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Awards & Jury’s

The Sea Devil is the festival’s top prize for the best fantastic feature film

The Sea Devil is Imagine’s prize for the best feature film of the festival. The 2025 jury consists of journalist Joost Broeren-Huizinga, writer and director Ashgan El-Hamus and sound designer Robil Rahantoeknam.

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

Competition and jury Méliès d’Argent for the best European fantastic film

The Méliès d’Argent is awarded on behalf of the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF) to the best European fantastic feature film and short film. This year’s jury for the Méliès d’Argent for best European fantastic feature film consists of filmmaker Jasper ten Hoor, animator Hisko Hulsing and Katrien Lamers, director of cinema De Fabriek in Zaandam.

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

Competition and jury Méliès d’Argent for best short film

The Méliès d’Argent is awarded on behalf of the Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF) to the best European feature film and short film. This year, the jury for the Méliès d’Argent for the best European fantastic short film includes director Malu Janssen (who won this award last year!, creative producer and designer Ragna Margarita and festival programmer Thomas Streekstra.

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

The Silver Scream Award (Audience Award)

The Silver Scream Award is Imagine’s infamous and coveted audience prize. During the festival, visitors can vote via paper ballots distributed at screenings. You are the jury!

The audience of Imagine 2024 rated Sean Baker’s crime fairy tale Anora the highest, scoring 8,960. The Silver Scream Award 2024 is now officially hers.

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