Lucca Film Festival 2025 Awards

The winners of the International Feature Film and Short Film Competitions of the 21st edition of the Lucca Film Festival have been announced. The festival took place in the Tuscan city from September 20 to 28, 2025, under the artistic direction of Nicola Borrelli, and is made possible thanks to the support of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca.

Twelve Italian premieres were presented in the feature film competition, alongside twelve short films from around the world in their dedicated section. All screenings were free of charge, and – in addition to the official jury awards – both competitions featured an Audience Award, allowing viewers to vote for their favorite films.

In addition to the competing works, the Lucca Film Festival 2025 also honored several distinguished guests: American actor Kevin Spacey, Italian director Gianni Amelio, and British actor Malcolm McDowell received the Lifetime Achievement Award; actor and director Michele Riondino received the Golden Panther Award; actress Isabella Ragonese was presented with the Outstanding Woman in Film Award; and actor Alberto Paradossi from Lucca received the New Protagonists Award.

The International Feature Film Competition, curated by Stefano Giorgi and Mattia Fiorino, showcased twelve films from across the globe—from Russia to Germany, the United States to China, Taiwan, and Argentina—many of which had already been recognized at major international festivals. The selection combined debut works by emerging filmmakers with titles already acclaimed on the international circuit. The 2025 Feature Film Jury consisted of cinematographer Michele D’Attanasio, video editor Paola Freddi, and director, screenwriter, and producer Mimmo Calopresti.

The Best Feature Film Award 2025 went to East of Wall by American director Kate Beecroft, a debut feature presented at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Set on a dilapidated ranch in the Badlands, the film follows Tabatha as she struggles to provide for herself, her mother, and their neighbors — a group of rebellious teenagers she strives to protect. The jury’s motivation read: “A truthful film, with no boundaries between reality and fiction. The director loves the places and characters she portrays, and brings us into a world of free, wild women who love horses and life. The camera becomes an integral part of the story, making the viewer part of the narrative — a protagonist too — liberated, ideally riding alongside the women toward an open, boundless horizon.”

The Marcello Petrozziello Award, assigned by the press jury, went to Charliebird by American director Libby Ewing, her first feature, presented in competition at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival. Starring Samantha Smart and Gabriela Ochoa Perez, the film tells the story of an unexpected bond between a music therapist and a rebellious young patient.

The Audience Jury Mention was awarded to Atropia (USA), directed by actress and filmmaker Hailey Gates — her debut feature, premiered at Sundance (where it won the Grand Jury Prize), produced by Luca Guadagnino and starring Alia Shawkat and Callum Turner. Mixing military satire and comedy, the film is set in a fictional city built to simulate an Iraqi war zone — conveniently close enough to Los Angeles to also serve as a film set.

The Student Jury Mention went to In My Parent’s House (Im Haus meiner Eltern) by German director Tim Ellrich, an intimate debut film that rigorously explores family dynamics.

The International Short Film Competition, curated by Laura Da Prato and Dario Ricci, reached its eleventh edition this year, attracting over 800 submissions from around the world. Twelve short films were selected, including two world premieres, one European premiere, and – for the first time – a documentary. An exceptional jury awarded the best short films of the festival: actress and director Chiara Caselli, filmmaker and screenwriter Lamberto Bava, and Belgian director and screenwriter Fabrice Du Welz.

The Best Short Film Award 2025 went to Moti, an Indian film presented in European premiere, written and directed by Yash Saraf. The story follows a dog, Moti, who one day transforms into a boy. According to scientists, he has begun to evolve – but in becoming human, he is losing something vital along the way: his extraordinary sense of smell, his canine way of navigating the world. The jury motivation reads: “A dog becomes a child. Absurd, right? And yet, from this premise comes a story – a short film of rare originality and completeness – accompanied by the voice of the boy who once owned that dog. There is something both uncanny and heartbreaking in this child who was once a dog, disoriented like a blind person after losing his sense of smell. The voice-over narration – always a risky choice – proves to be a successful gamble.”

A Special Mention went to Stills Moving by Taiwanese director Kevin Tsung-Hsuan Yeh, in which a diagnosis of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) causes a sculptor to gradually lose control of her body. Facing an inevitable decline, the artist pours her heart and soul into her next work – a figurine of a little girl. The jury stated: “Sometimes, a touch of poetry is what we need. We were deeply moved by the protagonist’s struggle, rendered through an exceptional performance that reflects emotions many of us have experienced in life.”

The Audience Jury Mention went to In Style by French filmmaker Rémi Mardini, while the Student Jury Mention (second prize) was awarded to Stills Moving by Kevin Tsung-Hsuan Yeh. The Press Jury Mention went to Watch Me Burn, a British short co-written and directed by Sofia Spotti, which tells the story of Rue, a girl who, after an accident that leaves her almost deaf, moves with her parents to a remote village where she befriends a group of girls who pressure her into committing an act of cruelty as a test of acceptance.

The Lucca For Future International Competition, organized in collaboration with the Sofidel Group and curated by Leonardo Galeassi, featured a jury composed of Isabella Ragonese, Gaia Vallese, and Marco Gargiulo. The 2025 Winner was the Swiss documentary Niederurnen, GL (Malo vento) by Anna Joos, which tells the story of a forgotten valley in Switzerland where a malevolent wind haunts the daily lives of former Italian workers from an asbestos factory. The jury motivation read: “For its strong narrative coherence, which combines thoughtful use of archival material, personal testimonies, and refined artistic sensibility. For documenting a piece of history – also Italian – without falling into clichés or mere reportage. It reminds us that the future is inextricably tied to the impact of our choices and actions”. The Student Jury Mention went to Le petit et le Géant by Franco-Brazilian director Isabela Costa.

Also awarded were the two prizes from the ‘Scrivere Cinema’ screenwriting course, launched last year with the goal of helping young aspiring writers refine the art of cinematic storytelling, taught by screenwriter and director Cristina Puccinelli. The young participants were awarded a Best Story Prize worth €1,000 to support project development, and – new this year – the “Young Voices” Prize for the best story addressing contemporary youth issues, offered by the Commissione Giovani of the Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca.

Two awards were presented on the afternoon of Sunday, September 28, marking the 13th edition of Lucca Effetto Cinema, which – under the artistic direction of Irene Passaglia – transformed the historic center of Lucca on September 27 into a stage of cinematic evocations. Seventeen dance and theater companies brought to life spectacular performances that reawakened great cult classics of cinema. The Best Performance Award, dedicated to dance and theater companies, carried a value of €500, offered by the Lions Club Lucca Le Mura with its president Giuseppe Guerra. The Best Set Design Award, dedicated to local businesses, was also worth €500 (in eco-sustainable tableware) and was offered by Naturanda di Bartoli S.p.A..

The Over The Real Competition, curated by Maurizio Marco Tozzi, Lino Strangis, and Veronica D’Auria, and judged by Alessandra Arnò, Ivana Sremcevic Matijevic, and Alessandro Romanini, announced the 2025 Winner: Show Your Wound by German artist Matthias Daenschel. Jury motivation: “For its ability to merge historical memory and visual experience into an innovative and immersive language. Through a masterful editing of thousands of archival photographs layered with real and symbolic landscapes, the work delivers an intense emotional experience that reveals the wounds of Berlin’s past. Its visual and narrative rhythm renews the dialogue between present and past, transforming a local context into a universally resonant reflection on history and collective memory.”

A Special Mention was also awarded to French artist Robert Cahen for his video Entre Nous, with the following motivation: “A recognized master of international video art, honored for the poetic refinement and depth with which he addresses themes of memory and perception. The work transports the viewer into a suspended dimension of fleeting encounters and vanishing presences, where the past intertwines with the present in a continuous play of echoes and impressions. With his unmistakable aesthetic sensitivity, Cahen invites us to reflect on the mysterious and intangible ways in which the human mind preserves traces of others and of lived experiences.”