1st prize
Siasar
Short film by Mahmoud Sharifi Asl · Afghanistan
Right to education
AWARDS
In 2025 an independent jury of four chose the winners for the first time. They watched every film in competition and judged each one on how well it makes the audience think about an issue that matters.
Audience Award
Each night visitors fill in a card and vote for their favourite film. We count the votes across the week and give the award on the closing night. For many of our guests it was the first time they took part in a vote like this.
The jury
Abdulcadir Ahmed Said
Somali filmmaker and teacher with more than 40 years in film. He trained in Rome and Moscow, founded the African Cinema Centre in South Africa and won the Golden Dhow at the Zanzibar International Film Festival.
Kinsi Abdulleh
Artist, curator and teacher. She co-directs Numbi Arts in East London and founded the Somali Museum, which tells the stories of Somali communities in the UK and around the world.
Samia Osman Ali
Somali filmmaker trained at the New York Film Academy in Abu Dhabi. Her short film Just Another Accent premiered in the Short Film Corner at Cannes. She is making a feature documentary in Somalia.
Noah Leanti
Italian–Eritrean filmmaker and producer working between Abu Dhabi and Asmara. He is making the feature Notes of a Disappearance. Short films he shot have screened at Clermont-Ferrand.
