The stars aligned once again on Saturday, June 6th, as filmmakers, actors, crew members, and science fiction fans gathered at Brewery Arts Center in Carson City, NV, for Moon Rocks 2026, Northern Nevada’s annual sci-fi short film competition presented by Silver State Storytellers.
This year, a record-breaking 43 teams accepted the challenge. Armed with only three required prompts: a map, the sound of crackling static, and the line of dialogue, “We aren’t native to this habitat”—teams had just two weeks to write, film, edit, and deliver an original science fiction short film.
When the dust settled, 28 completed films made their way to the big screen, showcasing an incredible range of creativity, imagination, technical skill, and storytelling. Audiences were treated to everything from alien encounters and dystopian futures to comedy, horror, adventure, and heartfelt human stories.
Throughout the day, nearly three hours of original filmmaking unfolded across two screening blocks, culminating in an awards ceremony recognizing the outstanding achievements of this year’s participants.
Top Honors
The coveted Best Film – Judge’s Choice Award was presented to Memory Lapse, which also took home awards for Best Editing and Best Lead Actor, awarded to Juan Rivero.
Audience members selected Habitat as the recipient of the Audience Choice Award, making it the crowd favorite of the festival.
Technical & Creative Awards
- Best Editing – Memory Lapse
- Best Cinematography – Signal
- Best Score (Music) – They Call Me Echo
- Best Directing – They Call Me Echo
- Best Screenwriting – The Butterfly Defect
- Best Special Effects – The Stillness Below
- Best Practical Effects – Butterfly Soup
- Best Use of Prompts – Abducted Alone
- Best Use of Extra Credit – Spores
This year’s extra credit challenge required teams to creatively incorporate SPAM into their films, resulting in some truly memorable and often hilarious moments!
Performance Awards
- Best Lead Actor – Juan Rivero (Memory Lapse)
- Best Supporting Actor – Taylor Salim (Play Stupid Games)
- Best Ensemble Cast – Analysis
- Most Tortured Actor – Jupiter Ruiz (Analysis)
Specialty Awards
Several unique awards celebrated the creativity and spirit that make Moon Rocks such a beloved community event:
- Most Out-of-This-World Moment – The Space Fight in The Invasion Ain’t It, Vato!
- Best Creature – Game Head
- Best Makeup & Costuming – Game Head
- Best Music Video – The Stillness Below
- Blake Snyder Save the Cat Award for Exceptional Storytelling – Look Both Ways
- Best Newcomer Award – Crossing the Threshold
Honoring a Friend
One of the evening’s most meaningful moments was the presentation of the Rated-R for Robb Award, given in memory of Robb Nault of Pop Culture Kaboom, a beloved supporter of local filmmakers and a passionate champion of storytelling. This year’s recipient was Snared.
The award continues Robb’s legacy by recognizing the creativity, passion, and independent spirit that he encouraged throughout the filmmaking community.
A Celebration of Storytelling
Moon Rocks continues to prove that incredible things can happen when creative people are given a challenge and a deadline. In just fourteen days, local filmmakers produced twenty-eight original films that entertained, inspired, surprised, and delighted audiences throughout the day.
Silver State Storytellers extends its heartfelt congratulations to every team that participated and sincere thanks to our judges, volunteers, sponsors, partners, and audience members who helped make Moon Rocks 2026 our biggest and most successful year yet.
We can’t wait to see where the next mission takes us.
Until then, keep telling stories.
