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WINNERS 2025
BEST FEATURE FILMS
Award: GOLDEN HERON
Filhos do Meio - Hip Hop à Margem
by Luís Almeida
Jury Statement:
An authentic portrait of a cultural identity that defined an era and a generation of multifaceted artists who, from a socially and politically stigmatized place, managed to create their own version of a global phenomenon within Portuguese music.
Without nostalgia or stereotypes, through the skillful combination of archival footage and contemporary testimonies, this documentary offers an innovative and reflective historical perspective on identity and art. It also affirms the culture of a city, successfully conveying to the audience the joy and vitality of this “Southern Mafia.”
A record that convinced the jury, which unanimously decided to award the Golden Heron to the film Filhos do Meio – Hip Hop à Margem, by Luís Almeida.
HONORABLE MENTION
Explode São Paulo, Gil
by Maria Clara Escobar
Jury Statement:
The jury also awarded—once again unanimously—an Honorable Mention to the film Explode São Paulo, Gil, by Maria Clara Escobar, for the intelligent and complex way in which it introduces us to a hybrid narrative about a working woman who stubbornly dedicates herself to the pursuit of her dream. It is a punk-political film brimming with cinematic inventiveness.
AUDIENCE AWARD
The Scent of Things Remembered
by António Ferreira
BEST SHORT FILMS
Award: GOLDEN HERON
Sabura
by Falcão Nhaga
Jury Statement:
The perspectives on a plural Lisbon, filled with countless stories of people from so many places, took us on a journey into lives we encounter every day but which rarely take center stage in the city’s narratives.
From the very first scene, the film presents a striking narrative and cinematic proposal. The embrace between a young Guinean couple at Lisbon airport promises eternal love, which later transforms into an uncertain future. Love becomes the anchor that makes us believe that, despite a life marked by religious differences and migration, love endures.
The care Falcão Nhaga gives to every word, every shot, and every scene reveals remarkable maturity and talent, shared also by actress Binete Undoque and actor Joãozinho da Costa, who bring Cadija and Tony to life. We want to see more films by Falcão Nhaga, and for this reason we award the Golden Heron to his film SABURA.
HONORABLE MENTION
Quem Se Move
by Stephanie Ricci
Jury Statement:
Living here and there, belonging as much to one place as to another, is a feeling of non-place so familiar to those who migrate. QUEM SE MOVE, by Stephanie Ricci, takes us through one night into the dilemmas of someone striving to root themselves financially and emotionally in a new place—in this case, Lisbon. Moved by the honesty and sensitivity of this film, we have decided to award it an Honorable Mention.
AUDIENCE AWARD
Flying Carpet
by Justin Amorim
YOUTH AWARD
Francisco Perdido
by Frederico Mesquita
BEST STUDENT SHORT FILM
CURTAS À PRIMEIRA VISTA AWARD
A Mother Goes to the Beach
by Pedro Hasrouny
Jury Statement:
It is not every day that we encounter a story so simple and so beautifully realized. A MOTHER GOES TO THE BEACH captures the silent turbulence of family relationships, culminating in an embrace that becomes a place of hope. Pedro Hasrouny reveals a remarkable sensitivity to gesture, silence, and distance, crafting a film that communicates above all through what remains unsaid. The result is a delicate portrait of motherhood, exquisitely interpreted by actress Cláudia Jardim.
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