Walter Salle’s 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 prize, awarded 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 Oscar-nominated 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 prize was open to 10 non-fiction films screened at the festival. The Palestinian/Israeli film “No Other Land” was the only eligible film to also make the Oscars shortlist for Best Documentary Feature. It has also won top honors 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’s programming team to be the most outstanding 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 receiving 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 moviegoers to a film that promotes understanding and acceptance, went to the US/Ukraine co-production “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 received a cash prize of $2,000, went to the French drama “Souleymane’s Story” from director Boris Lojkine.
The 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival ran from January 2-12 in the resort east of Los Angeles.
Here are the winners and the jury’s statements:
FIPRESCI Award for Best International Feature Film: “I’m Still Here” (Brazil), director Walter Salles
Jury statement: “To ‘I’m Still Here’ to convey the horror of encroaching dictatorship from the intimate perspective of a mother defending not only her family of five, but her dignity. Director Walter Salles evokes the gravity of the violence without resorting to melodrama and captures a critical moment of history with meticulous and compelling detail.”
FIPRESCI Award 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 – allowing the story to unfold through the eyes of complicated female characters.”
FIPRESCI Award for 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’, showing a virtuoso range of expression, from song and dance to her powerful interpretation of a morally shadowed character. Although her character plays a supporting role, she drives the story with the power of a protagonist.”
FIPRESCI Award 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 making their acting debut in Kneecap. They prove equally genuine and explosive in both capacities, bringing a fresh and driving 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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Award for best documentary: “No Other Land” (Palestine), directors Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor
Special Mention for Best Documentary: “Blue Road – The Edna O’Brien Story” (Ireland/UK), 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 being driven from their homes by the Israeli Defense Forces and attacks by Israeli settlers, we present the award for Best Documentary to ‘No Other Country.'” This the film clarifies the bond between two filmmakers – one Palestinian, the other Israeli – without sentimentalizing the relationship, without emphasizing the different rules that apply to Israelis living under civil law and Palestinians ruled by Israeli military law We complement festival programmers with an extraordinary selection of documentaries in competition and give a special mention to “Blue Road – The Edna O’Brien Story”, which reveals the creative genius and exceptional vitality 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 Assign: “The New Year That Never Came” (Romania), Director Bogdan Mureșanu
New Voices New Visions Special Mention: “Let’s not 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 how he incorporates a myriad of plot lines, leading them to a triumphant conclusion to Ravel’s “Bolero.” We particularly 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 amazing portrayal of Bobo in “Don’t Let’s Go the Dogs Tonight.” Her presence and emotional intelligence provide a child’s 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 unanimously chose ‘Sujo’ for its elegant, nuanced portrayal of a young boy struggling to escape overwhelming violence and poverty in a small Mexican town. Meticulously paced and darkly poetic, the film offers its protagonist an unusually optimistic and humane end of his story With outstanding performances from its young cast and beautiful, ethereal cinematography, “Sujo” cements the status of filmmaking duo Astrid Rondero and Fernanda Valadez. as a rising star 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”(USA/Ukraine), director Joshua Zeman
Special mention of Desert View: “Desert Angel” (USA), 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 community spirit of a small group of local Ukrainians who captured the hearts of a global audience through social media posts during the chaotic early 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 save 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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Winner of the Young Cinemates Award: “Tatami” (Georgia/Israel/Iran), directors Zar Amir Ebrahimi and Guy Nattiv
Young Cineaste’s Special Mention: “Superboys of Malegaon(India/USA), director Reema Kagti
Jury statement: “The 2025 Young Cineastes Jury is proud to present the Young Cineastes Award to ‘Tatami.'” We chose this film because it is a “non-fiction” fictional story packed with unique images, bringing foreign political awareness to viewers. The film tells a story of resilience where every decision affects the lives of individuals.”
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.
