21/11/2025 - Daring European co-productions have won big at the gathering, with other victors including The Kartli Kingdom, Past Future Continuous and Silent Flood

While the 38th edition of IDFA (13-23 November), and the first one under the auspices of new artistic director Isabel Arrate Fernandez, is still under way, it already crowned its prizewinners on Thursday 20 November during an awards ceremony held at the Eye Filmmuseum in the Dutch capital. There, it was announced that the IDFA Award for Best Film, worth €15,000, would be bestowed upon A Fox Under a Pink Moon (Iran/France/UK/USA/Denmark), a deeply moving self-portrait of a young artist, directed remotely by Mehrdad Oskouei but listing protagonist Soraya Akhalaghi as a co-director. “This film opens a window onto the power of art and hope during the difficult times through which we’re living,” the jury statement reads.

The IDFA Award for Best Directing (worth €5,000) in the International Competition went to Tamar Kalandadze and Julien Pebrel for their debut feature, The Kartli Kingdom [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Georgia/France/Qatar), as another instance of directorial collaboration leaving the jury with a lasting impression. “We were struck by the evident time and care the directors took in working with members of this community, in their ability to capture and convey a sense of home in such an unlikely place,” said the jury in a supporting statement. The Kartli Kingdom also received an IDFA Best First Feature Special Mention.

Moreover, the IDFA Award for Best Editing went to December (Argentina/Uruguay) by Lucas Gallo, with editing by Fernando Epstein, and the IDFA Award for Best Cinematography in the International Competition went to Silent Flood (Ukraine/Germany) by Pamfir [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk
interview: Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk
film profile] director Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk, with lensing credits split among Ivan Morarash, Oleksandr Korotun, Viacheslav Tsvietkov and the director himself. A Special Mention in the International Competition was given to Flood by Katy Scoggin (USA).

In the Envision Competition, the IDFA Award for Best Film (worth €15,000) went to Past Future Continuous [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Iran/Norway/Italy) by Morteza Ahmadvand and Firouzeh Khosrovani, following a unanimous decision as per the jury statement, which also praised the directors for having “invented and set up a reality where cinematic experience offers emotional truth”. The jury also handed the Best Directing Award (worth €5,000) to Lithuanian director Aistė Žegulytė-Zapolska for Holy Destructors (Lithuania/France/Latvia), while the Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution went to Miguel Eek for Amílcar (Spain/Portugal/France/Sweden/Cape Verde).

This year’s International Competition jury comprised Eric Hynes, Isabelle Glachant, Maya Daisy Hawke, Michel K Zongo and Myriam Sassine, and the Envision Competition jurors were Ansuya Blom, Gladys Joujou, Ignacio Agüero, Massimo D’Anolfi and Salomé Jashi. As for the cross-sectional prizes, the IDFA Award for Best First Feature (€5,000 in cash) went to Paikar [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (Netherlands/Afghanistan) by Dawood Hilmandi, and the IDFA Award for Best Dutch Film went to Maasja Ooms for My Word Against Mine (Netherlands). Paikar received a Special Mention in the same category, as well as the FIPRESCI Award.

A day earlier, on Wednesday 19 November, the IDFA Forum awards were announced in the Internationaal Theater Amsterdam (ITA). Hao Zhou’s project All Fixed Up (China) won the IDFA Forum Award for Best Pitch Project, while Kiva Liu’s Four Comrades, One Echo (Netherlands) took home the IDFA Forum Award for Best Producers Connection Project. The IDFA Forum Award for Best Rough Cut went to The Cord (France) by Nolwenn Hervé, with an additional prize of closed captioning and subtitles from inVision Subtitling, while the DocLab Forum Award was handed to Body Count (Philippines/Germany) by Cris Bringas. The jury additionally recognised Dreams of the Wild Oaks (Iran) by Marjan Khosravi with a Special Mention for the Best Rough Cut Project. Each award includes a cash prize of €1,500.

Here is the full list of this year’s award winners:

International Competition

IDFA Award for Best Film
A Fox Under a Pink Moon - Mehrdad Oskouei (Iran/France/UK/USA/Denmark)

IDFA Award for Best Directing
Tamar Kalandadze, Julien Pebrel - The Kartli Kingdom [+see also:
film review
film profile] (Georgia/France/Qatar)

IDFA Award for Best Editing
Fernando Epstein - December (Argentina/Uruguay)

IDFA Award for Best Cinematography
Ivan Morarash, Oleksandr Korotun, Viacheslav Tsvietkov, Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk - Silent Flood (Ukraine/Germany)
Special Mention
Flood - Katy Scoggin (USA)

Envision Competition

IDFA Award for Best Film
Past Future Continuous [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Morteza Ahmadvand, Firouzeh Khosrovani (Iran/Norway/Italy)

IDFA Award for Best Directing
Aistė Žegulytė-Zapolska - Holy Destructors (Lithuania/France/Latvia)

IDFA Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution
Amílcar – Miguel Eek (Spain/Portugal/France/Sweden/Cape Verde)

IDFA DocLab Competition for Immersive Non-Fiction

IDFA DocLab Award for Immersive Non-fiction
Feedback VR, un musical antifuturista – Claudix Vanesix for Collective AMiXR (Peru)
Special Mention
Under the Same Sky - Khalil Ashawi (Palestine/Turkey)

IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling

IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling
Artificial Sex (Ep. 1 & 2) - Anan Fries (Germany/Switzerland)
Special Mention
Coded Black - Maisha Wester (UK)

IDFA Competition for Short Documentary

IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary
An Open Field - Teboho Edkins (South Africa/France/Germany – short film)
Special Mention
Dreams for a Better Past - Albert Kuhn (Netherlands/Spain – short film)

IDFA Competition for Youth Film

IDFA Award for Best Youth Film (13+)
Everything Will Be Alright - Eefje Blankevoort, Lara Aerts (Netherlands)
Special Mention
Simply Divine - Mélody Boulissière (France/Romania)

IDFA Award for Best Youth Film (9-12)
What’s the Film About? - Poorva Bhat (India)
Special Mention
The Invisible Ones - Martijn Blekendaal (Netherlands/Belgium)

Other awards

IDFA Award for Best First Feature
Paikar [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Dawood Hilmandi (Netherlands/Afghanistan)
Special Mention
The Kartli Kingdom - Tamar Kalandadze, Julien Pebrel

IDFA Award for Best Dutch Film
My Word Against Mine - Maasja Ooms (Netherlands)
Special Mention
Paikar - Dawood Hilmandi

Beeld & Geluid IDFA Reframe Award
Remake - Ross McElwee (USA)
Special Mention
The Memory of Butterflies [+see also:
film review
interview: Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski
film profile] - Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski (Peru/Portugal)

FIPRESCI Award
Paikar - Dawood Hilmandi

IDFA Forum

IDFA Forum Award for Best Pitch
All Fixed Up - Hao Zhou
Producers: Jenny Wu (China), Tyler Hill (USA)

IDFA Forum Award for Best Rough Cut
The Cord - Nolwenn Hervé
Producer: Grande Ourse Films (France)

Special Mention
Dreams of the Wild Oaks - Marjan Khosravi
Producers: Seven Springs Pictures (Iran), Lukimedia SL (Spain), Avant la Nuit (France)

IDFA DocLab Forum Award
Body Count - Cris Bringas
Producer: INVR.SPACE (Philippines/Germany)

IDFA Forum Producers Connection Award
Four Comrades, One Echo - Kiva Liu
Producer: Kiva Liu (Netherlands)