FOLLOW YOUR HEART MIAMI 2026 reaffirmed its status as a festival that does more than screen films
MIAMI, FL, UNITED STATES, January 17, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — On January 10, 2026, the fifth international FOLLOW YOUR HEART International Film Festival took place at Hilton Miami Aventura – an event that over the years has evolved into a unique professional platform at the intersection of auteur cinema, fashion, visual art, and creative industries.
The anniversary edition of the festival was held with the support of the official partner, Hilton Miami Aventura. The venue’s contemporary architecture, panoramic light, and refined atmosphere became not merely a backdrop, but an integral part of the festival’s visual and cultural fabric.
The festival was founded and is directed by Oxana Nechaeva, a director and producer of international cultural and film projects.
The festival’s fashion program is curated by Valentina Varnavskaia. The festival’s Programming Director and Chairman of the Jury was Albert Rudnitsky.
Competition, New Formats, and Vertical Cinema
In 2026, the festival received more than 300 submissions from 30 countries, making the competition selection particularly competitive. Ten international short films were selected for the official competition, meeting the criteria of artistic integrity, originality of authorial language, and thematic relevance.
Competition Winners: Best Film (Grand Prize) — Timelessness, Best Actress was also awarded to Darya Ekamasova.
Best Actor — Artur Ignatenko (Some Like It). Best Director and Best Production — For I Am Dead. Best Cinematography — Local Warming, directed by Manuel Barbie. Best Production Design — The Feed, directed by Amber Gray.
Fashion and Beauty as an Institutional Part of the Festival
FOLLOW YOUR HEART has historically developed as a festival where cinema and fashion exist within a single cultural space. In 2026, this concept was institutionally expanded through the introduction of fashion and beauty nominations, reflecting the contemporary role of visual image in cinema and digital content.
New nominations for 2026 included: Best Costume Design, Best Makeup & Special Effects in Film, Best Hairstyling, Best Character Visual Image and others
The festival’s fashion program featured runway shows by DrevelmaN (designer Artem Drevelman) and La Magnetique (designer Kateryna Frumina).
Expert Jury: The Connection Between Cinema, Fashion, and Beauty
The expansion of nominations required a fundamentally new approach to jury formation. FOLLOW YOUR HEART adheres to a policy of strict functional expertise, inviting specialists whose professional practice is directly connected to the evaluation of visual imagery.
Notable figures in this context were Elchin Ahmadov and Tatiana Abaza.
Elchin Ahmadov is a director, creative director, and founder of Epic Vision 88 LLC (Miami), known for creating cinematic commercial content. His expertise spans fashion video, music video, and digital formats, making him a key expert in evaluating nominations related to visual rhythm, directing, and contemporary video language.
Tatiana Abaza is an international beauty expert specializing in eyebrow design, permanent makeup, and facial aesthetics. With over nine years of experience, more than 10,000 completed procedures, and the status of an international award winner and educator who has trained 200+ specialists, her judging approach viewed beauty imagery as part of screen dramaturgy and character visual identity rather than a decorative element.
FOLLOW YOUR HEART MIAMI 2026 reaffirmed its status as a festival that does more than screen films — it shapes a holistic visual culture, uniting cinema, fashion, beauty, and new storytelling formats. The fifth edition marked an important point of institutional growth, capturing the transition toward an expanded, interdisciplinary understanding of contemporary authorial expression.
FOLLOW YOUR HEART MIAMI (2026 Jury): Albert Rudnitsky, Dmitrii Galdin, Oleg Blinov, Elchin Ahmadov, Oleh Stepovyi, Sasha Korolko, Aleksandr Karpov, Alona Ksenofontova, Yevgen Petrenko, Kateryna Tytarenko, Solomiia Romaniuk, Kateryna Frumina, Ivan Vasiliev (Joseph Auren), Valentin Gnezdilov, Maryna Lazorenko, Artem Drevelman, Nataliia Iksanova, Olga Kamenskaya, Jemma Russo, Adriana Kostetska, Arnel San Pedro, Dana Lekus, Andressa Afonso, Alina Kuznevych, Valeriia Khasanova, Denys Miniailo, Lyudmila Gromova, Iryna Babych, Yuliia Babych, Mikhailo Salai, Stas Kozub, Dmytro Lukianchuk, Elizaveta Eremenko, Elizaveta Kozlova, Jani Grigoryan, Anastasia Milovskaia, Ruslan Evseev, Margarita Howis, Tatiana Abaza
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