Awards Ceremony at the 32nd European Film Festival Palić, 2025

Varianta în limba română poate fi accesată aici / The Romanian version can be accesed here: agenda.liternet.ro/30460/Oana-Balaci/Ceremonia-de-premiere-a-celei-de-a-32-a-editii-a-Festivalului-European-de-Film-Palic-2025.

Dva prokurora / Two Prosecutors, Sergei Loznitsa's latest film, premiered in the Cannes Film Festival competitional section earlier this year. At the 32nd European Film Festival Palić, the film received the Golden Tower, the highest recognition of the Official Selection jury comprised of Nikola Joetze, Berlinale Talents project manager, Holy Daniel, director of the Red Sea Souk Market at the Red Sea International Film Festival, and Zoran Amar, a Serbian director. The closing ceremony took place on the 23rd of July 2025 on the grand Summer Stage, the same place where Loznitsa was crowned with the Aleksandar Lifka Award for his contribution to European cinema five days before, during the opening ceremony.

The jury also awarded Sonhar com Leões / Dreaming of Lions by Paulo Marinou-Blanco with the Palić Tower for Best Director. While he could not attend the event in person, Blanco sent one of the most ingenious acceptance-speeches in a video. Standing on the edge of a cliff, the spot where he filmed a key scene of the black comedy, the filmmaker thanked everyone for the honor, while also mentioning that this prize makes him less inclined to jump into the tumultuous waves below - combining humor with vulnerability in the true fashion of the film. A special mention was given to Anne Le Ny's Dis-moi juste que tu m'aimes / Out of Control, the story of an old flame being reignited and threatening a marriage.

Director and editor Peter Webber (Girl with a Pearl Earring) was one of the members of the Parallels and Encounters jury, alongside producer Tomi Salkovski from North Macedonia and festival director Bernd Buder from Germany. The three of them chose a debut for the section's Best Film, more specifically the dramatic thriller Medovyi misiats / Honeymoon, written and directed by Ukrainian Zhanna Ozirna, which shows the frightening experience of a young couple caught in the middle of the war during what was supposed to be their honeymoon. Moonika Siimets received a Special Mention for her fantastical comedy Must auk / The Black Hole, a commentary on modern society in Estonia and Finland.

The FIPRESCI jury formed of critics Kata Gyürke (Hungary), Davide Magnisi (Italy) and Leigh Singer (UK) was also present at the festival to pick one of the films in competition for the award. The lucky winner was Alexandros Avranas with his drama Quiet Life, also screened at the Venice Film Festival. The film follows a refugee family in Sweden trying to get asylum and a cure for their daughter who unexpectedly falls in a mysterious coma.

The laureates' list concludes with the Honorary Awards. Besides Loznitsa, another artist was also crowned with the Aleksandar Lifka Award: prolific Serbian actor Svetozar Cvetković. The Underground Spirit Award was received by Austrian filmmaker Peter Tscherkassky, renowed for his experimental shorts and unconventional editing style. The Gorki List Audience Award went to Teemu Nikki's comedy 100 litraa sahtia / 100 Liters of Gold, about two alcoholic sisters who are comissioned to brew bear for a wedding but end up drinking it, trying afterwards to fix the situation and save their reputation.