Walter Salles’ Brazilian drama “I’m Still Here” was named the best of the 35 Oscar-contending international films at the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival, PSIFF announced on Sunday.
The award given out by a jury from the international film critics association FIPRESCI was open to 35 of the 85 eligible films in the category, including all 15 of the Oscars shortlisted titles. “I’m Still Here” won in a field that also included Golden Globes winner “Emilia Pérez,” “The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” “Flow,” “Vermiglio,” “Kneecap” and others.
Italy’s “Vermiglio” won the award for screenplay, while acting awards went to Zoe Saldaña for “Emilia Pérez” and the trio of Irish hip-hop musicians Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Provái for “Kneecap.”
The documentary award was open to 10 nonfiction films that screened at the festival. The Palestinian/Israeli film “No Other Land,” was the only eligible film that also made the Oscars Best Documentary Feature shortlist. It has also won the top prize from the International Documentary Association’s IDA Documentary Awards, the Cinema Eye Honors and a number of critics’ groups.
Seven films qualified for the New Voices/New Visions Award, which was open to first or second features from filmmakers judged by the festival programming team to be the most distinctive new directors of the past year. Romanian director Bogdan Mureșanu won the award for “The New Year That Never Came,” with actress-turned-director Embeth Davidtz taking a special mention for “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight.”
In other awards, the Ibero-American Award for the best of 10 festival films from Latin America, Spain or Portugal went to Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez’s “Sujo”; the Desert Views Award, given by a jury of local filmgoers to a film that promotes understanding and acceptance, went to the U.S./Ukraine coproduction “Checkpoint Zoo”; the Young Cineastes jury of high school film fans chose Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv’s “Tatami” over Reema Kagt’s “Superboys of Malegaon,” Gabriele Fabbro’s “Trifole” and William Goldenberg’s “Unstoppable”; and the Bridging the Borders Award, which was sponsored by 360 Media and carried a cash award of $2,000, went to the French drama “Souleymane’s Story” from director Boris Lojkine.
The 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival ran from Jan. 2-12 in the desert resort town east of Los Angeles.
Here are the winners and jury statements:
FIPRESCI Prize for Best International Feature Film: “I’m Still Here” (Brazil), Director Walter Salles
Jury Statement: “To ‘I’m Still Here,’ for conveying the horror of encroaching dictatorship from the intimate perspective of a mother defending not just her family of five, but her dignity. Evoking the severity of the violence without resorting to melodrama, director Walter Salles captures a critical moment of history in scrupulous and compelling detail.”
FIPRESCI Prize for Best International Screenplay: “Vermiglio” (Italy), Director Maura Delpero
Jury Statement: “To writer-director Maura Delpero, for subverting the conventions of a wartime drama within the framework of an elegant period piece — and letting the story unfold through the eyes of complicated female characters.”
FIPRESCI Prize for the Best Actress in an International Feature Film: Zoe Saldaña – “Emilia Pérez”(France), Director Jacques Audiard
Jury Statement: “To Zoe Saldaña, for the ferocity and complexity of her performance in ‘Emilia Pérez,’ which shows a virtuosic range of expression, from song and dance to her potent interpretation of a morally shaded character. Although her character plays a supporting role, she drives the narrative with the power of a protagonist.”
FIPRESCI Prize for Best Actor in an International Feature Film: Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Provái – “Kneecap” (Ireland), Director Rich Peppiatt
Jury Statement: “To Mo Chara, Móglaí Bap, and DJ Provái, for their seamless performance as an ensemble of musicians who make their acting debut in Kneecap. Proving equally authentic and explosive in both capacities, they bring a fresh and propulsive energy to the whole notion of cultural identity.”
FIPRESCI jury: Brian D. Johnson (Canadian Film Critic), Marcelo Janot (Brazilian Film Critic), and Paola Caseslla (Italian Film Critic).
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Best Documentary Award: “No Other Land” (Palestine), Directors Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor
Best Documentary Award Special Mention: “Blue Road – The Edna O’Brien Story” (Ireland/ United Kingdom), Director Sinéad O’Shea
Jury Statement: “For its compelling immersion into the lives of Palestinian villagers in the West Bank who face the constant threat of expulsion from their homes by the Israel Defense Forces and attacks by Israeli settlers, we award the Best Documentary Award to “No Other Land.” This film foregrounds the bond between two filmmakers – one Palestinian, the other Israeli – without sentimentalizing the relationship, but emphasizing the different rules that apply to Israelis who live under civil law and Palestinians governed by Israeli military justice. We complement festival programmers on an extraordinary selection of documentaries in competition and award a Special Mention to “Blue Road – The Edna O’Brien Story,” which reveals the creative genius and exceptional life force of the great Irish writer.
Jury: Dale Cohen (UCLA Documentary Film Legal Clinic), Matthew Carey (Deadline), and Tishon Pugh (New Orleans Film Society)
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New Voices New Visions Award: “The New Year That Never Came” (Romania), Director Bogdan Mureșanu
New Voices New Visions Special Mention: “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight”(South Africa), Director Embeth Davidtz
Jury Statement: “The director of our winning film lives up to the promise he showed in 2019 when his short ‘The Christmas Gift’ won ShortFests’ Best of the Festival Award. We appreciated the way that he incorporates a myriad of storylines, bringing them to a triumphant conclusion set to Ravel’s ‘Bolero.’ We especially admired his use of dark comedy to explore the impact on individual citizens of the Ceausescu dictatorship and its fall. We’d also like to give a Special Mention to Lexi Ventor for her stunning portrayal of Bobo in ‘Don’t Let’s Go the Dogs Tonight.’ Her presence and emotional intelligence offer a child’s eye view of the experience Zimbabwe faced as it entered its period of decolonization.”
Jury: Beth Barett (Seattle International Film Festival), Gil Robertson (African American Film Critics Association), and Justine Barda (Telescope Film)
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Ibero-American Award: “Sujo”(Mexico), Director Astrid Rondero, Fernanda Valadez
Ibero-American Special Mention: “Manas” (Brazil/Portugal), Director Marianna Brennand
Jury Statement: “We have unanimously selected ‘Sujo’ for its elegant, nuanced portrayal of a young boy struggling to escape overwhelming violence and poverty in a small Mexican town. The film is meticulously paced and darkly poetic, offering its protagonist an unusually optimistic and humane ending to his story. Featuring outstanding performances from its young cast and beautiful, ethereal cinematography, ‘Sujo’ cements filmmaker duo Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez’s rising-star status in the contemporary Mexican cinema scene.”
Jury: Anna Marie De La Fuente (Variety), Chloë Roddick (Morelia International Film Festival), and Danny Hastings (Official Latino Film Festival)
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Desert Views Award Winner: “Checkpoint Zoo”(United States/Ukraine), Director Joshua Zeman
Desert Views Special Mention: “Desert Angel”(United States), Director Vincent DeLuca
Jury Statement: “The 2025 Desert Views Jury is proud to present the Desert Views Award to Checkpoint Zoo. This film embodies the spirit of community through a small group of local Ukrainians that captured the hearts of a global audience through social media posts in the early chaotic days of the Russian invasion. Against all odds and great personal sacrifice, an unlikely group of volunteers united their community and inspired hope globally in an effort to rescue animals.”
Jury: Jose Macias (Desert Hot Springs), Margaret Quirante (Morongo Valley), Matt Ramirez (Cathedral City), Tanisha L. Alston (Palm Desert), and Sohelia Crane (Palm Desert)
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Young Cineastes Award Winner: “Tatami” (Georgia/Israel/Iran), Directors Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv
Young Cineastes Special Mention: “Superboys of Malegaon”(India/United States), Director Reema Kagti
Jury Statement: “The 2025 Young Cineastes Jury is proud to present the Young Cineastes Award to ‘Tatami.’ We selected this film because it is a ‘non fiction’ fictional story packed with unique visuals, that brings foreign political awareness to its viewers. The film tells a story of resilience where every decision impacts individuals’ lives.”
Jury: Joseph Manjarrez (Palm Springs High School), Lyla Valentine (Palm Desert High School), and Stephanie Lopez (Palm Springs High School)
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Bridging the Borders Award: “Souleymane’s Story”(France), Director Boris Lojkine
Bridging the Borders Special Mention: “Happy Holidays”(Palestine/Germany/France/ Italy/Qatar), Director Scandar Copti
Jury: Abbas Yari, Ali Murat Erkorkmaz, Bijan Tehrani, Granaz Moussavi, Keely Badger, Marcy Garriott, Michael Franck, Matt Ferro, Susan Morgan Cooper, and Vladek Juszkiewicz.