Most Awards Won by a Live-Action Fictional Short Film
Record Holder
Metric
Date Achieved
Location
Atlas Record ID
Jon Paul (Dojo)
1,218
11 March 2026
Miami, Florida [USA]
20426040
In the strange and tireless geography of the global independent film circuit, recognition travels in unexpected ways. Festivals appear in cities, online platforms, and monthly competitions scattered across the world, each one a small stage where filmmakers place their work before juries and audiences in the hope that it will be seen.
Into this vast landscape of competitions stepped the short film Dojo, created by Miami filmmaker Jon Paul. A martial-arts-driven story about discipline, conflict, and personal resolve, the film was carried from one festival to another across continents and judging cycles. Again and again, it returned with recognition: awards for acting, directing, action filmmaking, narrative storytelling, and production.
Over time the acknowledgments accumulated, not in a single moment of triumph, but through persistence across hundreds of independent competitions. What emerged was not merely a successful festival run but a statistical phenomenon — a film that continued to appear on award lists across the international circuit.
Following a detailed review of the evidence submitted, Atlas World Records verified that Dojo has received 1,218 individual film awards from international film festivals and film award competitions.
With this total, Dojo establishes the record for:
Most Awards Won by a Live-Action Fictional Short Film.
In a filmmaking world where recognition is often fleeting and scattered across many corners of the globe, the film’s journey through the international festival ecosystem stands as an unusually persistent one — a testament to the determination of an independent creator navigating the modern landscape of film competition.
Transparent Adjudicator's Statement
Summary of Claim
The claimant submitted documentation asserting that the short film Dojo has received a total of 1,218 individual film awards from international film festivals and film award competitions. The record claim seeks recognition for the highest number of film awards received by a live-action fictional short film.
The awards span multiple festival competitions, award programs, and judging cycles across the international independent film circuit.
Evidence Submitted
The claimant provided a consolidated evidence package consisting of:
• A single master spreadsheet dataset containing 1,218 individual award entries
• FilmFreeway platform export data documenting festival-level award outcomes
• Category-level award documentation including certificates, festival announcements, and official results pages
• Supporting links to publicly available festival results where applicable
The final dataset presented each award as a unique entry including:
• festival or awarding body name
• award category
• notification date or competition cycle where available
• source of verification
Comparative and Cross-Archive Benchmark Review
Atlas World Records conducted a comparative review of publicly available record archives and record claims relating to the number of awards received by a live-action fictional short film.
The most clearly documented benchmark identified during this review was the Guinness World Records listing for “Most awards won by a live-action fictional short film,” which recognizes the film Cognition with a verified total of 383 awards.
Public record archives for this category are limited and fragmented across multiple record bodies and claimant-published sources. However, the Guinness benchmark provides the most widely recognized prior reference point located during Atlas’s review.
Based on the consolidated award ledger submitted for verification, the short film Dojo has received 1,218 documented award recognitions, which exceeds the previously documented benchmark identified during the cross-archive review.
Accordingly, Atlas World Records recognizes Dojo as establishing the record for:
Most Awards Won by a Live-Action Fictional Short Film.
Verification Methodology
Atlas World Records conducted its verification using a consolidated master dataset submitted by the claimant, which itemizes 1,218 individual award recognitions associated with the short film Dojo. The dataset provides line-by-line documentation including the awarding organization, the specific award category or recognition, and the associated evidence source.
The verification process involved:
reviewing the consolidated award ledger to confirm the total count of documented recognitions
confirming that each entry identifies a specific awarding body and award category or recognition
reviewing supporting documentation including festival results pages, certificates, and official award announcements where available
ensuring that the submitted dataset does not contain duplicate listings of the same award instance
confirming that each entry reflects a distinct award or recognition granted to the film
This method allows the record total to be verified through an auditable award ledger, where each award instance is individually documented and traceable to an identifiable awarding organization.
The certified total reflects the documented award recognitions contained within the submitted master dataset and supporting materials reviewed during the Atlas adjudication process. Future awards received by the film after the close of the evidentiary record are not included in this certification unless a new submission and verification review is conducted.
Adjudication Findings
After review of the consolidated award index and supporting documentation, Atlas determined that:
• The dataset contains 1,218 individual award entries.
• The entries represent awards issued across multiple international film competitions and award programs.
• The evidence structure provides sufficient documentation to support the total claimed award count.
No duplicate entries were identified within the master dataset.
Conclusion
Based on the evidence reviewed and the methodology described above, Atlas World Records confirms that the submitted documentation supports a verified total of 1,218 film award recognitions for the short film Dojo.
