The Best Documentary Award goes to “Welded together” by Anastasiya Miroshnichenko, a raw story on family and reconstructing your own past. The winner of the Short Film Competition is “The Spectacle” by Bálint Kenyeres, a portrayal of a young Roma boy searching for his spark.
Trieste, 24 gennaio - ‘Fantasy’ by the Slovenian director Kukla is the winner of the Trieste Award for the best feature film at the 37th edition of the Trieste Film Festival. ‘Fantasy’ is the journey of three girls, barely in their 20s, which explores the complexities of genre, desire and self-discovery, all starting from an encounter with a transgender woman. The film was shot, in part, in Trieste’s own Rozzol Melara, a brutalist neighbourhood in the Eastern part of the city. The victory was announced during the closing awards ceremony (on Saturday 24th at the Rossetti Theatre), which marks the end of this year's edition of the most important Italian event dedicated to Central and Eastern European cinema.
The Trieste Award (5,000 euros), was given to “FANTASY” (Slovenia, North Macedonia, 2025) by the jury (composed of Rebecca De Pas, Reta Guetg, and Mariëtte Rissenbeek), with the following motivation:
A film that weaves reality and imagination with a sense of lightness and playfulness, and tells a story that carries the audience away. With precision, respect, and empathy, it explores the challenges of being a young woman in a deeply traditional environment.
The jury decided to award a special mention for best directing to Vytautas Katkus for “THE VISITOR” (Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, 2025): This film takes us on a cinematic journey back to where we come from. Its delicate pace gives us time to go through the experience of the protagonist and explore his questions on life.
The Alpe Adria Cinema Award for Best Documentary in Competition, provided by the Opificio Neirami (2,500 euros), was granted to “WELDED TOGETHER” by Anastasija Mirošničenko (France, Belgium, 2025) by the jury (composed of Davide Abbatescianni, Vanja Jambrović and Marko Stojiljković) with the following motivation: The award goes to a film craft masterclass which, despite being an observational documentary, tells a story that feels stranger than fiction, with characters that feel larger than life - and does so independently, without any state funds. Welded Together is a unique, captivating and deeply moving work. With this film, Anastasiya Miroshnichenko establishes herself as a strong new voice to pay attention to in future.
Furthermore, the jury has awarded a special mention to “ACTIVE VOCABULARY” by Yulia Lokshina (Germany, 2025) with the following motivation: Yulia Loshkina deals with an array of topics: personal, anecdotal, societal and universal, that, seemingly, do not have much in common with one another, apart from painting a picture of Russia as an ever-lasting totalitarian state where those in power disregard the well-being of others. However, its form as a film-essay allows the filmmaker to thread them together, while the use of experimental techniques keeps the viewers engaged. The Special Mention goes to Active Vocabulary.
The TSFF Corti Award (2,000 euros) donated by the Fondazione Osiride Brovedani, was granted by the jury (composed of Silvia Carobbio, Oana Ghera and Eléna Laquatra) goes to “THE SPECTACLE” by Bálint Kenyeres (Hungary, France, 2025) with the following motivation: A quiet miracle which unfolds within a marginal Roma community becomes the starting point for a reflection on visibility and disbelief, as new technologies dissolve the ontological bond between image and reality. Inspired by cinema’s original sense of wonder, the camerawork does not explain the miraculous but patiently conjures it, shot by shot. By placing the extraordinary plainly before our eyes, the film asks us to believe again, and in doing so, it transforms seeing into a fragile act of attention toward lives lived in the margins.
The jury awarded a special mention to “THE ROAD HOME” by Marian Fărcuț (Romania, 2025) with the following: Two solitary lives meet and an unusual odyssey unfolds through nocturnal Transylvania, quietly revealing the contradictions of existence. Rooted in the specific experience of the Hungarian minority in Romania, the film nonetheless reaches beyond its geographical and historical setting, turning a local condition into a universal reflection on life at the margins, shaped by borders and silence.
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Among all films in competition, the spectators of the Trieste Film Festival have voted in their winners of the Audience Awards:
Best Feature Film: ”BRAT” by Maciej Sobieszczański (Poland, 2025)
Best Documentary: ”MILITANTROPOS” by Yelizaveta Smith, Alina Gorlova, and Simon Mozgovyi (Tabor Collective) – (Ukraine, Austria, France, 2025)
Best Short Film: “FOUND&LOST” by Reza Rasouli (Austria, 2025)
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Henceforth, the rest of the awards of the 37th Trieste Film Festival:
The CEI (Central European Initiative) Award, which goes to the film that best represents contemporary life and intercultural encounters (3.000 euros), goes to “ELECTING MS SANTA” by Raisa Răzmeriță (Moldova, 2025), with the motivation: Both intimate and universal, Electing Ms Santa is a moving exploration of identity, ambition, self-discovery and female empowerment. Director Raisa Răzmeriță’s powerful debut film set in rural Moldova is a testament to patient and long-time observation storytelling, exploring gender roles and the humanity of everyday heroes in transforming their communities.
The 2026 Corso Salani Award (2,000 euros) awarded by the jury (composed of Maurizio Di Rienzo, Renata Santoro and Giuditta Tarantelli) to the best film in the category, was given to “NELLA COLONIA PENALE” by Gaetano Crivaro, Alberto Diana, Silvia Perra and Ferruccio Goia (Italy, 2025) with these words: For not only its formal rigor, but also how it gives contemporary relevance to the stories of penal colonies, the vestiges of history. The prisoners, who have to perform agricultural labour, are framed, not with melodrama and cliché, but with moments of paradoxical irony. The impact of sound and photography is remarkable.
The 2026 Eastern Star Award is given to a person of interest in the world of cinema, whose work, just like the Trieste Film Festival, has contributed to creating a bridge between Eastern and Western Europe. The award for this edition goes to the Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi, also a guest at the festival.
The 2026 Cinema Warrior Award was given to U Cinemittu, the smallest cinema in Italy: the title recognizes the stubborn madness and sacrifice of those ‘warriors’ (whether independents, associations or festivals) who fight behind the scenes for the sake of cinema.
In direzione Donna (2,000 euros), the prize awarded by the G.O.A.P Trieste women’s shelter to films which give women a voice, transform our gaze and rewrite the modern imagination, goes to “WHITE LIES” by Alba Zari (Italy, Belgium, 2025) "For knowing how to tell intimate and personal stories, and leading the viewer, through the use of artistic cinematographic language, to empathise with the harsh consequences of the social judgement of women’s choices; whether they decide to pursue independence or they want to belong to a traditional family model. It’s a story of acceptance and resilience, in which we observe the world through the eyes of a woman who is intelligent, brave and free. The film reconstructs, with finesse and impact, the nuances - the connection and conflict - of emotional relationships, describing a bond between women which is painful, but full of tenderness and love. Most of all, it exposes the subtle and pervasive nature of violence against women - often invisible, but which is fought against everyday by women’s shelters. For these reasons, the GOAP awards the In Direzione Donna prize to White Lies by Alba Zari."
The Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso Transeuropa Prize for the best documentary in competition was given to “THE KARTLI KINGDOM” by Tamar Kalandadze and Julien Pebrel (Georgia, France, Qatar, 2025) ""Because, by focusing on the story of a small community abandoned to its fate for 30 years, this film transforms into a denunciation of the increasingly authoritarian political regime that has rendered these people invisible. Because, by intertwining memory and resistance, it reminds us that nationalism venerates heroes but forgets survivors. Because it shows us that war stays within people, and trauma resurfaces even in the face of the suffering of others. But above all, because, while it tells us of the bitterness of living suspended lives, it reveals a story of hope and struggle. It shows us how, even in marginalised conditions, by building bonds of solidarity, happiness is possible. "
The Cineuropa Prize, awarded by a jury from Cineuropa (the first european resource for cinema and audiovisual media in four different languages) for the best feature film in competition, goes to “FANTASY” by Kukla (Slovenia, North Macedonia, 2025), with these words: “For the delicate way in which the film shows the transition between adolescence and adulthood, and raises questions about dreams, friendship, love and intergenerational relationships, and its both modern and nostalgic representation of the mosaic of Balkan language, religion and culture. For the burbling electronic music, melancholy and non-conformist, which reinforces the aesthetic sensibilities of the film. For the dreamlike photography which is present throughout the film with mysterious lights, fleeting frames, Orphic nights, giant moons and mystical golden birds. For the relationships in the film, which are esoteric and liberatory, intertwined with death which represents passage and transition between genres. For the architectural locations which are, themselves, vivid characters. The Cineuropa Award at the 2026 TSFF goes to Fantasy by director Katarina Bogdanovic 'Kukla'.”
The Young People’s Jury Award PAG - Progetto Area Giovani del Comune di Trieste given by a jury made up of representatives of young people’s organisations between the ages of 18 and 35 to the best short film in competition goes to “COLDNESS” by Lena Jaworska (Poland, 2025) with the following motivation: For its emotional and directorial maturity in addressing contemporary social themes, and for the cohesion between creative vision and narrative.
The Oubliette Magazine Award given by the editorial staff to the best film in the Corso Salani category was given to “WHITE LIES” by Alba Zari (Italy, Belgium, 2025)
The SNCCI Critic’s Choice Award for Best Film of 2025 goes to “ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER” by Paul Thomas Anderson while the SNCCI Critic’s Choice Award for Best Italian Film of 2025 goes to “LE CITTÀ DI PIANURA” by Francesco Sossai.
This is IT is the section dedicated to fiction (or hybrid) feature films with a distinctive visual and creative approach which are in post-production, produced or coproduced in which an Italian production (or co-production) is either a majority or minority shareholder. The international jury, composed of Amaury Auge, Sabrina Baracetti and Núria Palenzuela Camon has given the Laser Film Award (10,000 euros) to “DEATH HAS NO MASTER” by Jorge Thielen Armand (Venezuela, Canada, Italy, Luxembourg) with the following motivation: For creating painting-like images and mixing contemporary political situations with a genre approach, the Laser award goes to Death has no master directed by Jorge Thielen Armand. The M74 Award goes, instead, to “EVERYTIME” by Sandra Wollner (Austria, Germany) for its extraordinary ability, with a spectacular long shot, to drag us into a world of desperate vitality, of lost youth, of heights and falls, of young lives shattered. The jury has decided to award a special mention to “PRIMA DELLA GUERRA” by Tommaso Usberti (France, Italy) for the following reason: with a bold and alarming portrayal of masculinity and violence, our Special Mention goes to Prima della Guerra by Tommaso Usberti.
The international jury of Last Stop Trieste (the section dedicated to documentary rough cuts), made up of Marko Eraković, Anne-Laure Negrin and Meike Statema, granted the Film Centre of Montenegro Award (2,000 euros) to “SACRED SONGS” by Nona Giunashvili and Mariam Bitsadze (Georgia), with the following motivation: a project that mesmerized us all with powerful yet restrained visual language. We felt privileged witnessing a world on the brink of disappearing. We admire the filmmaker's effort to keep the voices echoing in our minds. The jury also gave the HBO Europe Award (1,000 euros) to “BIRDIE” by Aneta Ptak (Poland), with the following motivation: we want to award this project for the courage to turn the camera inwards and transform the vulnerability into power. With a good sense of storytelling, this filmmaker uncovers the footage in an honest and authentic way.
More information on www.triestefilmfestival.it
