Golden Horseman Animated Film - International Competition

THE GIRL AND THE POT by Valentina Homem/Tati Bond, Brazil, 2024

This evocative animated film blends sensual paint-on-glass technique with intuitive sound design to create a dreamlike world. Bold yet grounded, it draws on Indigenous South American narratives to imagine new ecological possibilities. A hopeful, original vision that speaks to the planet’s future.

Sponsor: €7,500 - State Chancellery of Saxony

Golden Horseman Animated Film - National Competition

DO SOMETHING by Sofija Živković, Germany, 2024

This animated film captivates through its multilayered interplay of contrasts: humorous yet melancholic, profound yet trashy, light-hearted yet serious. It provides an approachable, human perspective on mental health – without ever losing its love for playfulness.

Sponsor: €3,000 - Balance Film GmbH, Friends of FILMFEST DRESDEN

Golden Horseman Short Film - International Competition

PANADRILO by Marcela Heilbron, Panama, 2023

With a playful soundtrack and a magical realism that punctuate an otherwise tragic story with absurdist humour, the director’s intentionality and vision shine in this understated allegory of the migrant experience. Even a blind belief in an unguaranteed afterlife can yield some promise of family reconnection, when resistance against violent structures and inhumane migration policies feels futile.

Sponsor: €7,500 - Public Media Authority for Private Broadcasting (SLM)

Golden Horseman Short Film - National Competition

FIRE DRILL by Maximilian Villwock, Germany, 2024

An intriguing setting, isolated from the outside world and caught between places and conflicts, serves as a microcosm where the protagonist confronts toughness, intimacy and identity. With striking visual storytelling and physical immediacy, this film portrays masculinity – raw, authentic and deeply human.

Sponsor: €3,000 - Filmnächte am Elbufer

Golden Horseman Youth Jury - International Competition

VOX HUMANA by Raphael Eblahan Don Josephus, Philippines/Singapore/USA, 2024

How often do we really listen properly? Our award-winner impresses with its aesthetics that transport the visual experience through powerful image composition and the precise usage of sounds, thus inviting the viewers to pause and perceive the world in its full depth. The element of listening suffuses the entire narrative, focusing on the deep need to understand and be understood. In this way, the nonverbal becomes the universal language through which the dwindling contact with nature becomes restored.

Sponsor: €2,000 - Ostsächsische Sparkasse Dresden

Golden Horseman Youth Jury - National Competition

THE MALE GAZE RECIPE by Alma Weber/Joey Arand, Germany, 2024

Ultimate voyeurism! With a lot of humour and frivolity, the film captivated us and holds a mirror up to our patriarchal society. The absurd and multilayered staging of typical gender roles becomes the naked truth and shows us yet again that feminism has reached its limits. The recipes may remain the same, but the male gaze does not.

Sponsor: €2,000 - Melli-Beese-Schulen Dresden (Semper Bildungswerk)

Golden Horseman of the Audience - International Competition

WANDER TO WONDER by Nina Gantz, Netherlands/France/Belgium, 2023

Sponsor: €3,000 - Sächsische Zeitung

Golden Horseman of the Audience - National Competition

DO SOMETHING by Sofija Živković, Germany, 2024

Sponsor: €2,000 - MDR Public Broadcaster

Saxon Film Promotion Prize - National Competition

SAIGON KISS by Hòng Anh Nguyễn, Vietnam/Australia/Germany, 2024

This film takes us to an authentic setting and tells the story of a fleeting yet resonant encounter between two characters. Every cinematic choice – from the camera work to the casting through to the music – feels carefully considered and comes together sensitively in a convincing, enchanting film.

Sponsor: €20,000 - Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism

Golden Horseman Central German Competition

SOCIAL CLUB by Sophie Mühe, Germany, 2024

The film positions itself as a political counterpoint to the prevailing images of East German fan culture. A subtle yet necessary shift in perspective that also sends a clear political message.

Sponsor: €3,000 - Saxony Film Association

Audience Award Central German Competition

DETLEV by Ferdinand Ehrhardt, Germany, 2024

Sponsor: €500 - Jens Roth - rothcoaching

Golden Horseman Sound Design – International & National Competition

ASTRO by Zoé Beekes (Sound) / Tim Ewalts (Director/Music), Netherlands, 2024

The claustrophobic feeling of the film is skilfully reflected in the soundtrack. Through the disembodied voices, we look into the intimate interior of the protagonist. This creates the perfect symbiosis of sound and image.

Sponsors: € 1,500 prize money - Friends of FILMFEST DRESDEN & €1,500 non-cash prize for studio session - Ballroom Studio

LUCA GenderDiversity Film Award - National & International Competition

LIKE WHAT WOULD SORROW LOOK by Hao Zhou, Canada/Japan/Germany, 2024

The film invites us into a sphere where identity and desire claim their own space within the walls of institutional power and heteronormative expectations. The imagery struck the jury with playfulness, intriguing shots and aesthetic montages. We admire the fact that the director puts themself in front of the camera to tell us a story about intimacy and being torn between systems, lovers and possibilities.

Sponsors: €2,000 - LAG Jungen- und Männerarbeit Sachsen, Genderkompetenzzentrum Sachsen, LAG Queeres Netzwerk Sachsen

ARTE Short Film Prize - National & International Competition

PANADRILO by Marcela Heilbron, Panama, 2023

In the humid tropical jungle of the Darièn Gap, a man’s spirit takes up residence in the body of a crocodile. The road to exile is full with pitfalls, but the aim is to reach his destination: the United States where the family can reunite, whatever the cost.

Sponsor: €6,000 towards purchase of a film - ARTE

DEFA Promotion Prize Animation - National Competition

PEAR GARDEN by Shadab Shayegan, Germany, 2024

A delicate yet powerful film that tells a profound story – personal yet universal. Without ever overexplaining, it approaches themes of femininity and illness consistently through a child’s perspective. Touching, sensitive and sincere, the film showcases a compelling artistic voice.

Sponsor: €3,000 - DEFA Foundation

"fully political" - Short Film Award for Democratic Culture

I DIED IN IRPIN by Anastasiia Falileieva, Czech Republic, 2024

An intense journey through palpable pain and inner strength, which is visualised through the combination of different materials. We accompany the protagonist in her fight for survival against a war of aggression, the patriarchal oppression within her own four walls and the resulting self-doubt. Impressively animated, the film tells a story of self-empowerment and escape and, in a time of social hopelessness, gives us the feeling that we are not powerless.

Sponsor: €3,000 - Saxon State Ministry for Social Welfare, Health and Social Cohesion

Dresden Short Film Award of the German Film Critics Association

GENDER REVEAL by Mo Matton, Canada, 2023

A short film just needs a good idea, the rest is craftsmanship: From the perspective of the marginalised, we take a dramaturgically clever look at a society that marginalises. Elements of horror are conveyed with great satirical delight in the precise portrayal of all the characters, with what began as a strained idyll ending in dystopia. A consistent exaggeration that dispenses its criticism with amusement.

Sponsor: unendowed - German Film Critics Association