Austin Film Festival has set Nina Jacobson and Eric Kripke as the first honorees for its 2026 edition.
Jacobson will receive the Polly Platt Award for Producing, while Kripke is set for the Outstanding Television Writer Award at the festival’s annual awards luncheon on Oct. 31. The 33rd Austin Film Festival is scheduled to run Oct. 29 through Nov. 5 in Austin, Texas.
The Polly Platt Award, established in 2019, recognizes producers with a strong track record of championing storytelling and emerging talent. Jacobson, founder of Color Force, is known for shepherding major film and television projects including “The Hunger Games” franchise and “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette.”
Kripke, creator and showrunner behind Prime Video’s hit series “The Boys,” is being recognized for his contributions to serialized television. His credits also include “Supernatural” and “Timeless,” and he has expanded “The Boys” universe with spinoffs including “Gen V.” A former Austin Film Festival award winner, Kripke first gained recognition at the event in 1997 for his student short “Truly Committed.”
Alongside the honorees, AFF also unveiled its 2026 industry-sponsored fellowships and awards, aimed at supporting emerging writers and filmmakers. Screenplay competition honors include the AMC One-Hour Pilot Award, The Donners’ Company Screenwriting Award, Enderby Entertainment Award and the Roadmap Writers Representation Fellowship, among others spanning comedy, animation and genre storytelling. Additional prizes include the Valhalla Entertainment Award and the William N. Collage Screenwriting Award, as well as the YMH Studios Comedy Feature Fellowship.
The fellowships span screenplay and film competitions, with categories ranging from drama pilots and comedy features to genre-driven projects and animated series. Submissions for the 2026 festival and screenplay competition are now open.
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