TORINOFILMLAB AWARDS
TFL PRODUCTION AWARDS (a total of €200,000)
Four prizes of €50,000 each were awarded among 10 FeatureLab projects by the jury composed of Thania Dimitrakopoulou, Mo Harawe, Dorota Lech and Andrea Occhipinti:
LA CANÍCULA by Rod Llaverías, produced by Wendy Espinal (Dominican Republic)
Ciro cares for a crumbling estate full of stray dogs, where outsiders awaken hidden desires.
LUCKY GIRL by Linda Lô, produced by Didar Domehri (France, Senegal)
Uprooted to France, an African girl creates inner doubles to cope and fulfil her mother’s dreams.
THE PASSIONS OF ANGELA SIMMONS by Lucy Kerr, produced by Megan Pickrell (United States)
A grieving former ballerina seeks transcendence amid the rituals of her approaching debutante ball.
THREE AGES by Jiajie Yu Yan, produced by César Esteban Alenda (Spain)
A 7-year-old Chinese boy arrives in Barcelona in 1992 to reunite with the parents he barely knows.
SERIESLAB DEVELOPMENT AWARDS (€10,000 each)
Among the 9 TV series projects of SERIESLAB, the jury composed of Mignon Huisman (Netherlands), Sophie Taylor-Gooby (United Kingdom) and Iñigo Trojaola (Spain) have given two DEVELOPMENT AWARDS to:
CONNECTION LOST by Maja Costa, Melina Voss (Italy, Germany)
Before Apple or IBM, there was Olivetti. And one woman who fought to save its soul.
MADRE MIA by Emmanuelle Kesch, Mauricio Cuffaro, Francisco Carrasco (Peru, Belgium, Argentina, Italy, Spain)
A middle-aged manicurist must partner up with a frustrated writer to find her missing son before it is too late, or before they kill each other!
The jury also awarded a special mention to BUFFALO JOHANSSON by Lars Damoiseaux, produced by David Vermander (Belgium, Netherlands).
COMEDYLAB AWARD (€10,000)
The COMEDYLAB jury - Simon Gabriele (France), Jan Krzysztof Naszewski (Poland) and Cécile Tollu-Polonowski (Germany) – assigned the award to:
A SUMMER TALE by Berthold Wahjudi (Germany).
A late bloomer battles a new rival to stay the funniest Asian kid – and win his crush’s heart.
PARTNERS’ AWARDS
EURIMAGES CO-PRODUCTION DEVELOPMENT AWARD (€20,000)
Encouraging international co-production from the earliest stages of a project, the prize was awarded by jurors Carole Baraton, Emma Scott and Radu Stancu to:
HISTORY OF ILLNESS by David Gašo (Croatia) – ScriptLab
In a hospital undergoing renovations, Jošt’s desire to understand his tic spirals into the surreal.
CNC AWARD (€8,000)
The grant, offered by the CNC – Centre national du cinéma et de l'image animée, was given by a dedicated jury composed of Alejandro Arenas Azorín, Ava Cahen and Urte Fink to:
CHOSEN CITY by María Belén Poncio (Argentina) – ScriptLab
Beliefs divide a town. A mother, a son, and an alien witness learn how their faiths serve others.
With a special mention to HOLD STILL by Shalini Adnani – ScriptLab.
ARTEKINO INTERNATIONAL AWARD (€6,000)
The prize for the producer of a standout ScriptLab project to support its development, sponsored by the European culture channel ARTE’s foundation for the promotion of arthouse cinema, went to:
BLACK HAIRY BEAST by Anna Hints and Tushar Prakash (Estonia, India)
A love story. With claws.
SUB-TI AWARD (up to €2,000)
Offered to a FeatureLab project by Sub-Ti Ltd London, the prize providing English, Italian or German subtitling has been given to:
CULEBRA CUT by Ana Elena Tejera and Tomás Cortés (Panama)
Panamanian soldier enters the Canal Zone for the 1st time, uncovering displacement history by US occupation.
SUB-TI ACCESS AWARD (up to €5,000)
Promoting accessible film content for audiences with sensory disabilities, the award went to:
THE PASSIONS OF ANGELA SIMMONS by Lucy Kerr and Megan Pickrell (United States)
IEFTA AWARD (€3,000)
Granted by the International Emerging Film Talent Association – consisting of a contribution intended for directors from emerging territories, has been assigned to:
HOLD ME (IF YOU WANT) by Mounia Akl (Lebanon) – ScriptLab
Lebanon 2025. A bride spirals into madness, seeking love and sanity in a world that lost both.
Finally, a dedicated prize granted to a project from an earlier edition:
POST-PRODUCTION AWARD 2025 (€ 20,000)
Offered and assigned by APostLab in collaboration with Filmmore and Posta, to projects that previously participated in TorinoFilmLab editions and that are at the moment in an advanced stage of development or financing – was awarded to the FeatureLab 2024 title:
COLD ASHES CAN CAUSE FOREST FIRES by Ashmita Guha Neogi, produced by Avantika Singh Desbouvries
GREEN AWARDS
TFL WHITE MIRROR (€5,000)
A development award created to support stories addressing environmental themes, sustainability and related changes in today’s world went to:
GRASSHOPPER by Micah Magee (Denmark, United States) – ScriptLab
Free-spirited Luka plays all summer, despite an uncertain future and the looming end of the world.
GREEN FILMING AWARDS (€4,000)
A joint initiative by TFL and Trentino Film Commission consisting of contribution for the implementation of a sustainable production, it was given to 3 FeatureLab projects:
LUCKY GIRL by Linda Lô, Didar Domehri (France, Senegal)
TO LEAVE, TO STAY by Danech San, Daniel Mattes (Cambodia, United States, Italy)
Mera and Bopha live on a fishing island. When Mera vanishes, Bopha must learn to live without her.
WOMEN WALKING by Kerren Lumer-Klabbers, Ingvil Sæther Berger, Emil Wahl (Denmark, Norway)
Father and daughter must find their own path toward becoming some kind of family.
A new addition this year: the GREENER GUEST AWARD, granted to Jonas Egert for choosing the most sustainable journey to Turin!
ALUMNI GRANTS
Finally, on stage with had the chance to assign also the 2 ALUMNI GRANTS, a special prize created to celebrate TFL’s 18th anniversary, designed for TFL alumni and alumnae and give them further support in advancing their projects and careers. The winners are:
NIGHTSONG by Maya Da-Rin, a director who previously participated in TFL with the film The Fever, produced by Juliette Lepoutre.
SOON WE WILL ALL BE HISTORY HERE by Saeed Taji Farouky, who participated in ScriptLab 2021 with the same project, together with Maria Caruana Galizia (United Kingdom, Palestine, Malta).