17/11/2025 - Charlotte Devillers and Arnaud Dufeys’ film has triumphed at the 22nd Seville European Film Festival, while DJ Ahmet by Georgi M Unkovski took home the Grand Jury Prize

The announcement of the award winners at the 22nd Seville European Film Festival, with director Charlotte Devillers accepting the award for We Believe You via video link (© Lolo Vasco)

On Saturday 15 November, the 22nd edition of the Seville European Film Festival (which ran from Friday 7th) drew to a close with the unveiling of its winners and the presentation of awards to the victors. Thus, We Believe You [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arnaud Dufeys and Charlotte…
film profile], the debut feature by Belgian helmers Charlotte Devillers and Arnaud Dufeys, emerged as the big winner, scooping the Golden Giraldillo for Best Film as well as the statuettes for Best Screenplay (penned by the directors themselves) and Best Actress, which went to Myriem Akeddiou. The movie, which picked up a Special Mention in the Berlinale’s Perspectives section, is “an intense and restrained film that portrays a mother’s struggle to protect her children from their father within a justice system that places the focus on her”, according to the jury statement, which also praised the sheer courage of a movie that “turns a legal process into a collective reflection on systemic violence, vulnerability and empathy”.

Also, DJ Ahmet [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Georgi M Unkovski
film profile] by Georgi M Unkovski, which has already been lauded at Sundance, received the Grand Jury Prize – from a jury composed of Lynda Myles (chair), John Coven, Bonnie Voland, Laura Hojman and Nacho Martínez-Useros – “for its blend of humour, tenderness and vitality; it tells a tale of identity, tradition and freedom”. It also scooped the Best Actor Award for its young lead, Arif Jakup.

Meanwhile, The Anatomy of the Horses [+see also:
film review
film profile], the feature debut by Daniel Vidal Toche, received the Best Cinematography Award for Angello Faccini and Best Production Design for Juan Pablo Garay, while Palestinian-US filmmaker Cherien Dabis picked up the Best Director Award for All That’s Left of You [+see also:
film review
interview: Cherien Dabis
film profile], and Best Editing went to Hansjörg Weißbrich for his work on the Swiss production Late Shift [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Petra Volpe
film profile].

Furthermore, Catalonian writer-director Marc Ortiz, who was competing in the Rampa section with his first feature, Els mals noms, won the AC/E Award for Best Direction of a Spanish Film. The film also picked up the Queer Ocaña Freedom Award, while the Best Film gong in this section went to My Father’s Shadow [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Akinola Davies Jr
film profile] by Akinola Davies Jr.

In the Embrujo section, the Best Film laurel went to Life After Siham by Namir Abdel Messeeh. In Alumbramiento, Renovation [+see also:
film review
interview: Gabrielė Urbonaitė
film profile] by Gabriele Urbonaite won, and the Puerta América Award went to Sentimental Value [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Trier
film profile] by Norwegian helmer Joachim Trier.

Lastly, in the Panorama Andaluz strand, the Juan Antonio Bermúdez Award for Best Fiction Film went to Golpes, the feature debut by Rafael Cobos, and Best Documentary went to Tiempo entre olivos by Fany de la Chica.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Feature Film Competition

Golden Giraldillo for Best Film
We Believe You [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arnaud Dufeys and Charlotte…
film profile] - Charlotte Devillers, Arnaud Dufeys (Belgium)

Grand Jury Prize
DJ Ahmet [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Georgi M Unkovski
film profile] - Georgi M Unkovski (North Macedonia/Czech Republic/Serbia/Croatia)

Best Director Award
Cherien Dabis – All That’s Left of You [+see also:
film review
interview: Cherien Dabis
film profile] (Germany/Cyprus/Palestine/Jordan/Greece/Qatar/Saudi Arabia)

Best Screenplay Award
Charlotte Devillers, Arnaud Dufeys – We Believe You

Best Actress Award
Myriem Akeddiou – We Believe You

Best Actor Award
Arif Jakup – DJ Ahmet

Best Editing Award
Hansjörg Weißbrich – Late Shift [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Petra Volpe
film profile] (Switzerland/Germany)

Best Cinematography Award
Angello Faccini – The Anatomy of the Horses [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Spain/Peru/Colombia/France)

Best Production Design Award
Juan Pablo Garay – The Anatomy of the Horses

Short-film Competition

Best Live-action Short Film Award
In Her Arms - Roman Volosevych (Ukraine)

Best Animated Short Film Award
The Bird From Within - Laura Anahory (Portugal)

Embrujo

Best Film Award
Life After Siham - Namir Abdel Messeeh (France/Egypt)

Rampa

Best Film Award
My Father’s Shadow [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Akinola Davies Jr
film profile] - Akinola Davies Jr (UK/Nigeria)

Alumbramiento

Best Film Award
Renovation [+see also:
film review
interview: Gabrielė Urbonaitė
film profile] - Gabriele Urbonaite (Lithuania/Latvia/Belgium)

Puerta América

Puerta América Award
Sentimental Value [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Trier
film profile] – Joachim Trier (Norway/France/Denmark/Germany)

Panorama Andaluz

Juan Antonio Bermúdez Award for Best Fiction Film
Golpes – Rafael Cobos (Spain/France)

Juan Antonio Bermúdez Award for Best Documentary
Tiempo entre olivos – Fany de la Chica (Spain)

Jury Special Mention
No sea tu falta – Moisés Salama (Spain)

Rosario Valpuesta Award for Best Short Film
Allí, lejos de aquí – Pedro Gondi (Spain/Germany)

Rosario Valpuesta Special Award for Artistic Contribution
Las desqueridas - Charlie García Villalba, Gonzalo Ruiz Esteban (Spain)

Other awards

AC/E Award for Best Direction of a Spanish Film
Marc Ortiz – Els mals noms (Spain)

AAMMA Women in Focus Award
We Believe You - Charlotte Devillers, Arnaud Dufeys

Queer Ocaña Award for Freedom
Els mals noms – Marc Ortiz

Future Film Lovers’ Award
Bella - Manuel H Martín, Amparo Martínez Barco (Spain)

Europe Junior Prize
Pets on a Train - Benoît Daffis, Jean-Christian Tassy (France)

European Film – Screenwriting Award, University of Seville, in the fiction category

First prize
El infinito tiene hambre – Alejandro Ruíz Padín
Second prize
Nadie quiere enterrarte - Matías García Martín

Audience Grand Prix for Best Film in the European Film Academy Selection
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain [+see also:
trailer
interview: Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han
film profile] - Maïlys Vallade, Liane-Cho Han (France)

(Translated from Spanish)