Awards & Jury’s

2024 winner: Rita

From the jury report:

‘Jayro Bustamante packs an indictment of the harsh conditions in a youth boarding school in Guatemala into a fairytale as fairytale as it is grim, designed with sophisticated cinematography and carried by strong leads. Rita is more than a political pamphlet: a deeply moving film that shows that reality is sometimes best seen through the lens of the fantastic.‘

This year’s nominees

• Cielo – Alberto Sciamma – United Kingdom
• I Live Here Now – Julie Pacino – United States
• Mag Mag – Yuriyan Retriever – Japan
• The Virgin of the Quarry Lake – Laura Casabe – Argentina, Mexico, Spain
• Mārama – Taratoa Stappard – New Zealand
• Roqia – Yanis Koussim – Algeria, France
• Another World – Tommy Kai Chung Ng – Hong Kong
• Mother of Flies – Toby Poser, John Adams, Zelda Adams – United States
• Man Finds Tape – Paul Gandersman, Peter S. Hall – United States

2025 winner: tba

Previous winners

• 2024: Mr. K – Tallulah H. Schwab
• 2023: Vermin – Sebastien Vanicek
• 2022: Attachment – Gabriel Bier Gislason
• 2021: Censor – Prano Bailey-Bond
• 2020: Dogs Don’t Wear Pants – Jukka-Pekka Valkeapää
• 2019: O Beautiful Night – Xavier Böhm
• 2018: The Place – Paolo Genovese
• 2017: Skins – Eduardo Casanova
• 2016: The Survivalist – Stephen Fingleton
• 2015: Liza, The Fox-Fairy – Károly Ujj Mészáros

This year’s nominees

• Bulk – Ben Wheatley – United Kingdom
• Dog of God – Lauris & Raitis Abele – Latvia
• Flush – Grégory Morin – France
• The Forbidden City – Gabriele Mainetti – Italy
• The Ice Tower – Lucile Hadzihalilovic – France, Germany, Italy
• The Kiss of the Grasshopper – Elmar Ivanov – Germany, Luxembourg, Italy
• The Occupant – Hugo Keijzer – The Netherlands, United States
• Phase – Jessica Vogt – United Kingdom
• The Piano Accident – Quentin Dupieux – France
• Reflection in a Dead Diamond – Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani – Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Italy

2024 winner: Barlebas

From the jury report:

‘The poetic images and beautiful sound design bring to life a world you can not only see and hear, but also smell and feel. The whole film shows an awful lot of attention and love for detail. At a very confident and calm pace, we are transported into a world, not even that far away from here, but long ago – while the film will continue to echo in your head for a very long time after it’s over.

This year’s nominees

• A Chime in the Dark – Sylvester Le – The Netherlands
• Astray – Nick Kaiden, Hidde de Visser – The Netherlands
• Behind the Door – Justus van den Elsen – The Netherlands
• Cosmic Crash – James Smith – Germany
• Do No Harm – Eron Sheean – The Netherlands
• Don’t Be Afraid – Mats Udds – Sweden
• Dreamwalker – Luca Schenato, Sinem Vardarli – United Kingdom
• Echoes of an Outlaw – Vivian van Enkhuizen – The Netherlands
• Facuk – Maida Srabovic – Croatia, Slovenia
• Fathoming Dinner – Oleksandra Davydenko, Leja Kancerevyciute – The Netherlands
• Fatum – Pim Vogels – The Netherlands
• Foreign Body – Mathieu Mortelmans, Cécile Delberghe – Belgium
• Frankenstein’s Dream – Simon Pummell – The Netherlands
• Moral Hazard – Luuk Audenaerde – The Netherlands

• Papya – Constance Delorme, Erwan Dean – France
• Paradise Morbid – David-Jan Bronsgeest – The Netherlands
• Pimple – Fernando Alle – Portugal
• Pocongodorie – Ivan Hidayat, Jasper ten Hoor – The Netherlands
• Primus The Robot – Max Delagrave – France
• Radix – Anne Breymann – Germany
• Red Harvest – Chadim M’Bodji – The Netherlands
• Saint Maria’s Way – Chris Turner – United Kingdom
• Secuencial – Bruno Caetano – Portugal
• Skin of Sadness – Hasan Ege Çaliskan – The Netherlands
• Solipsiae – Marco Manzoni – Italy
• Subject – Noa Scheinowitz – The Netherlands
• The Beast Inside – Olga Poliektova, Tatiana Poliektova – France
• The Cauldron – Thomas Pierce – Slovenia
• The Last Snow – Rodolphe Bouquet-Populus – France
• The Second Time Around – Jack Howard – United Kingdom