These are all the winners of The Ensors 2026

'Putain' dominated the evening

With eight Ensors, Putain was the biggest winner at this sixteenth edition. The production was not only crowned Best Series, but also won in the categories Best Screenplay for a Fiction Series (Deben Van Dam, Frederik Daem and Nadège Bibo-Tansia), Best Make-up (Labhise Allara Mandango Ciratu), Best Editing (Stijn Deconinck & Joppe Van Den Brande), Best Direction Fiction Series (Deben Van Dam), and Best D.O.P. (Jordan Vanschel). In addition, Liesa Van der Aa took home the Ensor for Best Acting Performance in a Leading Role - Fiction Series for her role in 'Putain', and Felix Heremans won Best Acting Performance in a Supporting Role - Fiction Series. 

Four Ensors for 'Julian'

'Julian' was awarded the Ensor for Best Film, and also won the nominations for Best Film Direction (Cato Kusters), Best Film Screenplay (Angelo Tijssens & Cato Kusters) and Best Acting Performance in a Leading Role - Film, supported by PlayRight (Laurence Roothooft).

More winners

'This Is Not a Murder Mystery' won the Ensors for Best Music (Hannes De Maeyer & Justine Bourgeus), Best Costume Design (Charlotte Willems) and Best Art Direction (Bart Van Loo). Three Ensors also went to 'Young Hearts': Best Youth Fiction, Best Supporting Performance - Film (Emilie De Roo) and the Play Kinepolis Audience Award. 

The Ensor for Best Sound went to Matthias Hillegeer and Gedeon Depauw for their work in 'How To Kill Your Sister'.

In the documentary category, 'Schaap' won Best Documentary Film, while 'Basisschool Balder' received the Ensor for Best Documentary Series. 'Flavours of Iraq' won Best Animation.

Finally, 'Patsers' received the Box Office Award. 

Jury prizes

The Albert Bert Prize for International Achievement of the Year went to Tim Mielants, who caused a sensation both at home and abroad as director of 'Wil', 'Small Things Like These' and 'Peaky Blinders', among others.

Actor and theatre maker Josse De Pauw received the Lifetime Achievement Award. De Pauw has built an impressive career in theatre, film and television, with roles in productions such as 'De Twaalf', 'Met Man en Macht', 'Chaussée d'Amour', 'De Ronde' and the opening film of FFO26 'Zondag de Negenste'.

For the second time, the Impact Award (supported by the National Lottery) was also presented. With this award, De Ensors and the National Lottery put the spotlight on a person or initiative that is already making an impact and has a lot more to offer. This year, the honour went to Filmpact, an organisation that firmly believes in the power of film as a springboard for social change.

Ensors awared during the Ostend Film Festival

Prior to the Ensors Gala, four Ensors were also awarded during the Ostend Film Festival last week.  The Ensor for Promise of the Year – supported by BNP Paribas Fortis – went to director Cato Kusters, who also took home the Ensors for Best Film Direction and Best Film Screenplay during the Gala. 'Jeunes Mères' by the Dardenne brothers was named Best French-speaking Belgian Film, while 'Köln 75' was named Best Co-Production. Jasper De Maeseneer added the Ensor for Best Short Film to his list of achievements with 'Shutterspeed'.