their lives in Germany. As they navigate war, exile, displacement, and belonging, viewers see the long term costs of displacement and the complexities of the refugee experience.

“One In a Million is an incredible feat of documentary filmmaking,”said Alexandra Blaney, Co-CEO and Creative Director of Shine Global. “Through Isra’a’s decade-long journey, the film allows us to look beyond headlines and statistics and witness the long-term emotional realities of displacement. We are honored to recognize Itab Azzam, Jack MacInnes, and the entire filmmaking team for a work that so powerfully reflects the spirit of the Children’s Resilience Award.”

One In a Million made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January where it won both the Directing Award and Audience Award in the World Documentary Competition. The film is directed by Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes and produced by Will Anderson, James Bluemel, Andrew Palmer, and Raney Aronson-Rath. Production companies: Frontline Features, BBC Storyville and KEO Films in association with Placeholder Films, New Lane Media, Impact Partners.

In the charming short documentary Stalin Boys, four middle school boys in a tiny Texas border town channel an unlikely obsession with Joseph Stalin into a history fair play about tyranny. Filmed in Marathon, Texas where the middle school has just 11 students, the film adroitly balances humor against the serious subject matter, as the boys explore their thoughts about bullying and their own power. The film is produced by Alejandra Vasquez, Sam Osborn, Ora DeKornfeld, and Bianca Giaever with New York Times OpDocs, and previously won both an audience award and a special jury award at SxSW.

###
ABOUT SHINE GLOBAL
Shine Global is a non-profit media company that improves the lives of children by telling powerful stories to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce inspiring films and compelling content about underserved children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on Capitol Hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change.

Since our founding in 2005, Shine Global films have won more than 100 major awards, including an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject for Inocente and an Academy Award®-nomination and two Emmys® for War/Dance, and an Academy Award®-nomination for Anuja. Recent films include the documentary-animation hybrid Liyana, the hit documentary The Eagle Huntress, Through Our Eyes: Homefront which is available on HBOMax, the Ariel Award winner Home Is Somewhere Else, and Comedy Against the Odds. For more information about Shine Global, visit shineglobal.org.

ABOUT SHINE GLOBAL’S RESILIENCE AWARDS

The Shine Global Resilience Awards were created to honor films that highlight the strength, dignity, and power of children in the face of adversity. Past winners of Shine Global Resilience Awards include the feature documentaries Speak. (2025, Directed by Guy Mossman and Jennifer Tiexiera), Daughters (2024, Directed by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae), Name Me Lawand (2023, Directed by Edward Lovelace), and Lift (2022, Directed by David Petersen), Los Frikis (2024, written and directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz) in partnership with Nantucket Film Festival, the short Rise (2025, Directed by Jessica J. Rowlands), the short documentary Ayenda (2023, directed by Marie Margolius) in partnership with Heartland Film’s Indy Shorts International Film Festival, Okthanksbye (2023, Nicole Van Kilsdok) with ReelAbilities Film Festival, Savauges (2024, directed by Claude Barras), and Dounia – The Great White North (2024, directed by Marya Zarif and André Kadi) in partnership with the New York International Children’s Film Festival.

ABOUT SHEFFIELD DOCFEST
Sheffield DocFest is the UK’s leading documentary festival and one of the world’s most influential markets for documentary projects. We champion and present the breadth of documentary form – film, television, podcast, immersive and art – in the vibrant city of Sheffield each June. We offer makers and audiences a place for inspiration, debate, development, learning and challenge. Our programming represents our core values – creativity, empathy, freedom, inclusivity and internationalism. https://www.sheffdocfest.com/

Emily Ommerborn from Middletown High School South is awarded the 2026 Shine Global Resilience Award for Young Filmmakers by Shine Global Board of Directors member Art Hatzopoulos for her film The Butterfly as part of Montclair Film’s Emerging Filmmaker Competition (EFC) – June 7, 2026.

June 7, 2026, Montclair, NJ – Shine Global is proud to announce that student filmmaker Emily Ommerborn from Middletown High School South has been awarded the 2026 Shine Global Resilience Award for Young Filmmakers for her film The Butterfly as part of Montclair Film’s Emerging Filmmaker Competition (EFC). The competition celebrates the work of filmmakers in 6th through 12th grades, recognizing a wide range of styles and voices that showcase the diverse talents of young people using cinema to tell their stories. 

In “The Butterfly,” which also won Gold in the Experimental Category, a girl struggles to feel at peace with herself, comparing her feelings to butterflies.

“Through poetic imagery and surrealist filmmaking, The Butterfly captures the experience of anxiety and the struggle to feel at peace with yourself. It transforms a familiar feeling into a visual and powerful mood, using the butterfly as a symbol of both vulnerability and freedom,” said Alexandra Blaney, Co-CEO and Creative Director of Shine Global.  “We’re happy to continue our partnership with Montclair Film to support students as they explore resilience through filmmaking.”

Montclair Film’s EFC Grand Prize was awarded to Levi Walker Marsh of High Tech High School for their film What Comes Through. Both the Grand Prize winner and the Resilience Award teams will each receive a cash prize of $500.

“We are honored to once again partner with Shine Global in championing young artists as they explore the power of filmmaking,” said Montclair Film Education Program Director Sue Hollenberg. “These young filmmakers are telling stories that are personal, urgent, and inspiring, and we’re excited to help amplify their voices.”

The Shine Global Resilience Awards recognize and celebrate the films and filmmakers that highlight the resilience and strength of children in the face of adversity. In the five years since the Resilience Awards launched, Shine Global has supported 43+ films and 7 film festivals and organizations, providing over $100,000 in direct cash support in addition to in-kind services and support. The awards are open to films of any genre that showcase children overcoming challenges and demonstrate their resilience, courage, and determination. Past Grand Prize winners include the feature documentaries Speak. (2025, Jen Teixeira and Guy Mossman), Daughters (2024, Angela Patton and Natalie Rae), Name Me Lawand (2023, Directed by Edward Lovelace and produced by Fleur Nieddu), Lift (2022, Directed by David Petersen and produced by Mary Racine).  

Watch The Butterfly:

###

ABOUT SHINE GLOBAL

Shine Global is a nonprofit media company that improves the lives of children by telling powerful stories to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce and support inspiring films and compelling content about underserved children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on Capitol Hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change.

Since our founding in 2005 by Susan MacLaury and Albie Hecht, Shine Global films have won more than 100 major awards, including an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject for Inocente, an Academy Award® nomination for Best Live Action Short for Anuja, and an Academy Award® nomination and two Emmys® for War/Dance. Recent films include the documentary-animation hybrid Liyana, the hit documentary The Eagle Huntress, Through Our Eyes: Homefront which is available on HBOMax, the Ariel Award winner Home Is Somewhere Else, and Comedy Against the Odds.

ABOUT SHINE GLOBAL’S RESILIENCE AWARDS

The Shine Global Resilience Awards were created to honor films that highlight the strength, dignity, and power of children in the face of adversity. Past winners of Shine Global Resilience Awards include the feature documentaries Speak. (2025, Directed by Guy Mossman and Jennifer Tiexiera), Daughters (2024, Directed by Angela Patton and Natalie Rae), Name Me Lawand (2023, Directed by Edward Lovelace), and Lift (2022, Directed by David Petersen), Los Frikis (2024, written and directed by Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz) in partnership with Nantucket Film Festival, the short Rise (2025, Directed by Jessica J. Rowlands), the short documentary Ayenda (2023, directed by Marie Margolius) in partnership with Heartland Film’s Indy Shorts International Film Festival, Okthanksbye (2023, Nicole Van Kilsdok) with ReelAbilities Film Festival, Savauges (2024, directed by Claude Barras), and Dounia – The Great White North (2024, directed by Marya Zarif and André Kadi) in partnership with the New York International Children’s Film Festival.

About Montclair Film

Montclair Film, a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization connects filmmakers from around the region and world with audiences by presenting films and year-round programs that engage, educate, and entertain through the power of visual storytelling. The twelfth Annual Montclair Film Festival will take place from October 16-25, 2026. For more information about Montclair Film, visit www.MontclairFilm.org.