Salsa Film Festival 2025

Grand Prix

Holy Heaviness

Director: Farnoosh Abedi

How do you tell the story of a feeling as hard to grasp as the slow farewell to someone you love? How do you tell of a father who wears the face of a dying man while, at the same time, becoming a child again? And how can you speak of the seemingly invisible burdens we carry through everyday life, and still make a film that is full of warmth and deeply life-affirming?

They say the best foundation for a short film isn't a short story, as one might expect, but rather a poem, and this film feels like an adaptation of timeless, melancholic, very precisely observed poetic verses. At first glance it does so in an almost morbid way: the characters we meet in this animated film are bony beings with hard edges and lined faces, as if their bodies were barely capable of embracing one another or being gentle with each other. And yet this film feels like an embrace, because at its heart lies a deeply tender gaze at inner and outer decay. We see the traces of death not only in the dying father, but also in the faces of those who seem full of life, as if they too were dying along with him. Yet the film shows us just as much of what is alive, playful and carefree in the dying man's face. In this poem of a film, the elements increasingly blend together: documentary archive footage flashes up as if it were memories from a long-gone time, and the film lets us rediscover its traces in the most everyday gestures, touches and glances.

The film is thus an invitation to the audience to look, just as honestly and playfully, at the indescribable burdens we carry in our relationships of every kind, and to find a language of our own for them.

That a film can spark all of this in just 10 minutes is a small miracle and truly great cinema.

The award for best short film goes to: Holy Heaviness.

Best Fiction

The Shell

Director: Sema Güler

A film that wants to do without dialogue has to carry its story through strong images alone – through precise acting and clear sound design.

It has to trust that its emotions, rhythm and visual symbolism will guide and move the audience intuitively.

Kabuk/The Shell by Sema Güler does this effortlessly.

The film tells, sensitively yet visually powerfully, the story of a young painter trapped in the isolation of her flat after experiencing violence.

Without dialogue, but with a focused visual language, long takes and, not least, an outstanding lead performance, it succeeds in making both the emotional scars and the slow, painful return to life palpable. Every glance, every gesture becomes an expression of the trauma experienced; every shot becomes a mirror of an inner journey.

The Shell convinces through its emotional depth. The protagonist's speechlessness, and her attempt to reconnect with the world through art, are central elements; with focus and intensity, the film makes the unspeakable visible and universally understandable.

We are delighted to honour this important and special film as best fiction film.

Best Animation

Balconada

Director: Iva Tokmakchieva

What connects us as human beings?

How can we connect with one another when we lead such different lives? These are, among others, the questions this festival explores.

This film finds a very powerful image for that.

An inner-city apartment block, and a hot summer's day that drives the residents out onto their balconies.

We watch as everyone goes about their everyday tasks, each on their own. They sunbathe, hang out the washing, water the flowers. A still-tipsy flautist searches among the wine bottles for somewhere to lie down. Everyone, each for themselves, alone.

And in this unassuming scenario, something magical suddenly emerges.

A rain shower breaks through their apathy: the flautist suddenly plays the most beautiful notes, another dances along, petals fly through the air together with the washing, and for one brief moment the characters, and the audience with them, leave their separate worlds behind and dream together, in sync.

With her creative animation style and her lovingly designed characters, Iva Tokmakchieva manages to turn the original question ‘What connects us as human beings?’ into ‘What actually divides us?’

The Salsa jury is proud to award the prize for best animated film to Balconada by Iva Tokmakchieva.

Congratulations to all the winners.

Best Children's Film

This Side, Other Side

Regie: Lida Fazli

Looking back at our decision for “This Side, Other Side”, the memorable aspects from this film are the usage of children, simple toys, and sound to tell a brilliant message and an emotional story. The children were shown to be more reflective and mature than the soldiers, expressing that being forgiving and cooperative to let everyone be themselves again is how one stops conflict and improves a society. The chalks, typically a children's toy, were first used to play around but then to rebuild their home supports the usage of children as guidance for how to grow. Finally, the creator's ability to use the sound of the bombs and cries of joy and sadness to evoke emotions from the audience is a great way to tell an emotional and bittersweet story without dialogue.

With the events going on in the world, it's important that we stand together and rebuild what we have lost. In “This Side, Other Side”, the children's ability to look past the soldiers' feud and rebuild their home is a great reflection of what everyone needs to do in the real world.

Audience Choice