BY: THE FESTIVAL ADMINISTRATION • JUNE 14th 2025
After four eventful days in Grimstad, we here at the Norwegian Short Film Festival are proud to finally be able to present this year’s award winners! Many thanks to the juries and congratulations to all the winners.
This award goes to artists who has elevated this film with great precision and creativity. In a visually striking story, we are taken into a unique environment, which very few of us know. Here it is precisely listening and communicating with others that is central. The sound design adds subtle details, texture and carries the story forward with atmospheric precision.
Honorable mention goes to a young film worker who, through his profession, has contributed to a film with youthful energy, humor and rhythm., where we join in a metaphorical story about the creators of the mixtape Rønne.
An honorable mention goes to editor Andreas Hovde for RUNDOWN.
This year, the Norwegian Writers’ Guild’s screenwriter award, The Hourglass, goes to a film that, despite its short running time, gives us twists and turns like pearls on a string. The gallery of characters are perfectly orchestrated, the dialogue is surprising and natural, the structure organic, and with human insight and humor, truths about fragile masculinity are revealed.
The film ends in a surprising, but inevitable conclusion where the set-up is completely turned on its head. It is a perfect composition that is awkward, playful and precise, all at the same time.
This year’s Hourglass therefore goes to Filippa Lenth for SUGAR PAPA.
Honorable mention – MERCY by Hedda Mjøen
The Hourglass jury would like to highlight a timely film that, with its well-written and insightful script, shows the complexity of human relationships and highly charged situations. The ethical dilemmas are portrayed with credibility and empathy. The screenwriter masterfully demonstrates how difficult it is to stand in a polarizing debate and how one’s own morality is on the brink of collapse when faced with consequences in one’s own life.
In the last three days, we’ve seen many, in our opinion, bad movies and many great movies, and even better-than-great movies, and been through this big journey through the world of short films from around the globe.
Some of us had a clear decision of which movie that deserved the top spot, and others were having a hard time deciding. It took us a while, but we managed to make a final decision.
First, we want to give an honorable mention to a movie we all loved: TRASH by Gregory Bouzid, Maxine Crançon, Robin Delaporte, Mattéo Durand, Romain Fleischer, Alexis Le Ral, Margaux Lutz and Fanny Vecchie! We loved TRASH, because it wasn’t trash.
The winner of the Youth Jury Prize 2025 was an entertaining and chaotic movie. It was *kremt* fucking crazy and badass, it ended with everything going to hell, just like my last relationship (Mia/Lilly).
The 2025 Youth Award goes to GENDER REVEAL, directed by Mo Matton!
With warmth, humor, and a visual nod to 70s exploitation cinema, this film delivers an irresistible blend of style and charm.
We were particularly taken by the dynamic of the girl group on their way to an unknown event — a setting that puts the song to the ultimate test: does it work in a car with friends, volume up and windows down? The answer is a clear yes.
A film that pulls the audience into the infectious energy of music listening, capturing the joy and connection that music can create, this year’s Golden Chair for Music Video goes to director Martin Bremnes for DUSTER 75.
Why be bothered with becoming a human, when falling in love hurts much? Perhaps it’s better to stay a molecule? This year’s honorable mention goes to the sweetest film of the festival: BECOMING A HUMAN, directed by Ulfur Eyjolfsson.
Here is a short film that dares to swing big with its fearless independent spirit, anarchic visual language and memorable off-kilter score. The jury was impressed by the filmmaker’s playful approach, and their ability to satisfyingly wrap up a 14-minute ensemble in which communication and empathy transcend words. We’re eager to see what this director makes next.
The Golden Chair for Best International Short Film goes to SWEETWATER AQUARIUM, directed by Yvonne Zhang
A simple comedy of manners evolves into a rallying cry to resist conformity in this year’s honourable mention. This short presents a scenario so simple and contained – starting with just one staircase, two men, and a horse – before deftly escalating into the absurd and presenting a world full of rich and colourful characters. We hope to see more from this filmmaker.
An honorable mention goes to A BEAUTIFUL EXCUSE FOR A DEADLY SIN, directed by Hashim Sharaf
This film, from its title to its intimate approach, gives us a deeper understanding of what war does to people — and how they find hope among their forever trauma.
With uniqueness and care, the director was able to capture all aspects of how the aftermath of war shapes the lives of generations to come.
For its uncomplicated, pure observation of a family nearly 30 years after the Bosnian War, the Golden Chair for Best Short Documentary goes to CEASEFIRE by Jakob Krese.
Honorable mention – APOCALYPSE by Benoit Méry
This creative and immersive film gives us a peek into a subculture to reveal how we’re both so similar and different. Here, we witness how music can unite and heal us as an ocean of fans assemble to release cathartic energy.
For its hypnotizing sound design, mesmerizing cinematography, and strangely uplifting vibe, an Honorable Mention for Short Documentary goes to Apocalypse by Benoit Méry.
For their directorial skill in capturing the comedic and poignant nuances of an artist family striving to constantly prove themselves to an unrelenting critical world — and to each other, the jury is pleased to give the TERJE VIGEN AWARD to the film POOR ME, by director Liv Joelle Barbosa Blad.
Honorable mention – FAMILY by Clara Vida
With the use of poetic voiceover and extensive montage, this film paints a portrait of the individuals that make up a family. Their past and present life come together in a surprising shift, that in a capturing way shows us what a profound, chaotic and brutal experience it can be to have a family.
The jury is delighted to award The Golden Chair to a film that held us in suspense, skillfully navigating the fraught terrain of sexual politics. With razor sharp dialogue and outstanding performances it highlights the many facets that shape our judgments—what to believe, who to support—without forcing us to choose a side.
Instead, it draws us into the tension experienced by the protagonist who is torn between empathy for the accused and loyalty to the accusers. It is a film that compels us to continue to reflect on our norms of sexual conduct and the challenge of living up to the ideal of innocence until proven guilt.
The Gullstolen / Golden Chair for Norwegian Short Film goes to MERCY by Hedda Mjøen.
Honorable mention – REZA by Shahrukh Kavousi
With this Honorable Mention we would like to point out a film that, skillfully told from the perspective of someone who knows, shows what it takes to maintain your humanity.
Congratulations to REZA by Shahrukh Kavousi.
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