At the festival’s home, the Splendid Palace, competition participants, local and foreign juries, guests and visitors gathered for a dazzling ceremony directed by Gerds Lapoška to honour the winners of the Riga International Film Festival (RIGA IFF) competition and industry programmes. The RIGA IFF continues on Sunday, October 26, at the Splendid Palace and Forum Cinemas, screening high-quality European auteur films alongside some of today’s most talked-about Hollywood mainstream releases.

Playing on the festival’s slogan, “SEE. SHIFT. BECOME.”, the RIGA IFF awards ceremony – once again directed by Gerds Lapoška – invited audiences to celebrate the transformations sparked in viewers by a refined cinematic experience. Actor and director Toms Harjo was entrusted with hosting the crowning event of the festival’s 12th season, while the band Alejas provided musical surprises throughout the evening.

This year, 78 films competed for the bronze statuettes designed by artist Ervins Broks and for prizes from festival supporters BBRental, BBPostHouse, Nafta Films, TV3, SWH TV, Erica Synths, the Oulu Music Video Festival, and Lights On. Over the course of 11 days, the jury watched and evaluated nine feature films from the Baltic Sea region, 30 short films from Latvia and around the world, as well as 15 music videos, in which Baltic directors and musicians explored the interplay between moving image and music. The awards ceremony also honoured the winners of the festival’s industry programme, RIGA IFF FORUM, including its sections RIGA IFF SHOWCASE and SHORT RIGA Test Screenings.

RIGA IFF 2025 laureates:

• RIGA IFF Feature Film Competition Winner – The Visitor (Svečias), dir. Vytautas Katkus

Jury statement: “This film portrays flawed characters with deep compassion, treating them not as fictional constructs but as fully human, breathing individuals. Through its drifting pace and immersive structure, it invites the viewer into a world that feels both intimate and universal. The exceptional cinematography captures the rhythm and beauty of small-town life, where the seemingly quiet surface conceals profound emotional currents. There is no external conflict here – only the quiet, powerful struggle within: learning to let go, to grieve, to move forward. With subtle irony and poetic restraint, this work marks a masterful debut and reveals a new, distinct Baltic voice in cinema.”

• RIGA IFF Feature Film Competition Jury Special Mention – Special Operation (Spetsialna Operatsiia), dir. Oleksiy Radynski

Jury statement: “With striking simplicity and precision, this film transforms raw surveillance footage into a powerful act of witnessing. Its detached gaze captures the slow unfolding of violence, revealing the banality of evil. Through detailed editing and subtle sound design, the film allows horror to emerge not from spectacle, but from observation. It exposes the absurdity of aggression and stands as a stark testimony to human endurance and the traces of war. “

• RIGA IFF Short Film National Competition Winner – Where Does the Sun Sleep at Night? (Kur saulīte nakti guļ?), dir. Ildze Felsberga

Jury statement: “Showcasing a great talent for guiding an ensemble cast, the director weaves together a series of elaborate vignettes. An impressive student film about the absurdity of life and work that finds the right balance between humor and seriousness.”

• RIGA IFF Short Film National Competition SWH Audience Award – Observer (Vērotājs), dir. Arnis Kalniņš
• RIGA IFF Short Film International Competition Winner – Drifting, South (Nan Fang Pian Nan), dir. Di Zhang

Jury statement: “A poetic portrait of fleeting connections, this film intertwines three lives on the margins with grace and compassion. Through moments of loss, transformation, and hope, it reveals the quiet power of chance encounters and the human desire to belong amid life’s restless flow.”

• RIGA IFF Short Film International Competition Jury Special Mention – tiny film about rape, dir. Nebe Motýlová

Jury statement: “Masterfully and sensitively crafted and narrated personal tragedy, putting a spotlight onto the topic of the rule of consent, which should long be the accepted standard, especially in intimate relationships, and not subjected to relativization.”

• Nominated for the European Film Academy Award: “The European Short Film 2027 – Prix Vimeo” – Antigone or The Story of Sara Benoliel (Antígona, ou a História de Sara Benoliel), dir. Francisco Mira Godinho

Jury statement: “In this haunting story of love, grief and solidarity, a woman refuses to play by the rules. The outstanding main actress carries the beautifully crafted and photographed film with her tender and nuanced performance.”

• RIGA IFF Baltic Music Video Competition Winner – Dragas by Lapkričio dvidešimtosios orkestras, dir. Robertas Nevecka

Jury statement: “Music videos. Cars. A match made in heaven. This year’s winner of the BMV prize is a bold and joyous affair in which cars, rubbish bins and toilets all add up to a provocative riot of colour and broken pixels, channelling the spirit of punk rock. The deceptively simple animation tinged with more than a touch of irony grabbed all of us jury members by the throat with its unique approach.”

• RIGA IFF Baltic Music Video Competition Erica Synths incentive prize (sound effects synthesizer Echolocator) – Zeme griežas by ANNIKA, dir. Ieva Aleksa
• RIGA IFF Baltic Music Video Competition Erica Synths incentive prize (drum synthesizer LXR) – Ir par maz by Evija Vēbere, E.V., dir. Dāvis Gauja
• RIGA IFF Baltic Music Video Competition Oulu Music Video Festival Special Award – Interval III by Tesa, dir. Ieva Balode

Jury statement: “Transforming a simple yet ingenious band performance clip into a found footage montage, this haunting video renders visible a spectrum of emotions that resist verbal expression: the unease of historical repetition, the lingering trauma of war, and the inextricable ties between past and present. Demonstrating a profound understanding of the materiality of cinema, the film is an assault on the senses in the most evocative way.”

• RIGA IFF SHOWCASE Winner (TV3 prize) – The Wedding Day (Līgava), dir. Marta Elīna Martinsone

Jury statement: “This film opened up a new window on a topic that has already become a common thing, but suddenly we see it in a new light and even language. “

• RIGA IFF SHOWCASE Winner (BBRental/BBPostHouse prize) – Hardsub, dir. Novruz Hikmet

Jury statement: “This project has this kind of cinematic magic – when you see this character on screen, you want to spend time with him, even though you can’t explain why.”

• SHORT RIGA Test Screenings Winner – Last Days (Paskutinės Dienos), dir. Kornelijus Stučkus

Expert statement: “We celebrate the ambition of telling a story with multifaceted themes and content, reflecting on life situations and the choices made or not yet. A film that offers a point of reflection about the different topics through the lens of a promising director.”

Latvia’s largest celebration of cinema continues through the evening of Sunday, 26 October, inviting film lovers to make the most of the festival’s final day and experience the carefully curated big-screen programmes prepared by the RIGA IFF team. Tickets for these final screenings are still available on the RIGA IFF website (rigaiff.lv), at Biļešu Serviss box offices and at Forum Cinemas and its website.

You can follow the festival’s latest updates on rigaiff.lv and on RIGA IFF’s social media channels. RIGA IFF is supported by the State Culture Capital Foundation, the Creative Europe MEDIA Programme, the Riga City Council, the Investment and Development Agency of Latvia, the National Film Centre and the Investment and Tourism agency of Riga.

Photos from the RIGA IFF AWARDS 2025: rigaiff.lv/awards2025photosWhen using for publicity, please credit RIGA IFF, Valters Kristovskis / Elizabete Didža / Agneta Ragauska