Best of Festival Award

And Granny Would Dance, dir. Maryam Mohajer

Marmar listens to stories told by her grandmother’s friends, as they play an illicit card game. This is a tribute to the solidarity of Iranian women, based on childhood memories and shared stories.

Andy Jones VFX Award

Benji, dir. Oscar Garth

A seemingly innocent television commercial for a family-friendly recycling bin becomes increasingly unsettling when the father decides to recycle more than just his typical household waste.

Best Advertising Award

Boubacar, dir. Ivetta Urozhaeva

Boubacar Tangara, a Malian refugee, arrives in Germany without knowing the language. Tangara uses football to unite people and inspire a refugee centre despite the underlying ethnic tensions.

Best Animation Award

And Granny Would Dance, dir. Maryam Mohajer

Marmar listens to stories told by her grandmother’s friends, as they play an illicit card game. This is a tribute to the solidarity of Iranian women, based on childhood memories and shared stories.

Best Artists’ Film Award

Beacons, dir. Jasmina Cibic

A cinematic journey unfolds as eight women translate speeches from the inaugural conference of cultural workers from Non-Aligned Movement countries into a mesmerising musical score. 

Best Comedy Award

I’m Not a Robot, dir. Victoria Warmerdam

After a series of unsuccessful attempts to complete a Captcha test, feminist Lara must find the answer to the question of whether she is a robot, and, as such, a possession owned by her own boyfriend. 

Best Dance Award

Where Do Ants Sleep at Night, dir. Dean Wei

A man and a woman suffer from the same terrible disease: they do not fit in. Their world, which is a bleak office space, is disrupted when a pigeon flies in through the window and wreaks total havoc. 

Best Documentary Award

An Act of Service, dir. Brandon Kapelow

A fire-fighter undergoes ketamine-assisted psychotherapy in an attempt to resolve his work-related PTSD, and learns to break down the stigma for others struggling with their mental health. 

Best Documentary Feature

At the Door of the House Who Will Come Knocking, dir. Maja Novaković 

Set within the harsh yet beautiful landscape of Bosnia & Herzegovina, the film follows an elderly man living in isolation, weaving together a tapestry of dreamlike visuals, as the narrative records his daily life.

Best Drama Award

Alarms, dir. Nicolas Panay

Pierre is diligently overseeing the completion of the tumultuous construction site that will become a new eco-district. But for now, he is ensuring that progress doesn’t come at the cost of safety. 

Best Experimental Award

You Can’t Get What You Want But You Can Get Me, dir. Samira Elagoz and Z Walsh

This is a slideshow of two trans men falling in love. Over the span of one year, the artist couple photographed real-life events such as their first kiss, meeting each other’s parents and top surgery.

Best Fashion Film Award

Soulful, dir. Callum Lloyd-James

An homage to the Northern Soul movement, a subculture born out of the 1970s underground music scene, this film immerses the audience in the sights, sounds and sensations of the dance floor.

Best Music Video Award

Sabali, dir. Valentin Guiod

Sabali, which means “patient” and “immortal”, is a poetic showcase of the resilience of Moudou’s migration, his clandestine odyssey, his unwavering fight for love and, above all else, his own patience. 

Best Narrative Feature

Ciurè, dir. Gianpiero Pumo

Salvo is a young father who struggles to support his son. When the whirlwind of violence turns against him, he runs into Ciurè, a transgender dancer, who helps him by opening doors to a kaleidoscopic gay night club where she performs every night. 

Best Thriller Award

Syncope, dir. Linus von Stumberg

After Whim successfully auditions for the dance piece Syncope, the choreographer is unsatisfied with her commitment. But this is just a glimpse of what his dark vision will demand of the dancers.

Best VR & 360 Award

Finally Me, dir. Marcio Sal

From an unnoticed brothel in Rio de Janeiro emerges a poetic tale, inspired by the Carnival, of the coming out of Mr. Saul, an aging musician burdened with a lifetime of rejection and shame. 

Best Game Award

Sorry We’re Closed, dir. à la mode games

You enter a demon world, where you collect items and manage your resources to stay alive. Open your Third Eye to see worlds, uncover secrets and solve puzzles in this survival horror game.s.

Best Cinematography Award

Sabali, dir. Valentin Guiod

Sabali, which means “patient” and “immortal”, is a poetic showcase of the resilience of Moudou’s migration, his clandestine odyssey, his unwavering fight for love and, above all else, his own patience. 

Best Director Award

Travel Socks, dirs. Tess Annan, Joseph Madden

As the world shuts down due to Covid, spirited young woman Orla ‘Socks’ decides to leave her home of Belfast and travel across the Irish Sea to the UK to secure herself legal access to an abortion.

Best Editing Award

Dope Fiend, dir. Rosanagh Griffiths

Fran, a clean-cut woman, waits for her partner Nia to join her for a therapy appointment. As the clock ticks, Fran is sent on a chaotic and increasingly surreal journey throughout the waiting room.

Best Screenplay Award

Does That Make Me a Woman, dir. Bec Evans

This short film unravels the many contradictions of womanhood – questioning what women are expected to embody, and the clash of strength and vulnerability that arises from these very pressures.