Riga film festival wraps with award-winners named

Juries of international and local experts judged 84 works competing for festival awards and special prizes from RIGA IFF partners.

An awards ceremony at the festival’s main venue, the historic Splendid Palace cinema, revealed the main 10 000 EUR cash prize went to the documentary film Songs of the Slow Burning Earth by Olha Zhurba. The jury described the winning film as ”a moving film that depicts the harsh reality of war away from the frontline with resilience, honesty and dignity”. The jury’s special mention went to Drowning Dry by the Lithuanian director Laurynas Bareiša – “an intriguing and suspenseful drama with credible characters and a subtle eye for contemporary society”.

As the winner of Short Film National Competition, which had 9 Latvian short films competing for the bronze statuete and the 1 000 EUR cash prize, was announced the short film North Pole directed by Roberts Vanags. ”With an eye for striking compositions and flashes of poetry that can transform the familiar at rare moments of the day or night, an atmospheric world is created that signals a fresh new voice in Baltic cinema,” jury stated. 

As the best film of the Short Film International Competition, and the recipient of the festival award and the 2 000 EUR cash prize, was announced Where Russia Ends by director Oleksiy Radynski – “a significant work of archive retrieval and restoration of collective memory, assembled with precise care, to safeguard the visibility and history of Russia’s indigenous peoples against imperialistic erasure and environmental ravages – matters of burning relevance in today’s Europe”. The jury’s special mention was awarded to Pubert Jimbob, the short animation film by Quirijn Dees, described as “a profoundly unique graduation film shows us the kaleidoscopic power of animation at its strangest and best”. 

In the ceremony the nominee for the ”Best European Short 2025” award was awarded to Adas Burkšaitis’ short film Left-handed Pen, described in jury’s statement as “with the suspense of a thriller and a precisely composed ensemble, this film doesn’t lose a second to let us witness an intimate story of hope and despair – and the work of a European director from whom we hope to see more in the future“.

The winner of the Baltic Music Video Competition was the music video Protection (artist – German postpunk group SMILE) directed by Latvian director Anna Ansone. It was described by the jury as “a perfect balance – complete, simple, and flawless, like well-made pasta. Sometimes, we aim to impress the world with complexity, but this video reminded us that simplicity is the true key to brilliance” and received the festival award and the 1 000 EUR cash prize.

Meanwhile the RIGA IFF Baltic Music Video Competition jury’s special mention went to the music video In My Nostrils (artist – musical project Zvīņas) by director Antons Georgs Grauds – “a remarkable blend of creativity, visual language, twisted spirituality and fly collection, this video captured us from the very beginning”. In collaboration with Radio SWH, the main audience award – advertising slots in Radio SWH programming worth 1 000 EUR – went to the creative team behind music video Visai Baika by Kedrostubùras (director – Elzė Vozbinaitė).

The winners of RIGA IFF FORUM, a section devoted to the film industry and its professionals, were also announced. The winner of SHORT RIGA Test Screenings and the recipient of the BBPosthouse prize – post-production services worth 5 000 EUR – was the short film Where Does the Sun Sleep at Night? by Ildze Felsberga.

SHORT RIGA Test Screenings panel of experts describes it as “a film that makes folk music resonate in rooms without windows, where employees are seeking meaning through rituals and repetition surrounded by obsolete furniture and technology“. Meanwhile the jury’s special mention went to Slush, a short film by Jēkabs Okonovs and Aivars Šaicāns, – “The unexpected, the happy accidents and the many shades of a new-born friendship intertwine in this story crafted by a power trio of creators sharing a strong bond and a lovely aura.“

The winner among the feature films and series presented in the film market co-production platform RIGA IFF SHOWCASE, awarded by the international jury, was Curtain, a feature film project by Valeria Sochyvets. “An urgent, raw relationship drama with two richly delineated main characters. The project promises a new strong female voice in contemporary European cinema, being the debut feature made by a young but prominent Ukrainian filmmaker,” the jury stated.

Meanwhile as the market exchange finalist to be presented at New European Market Zagreb this December was announced Cold, fiction series project by Domas Petronis and Tiago Guedes – “a solid, well-developed and gripping project with an obvious international appeal“.