The Long Spring Wins KIFF 2026 Best Short Film VMI Award

At KIFF 2026, The Long Spring was very deservingly awarded the VMI Award for Best Short Film for 2026. The emotionally driven short film has earned writer/director Olly Ginelli this prestigious recognition. You can watch the trailer below.

The film follows a brother and sister in the back of a freight lorry’s trailer with the hope of finding a better life than the one they left behind. Despite limited scene change, the short grips your attention, as tension builds between other displaced people, the fear of getting caught looms and an even darker reality is realised. Beautifully shot and greatly written, The Long Spring, had KIFF audiences holding their breath.

On the creation of the film, Olly Ginelli states:

This film was inspired by the many stories of refugees that I met whilst I was volunteering in the camps back in 2014. One made it to the UK in the back of a lorry and found me on Facebook. They told me the graphic details of what goes on in the back of some of these lorries and how people risk their lives to get into them.

In what can seem to be a delicate topic today, The Long Spring offers a breath of fresh air by being an empathetic looking glass into the dangers by placing the viewer right there with those seeking refuge. 

It was incredibly important to us that the film felt realistic. Michael, our DP, put an incredible amount of effort into rigging lights above the lorry in the studio so they could replicate a number of different situations, such as nighttime with lampposts flying over, warehouses, daylight and even lightning. Most people outside of the industry simply praise the film for being realistic, but those within the industry know how difficult that is to get right with sequence-lighting and a clever desk op.

The Long Spring is BIFA and BAFTA qualified and the VMI award is their second award in counting. They have both a feature film and a TV series in development. With their award, VMI is contributing equipment to their future productions to empower their important storytelling.

Synopsis: Arron has taken his younger sister Kika on a journey to a better life, but his youthful optimism may have overlooked dark possibilities.

Watch the trailer: