DEPT Agency takes gold at straight 8 shootout 2026
Raw London and Siren Music complete the podium, while DROOL Productions picks up the Audience Award.
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DEPT Agency has taken gold at the straight 8 shootout 2026 for Love You to Death, with the winners revealed at a screening at London’s Prince Charles Cinema.
The event brought the competition’s Super 8 shorts back to the big screen following their first showing in Cannes, giving the participating companies another chance to see the films before the results were announced.
Each entrant was challenged to create a two-and-a-half-minute film on a single cartridge of Super 8, shooting every scene in story order with no retakes, editing or post-production. As Super 8 does not record sound, the original soundtracks were also created without the filmmakers seeing the developed footage.
Above: The DEPT Agency team collects the straight 8 shootout 2026 Gold award for Love You to Death.
Raw London received silver for Party Wall, while Siren Music took bronze with Cat Cracks the Case. DROOL Productions’ Eye Test received the Audience Award, determined by the loudest response in the room from a film not already awarded a trophy.
Voting took place in Cannes, with each participating company selecting its first, second and third choices, excluding its own entry. The winners received bespoke Super 8 camera trophies created by model and SFX company MACHINESHOP.
The shootout is presented by Cinelab Film & Digital and supported by the APA, shots, Kodak and MACHINESHOP. The screenings also featured four films selected from the open straight 8 competition, which had previously played at the Cannes Film Festival in May.
Both the open straight 8 competition and the 2027 shootout are now accepting entries, with places in the latter limited to 25 companies.
