The awards ceremony of the 23rd Doclisboa took place October 25 at Lisbon’s Culturgest, and was followed by a screening of Eugène Green’s The Tree of Knowledge, the festival’s closing film.
In the International Competition, the City of Lisbon Award for Best International Competition Film was awarded to The Night Is Fading Away by Ezequiel Salinas and Ramiro Sonzini (Argentina), a work that, according to the jury, “celebrates cinema as the ultimate collective adventure, where imagination and solidarity light the way in the darkness.”
The Doclisboa International Competition Jury Award went to Tell Me a Fairy Tale by Ebrû Avci (Turkey), “an elegant, honest, and disarming film in its simplicity, which reveals how much can be said with so little, finding depth in silent gestures and truth in restraint.”
The Médicins Sans Frontières – Portugal Jury Award for Best International Competition Director went to Fantasy by Isabel Pagliai (France), “an intimate, tender, and visceral portrait of grief, love, and longing, a raw poetry that remains alive in its fragility.”
In Portuguese Competition, the Doclisboa Award for Best Portuguese Competition Film went to Água Mãe, by Hiroatsu Suzuki and Rossana Torres (Portugal), described as “an elegant and courageous work that elevates everyday life to the sublime, inviting us to experience a world beyond cinema.”
The Portuguese Authors’ Society Portuguese Competition Jury Award went to As Estações / The Seasons, by Maureen Fazendeiro, “a tactile and engaging film that combines a rediscovered past with an almost timeless present.” Gil, Let’s Explode São Paulo / Explode São Paulo, Gil, by Maria Clara Escobar received an Honorable Mention.
The School Award — ETIC Award for Best Portuguese Competition Film was also given to Gil, Let’s Explode São Paulo / Explode São Paulo, Gil, by Maria Clara Escobar, “a collaborative work of punk sensibility and generosity, where dream and reality coexist in a gesture of pure cinematic vitality.” Complô, by João Miller Guerra, received an Honorable Mention.
In the Green Years Competition, the Conserveira de Lisboa Award for Green Years Competition Film went to Ping Pong, by Tianji Yu, and the Pedro Fortes Award for Best Director for a Green Years Portuguese Film went to Se Eu Não Morresse Nunca! / If I Would Never Die!, by David Falcão (Portugal). I Lit the Fire! by Valeria Lemeshevskaya (Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Azerbaijan) received an Honorable Mention.
The New Talent Award – Doclisboa for Best First Feature-Length Film went to Under the Flags, the Sun by Juanjo Pereira (Paraguay), while Do You Love Me (France, Qatar, Lebanon, Germany), by Lana Daher, received an Honorable Mention.
The Award for Best Short Film (Up to 40’) went to Baumettes Studio / Studio Baumettes, by Hassen Ferhani (France), while the Healthy Workplaces Film Award – European Agency for Safety and Health at Work Award was presented to Wishful Filming, by Sarah Vanagt (Belgium).
In the audience awards, Aurora by João Vieira Torres won the Legal Partners Rights and Freedoms Audience Award, while Punch for Punch, by Diogo Varela Silva, won the TVCine Channels Award.
The award ceremony for Arché, Apordoc’s space for creative development and reflection — took place at Casa do Comum, where the fest celebrated the Ibero-American film projects that were part of the 2025 edition of this laboratory. Arché is supported by the Ibermedia Programme.
The winners were as follows: The RTP2 Award went to Diary of My Revolution by Edgardo Dielek, while the DMix Collective Award was given to Tupa no Fear by Miguel Seabra Lopes.
The Escola das Artes Award, from the Catholic University, was presented to Marandúa. Only One Land by Maria Rojas Arias. The DAFilms Award went to Fire Drill by Oscar X. Illingworth, and the DAE Talent Development Award was given to The End of the Future. The Mixtape by Lucia Selva. Finally, an Honorable Mention was awarded to Auguries, Dreams and Soils by Luciana Decker.
“The 23rd edition of Doclisboa closes on a very positive note, establishing itself as a vibrant celebration of cinema in its most varied forms and expressions,” write organisers. “Over eleven days, the festival brought together around 20,000 spectators, with sold-out sessions, conversations with directors, and meetings with the public.”
Doclisboa will return in 2026, from October 15 to 25, with Greece as the guest country.
