2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
WINNERS
of the Genesis International Film Festival (GIFF).
We are proud to announce the results.

September 30, 2025.
CONTESTS
GIFF'25
Grand prix
The Funeral Rehearsal
Ronald Zuidinga
GIFF.SHORTS
Best Short Film
Al fresco
Ignacio Rodó
GIFF.DEBUTS
Best Debut film
The Funeral Rehearsal
Ronald Zuidinga
GIFF.RUSSIA
Best Short Film
THIEF
Sofia Elistratova
GIFF.DOCU
Best Documentary
SHADYTALES
Rustam Burkhonov
GIFF'25
People's Choice Award
The Funeral Rehearsal
Ronald Zuidinga
Press release
We're excited to unfold the winners and nominees of the 2025 Genesis International Film Festival (GIFF). This unique journey welcomed over 1689 entries from more than 70 countries. Showcasing a spectrum of international short films, documentaries, and debuts, the main winners of each competition will be honored with a statuette and offered promotional support at global stages. Other laureates will earn the Winner's Wreath and participation in our international screenings. Now, we proudly present the distinguished winners and nominees:
Submissions Map
GENESIS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2025 WINNERS

SPECIAL AWARDS
  • Best Short Film – Grand Prix: The Funeral Rehearsal by Ronald Zuidinga
  • People’s Choice Award: The Funeral Rehearsal by Ronald Zuidinga
GIFF.SHORTS – SHORT FILMS CONTEST
  • Best Short Film: Al fresco by Ignacio Rodó
  • Best Short – Drama: The Voice of Dogs by Mohammad Reza Nazi
  • Best Short – Comedy: Al fresco by Ignacio Rodó
  • Best Short – Animation: Space Clodo by Nicolas Bechet, Vincent Guilbaud, Zélie Saindon
  • Best Short – Experimental: 神明啊！请看我跳舞 (Oh My God!) by 张小璐 (Lulu Zhang)
  • Best Short – Arthouse / Indie: 杀死黄羽衣 (Kill a woman) by 艺覃 (Yi Tan)
  • Best Short – Fantasy: 《龟壳》 (Tortoise Shell) by 张倍嘉 (Joanne)
  • Best Short – Sci-fi: Verflechtung by Philip Hofmänner, Simon Jonas Pflanzer
  • Best Director: 刘晓婧 (XiaoJing Liu) for 荒野游乐园 (The Wild Fairground)
  • Best Actress: Tahereh Joor Bonyan in Like a Wandering Cloud
  • Best Actor: Joseph Maroun in Soeur Marie-Ange
  • Best Cinematographer: Eric Oh for Al fresco
  • Best Editing: Yizhu Wang for “UN”CURRENT
  • Best Music (OST): Barbad Bayat for Brighter Days
  • Best Extra Short (Out of Competition): Weasel by Hisham Iyad Hajir
  • Best Short Screenplay (Filmed): Tendon by Jannik Ehret
  • Best Short Screenplay (Script): The Tin Can in the Cemetery by Anh My Nguyen
  • Best Music Video: HAPPY DAY by Boru Zheng
  • Digital Art (AR/VR/AI/Generative): Hyperborea by Mitchell Louis Flautt
GIFF.DEBUTS – SHORT FILMS CONTEST
  • Best Debut Film: The Funeral Rehearsal by Ronald Zuidinga
  • Best Debut – Drama: Claiming Faith by Lasse Malmberg
  • Best Debut – Comedy: Moving Out by Marlene Auer-Pleyl
  • Best Debut – Animation: Cell Buddies by Melle Windig, Hidde Alberts, Miguel Reyes, Jurgen de Smit, Arjen van der Plas
  • Best Debut – Experimental: She’s Asking For It by Natalia Zajączkowska
  • Best Debut – Arthouse / Indie: Overflow by Nahal Dashti
  • Best Debut – Fantasy: Mû by Malin Neumann
  • Best Debut – Sci-fi: Learning Machine by Rafaela Sakaguchi
  • Best Director: Penelope Mavropsaridi for Why Won’t You Dance?
  • Best Actress: Clara Basset in My Angel
  • Best Actor: Bart Klever in The Funeral Rehearsal
  • Best Cinematographer: Santiago Roman for Any Day
  • Best Editing: Panos Vlassas for AEROSTATA
  • Best Music (OST): Lucas Matias for Memories of a Song
  • Best Short Screenplay (Filmed): Milana Karaeva for Billy & Bobby
GIFF.RUSSIA – NATIONAL SHORT FILMS CONTEST
  • Best Short Film: THIEF by Sofia Elistratova
  • Nominee: The Game by Inga Sunagatullina
  • Nominee: Gennady at the Phone by Ilya Vladimirovich Ponomarev
  • Nominee: #chainletter by Georgii Verolainen
  • Nominee: Ambulance by Mikhail Nilov
GIFF.DOCU – DOCUMENTARY FILMS CONTEST
  • Best Documentary: SHADYTALES by Rustam Burkhonov
  • Honorable Mention – Visual Originality: Sewing Machine by Ülo Pikkov

Congratulations to all the winners and nominees! We would like to thank all the participants for their hard work and dedication. We hope to see you all again next year.

Sincerely,
The GIFF Team

THIS SEASON'S JURY
  • Rod Sáez Chávez
    Co-founder of a film studio Cintámani Films
  • Eve Zhao
    Award winning actress, filmmaker
  • Alexey Derevyanko
    🎬GIFF.Docu headliner. Editing director and post-production producer

  • Björn Boström
    Award-winning screenwriter, playwright and script consultant
  • Iraj Habashi
    Director & Writer
  • Vaccaro Abel ZarbeL
    Film Maker, producer
  • Alexandra Novokreshchina
    🎬 GIFF headliner. Executive producer
  • Andrei Litvinenko
    Director, DOP, Producer, FIlm Institute Senior Teacher
  • Timur Ramazanov
    🎬GIFF headliner. Director, entrepreneur
  • Lauren Ransan
    Filmmaker
  • Konstantin Sotskov
    Chief editor of a TV channel
  • Arina Vinogorodskaya
    🎬GIFF.Debuts headliner. Film critic, filmmaker, photographer
  • Oksana Sinchugova
    Director, screenwriter, lecturer
  • Alexander Laukhin
    Producer, owner of a digital agency, head of an IT company
  • Victoria Skorokhodova
    🎬GIFF headliner. Filmmaker, producer
  • Dmitry Romakhin
    Director, producer
  • Egor Chichkanov
    Director, screenwriter
  • Lex Rodnov
    Director, producer, virtual and augmented reality artist
  • Kirill Leonov
    Producer, co-owner & CEO of an IT-company
  • Zafer Yaşlı
    Director
  • Maxim Melnikov
    Award winning Neuroartist, journalist
  • Kasra Tirsahar
    Producer, Director
  • Nadezhda Popova
    Co-owner of an IT company
  • Valeriy Akimov
    Film critic