25 International Film Schools Festival Awards

With awards and mentions for student short films from 10 countries (Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Cuba, France, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Ukraine and Uruguay), the 25 International Film Schools Festival (FIEC) concluded on Friday, August 15. The festival was organized by the Uruguayan Film School (ECU) and the Uruguayan Cinematheque as part of ECU’s 30th anniversary.

The FIEC took place from August 12 to 15 at the Cinematheque and Sala Zitarrosa, with theaters mostly packed. The 2025 official selection featured 45 fiction, non-fiction, and animation short films, created by students from 41 film schools in 27 countries, including Uruguay. The international call for entries was made, as every year, through the International Association of Film and Television Schools (CILECT) and the Federation of Image and Sound Schools of Latin America (FEISAL), of which ECU is the only Uruguayan member, although participation is also open to non-member film schools.

The short films for the competition were preselected by a team of 25 ECU students, a task that took several months of viewing alongside the programming team.

Professional Jury Awards

Comprised of filmmakers Lucía Garibaldi and Sergio De León (both graduates from ECU), along with filmmaker, archivist, and programmer Leandro Listorti (Argentina), the Festival’s Professional Jury decided to award the short film Among the Beasts, directed by Luchino Paparella of INSAS (Belgium), as the best fiction work; and Un sueño de una noche, directed by Sandra Iglesias González, Claudia de la Iglesia Diez, Barbara Portilla Santana, and Marina Fornies Briceño of ECAM (Spain) as the best non-fiction short film. In the animation category, they chose Detlev, by Ferdinand Ehrhardt, a student at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg (Germany); and the documentary Una Casa, directed by Agustín Moras of ENERC (Argentina), as the best Latin American short film.

 The Professional Jury selected the documentary Tumbero, directed by Maite Piñeyrúa Segura of the Catholic University of Uruguay, as the best Uruguayan short film. The prize in this case consists of supplies for continuing filming: a Musitelli Award valued at USD 4,000 in shooting equipment, the La Mayor Award consisting of a half-day in a Dolby studio for 5.1 mixing of a short film, and the Don Obdulio Award of USD 500 in art or production supplies.

See the full statement of the Professional Jury

Student Jury Awards

Composed this year of Antonella La Rocca (Uruguayan Film School), Fernando Bottari (Catholic University of Uruguay), and Joaquín Duschatzky (University of Buenos Aires), the Student Jury awarded special mentions in each category: in animation to A Blue Summer, directed by Juliette Ragot of La Fémis (France); in non-fiction to Home is 1117 kilometers away, directed by Marta Smerechynska (Ukraine) made as part of the DocNomads Master’s program; among fiction films, to Domingo familiar, directed by Gerardo Del Razo of Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica (Mexico); and among Uruguayan short films, to Se perdió en la luz, graduation short film from the Uruguayan Film School directed by Manuel Tate.

As winners in each category, the Student Jury (as did the Professional Jury) decided to award the animation Detlev, by Ferdinand Ehrhardt, a student at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg (Germany); the non-fiction film Será inmortal quien merece serlo, directed by Nay Mendl of the EICTV in Cuba; the Austrian fiction film The Last Bet, directed by Meike Wüstenberg at the Film Academy Vienna; and, as best Uruguayan short film, Tres cuerpos, another graduation project from the Uruguayan Film School directed by Emilio Sarthou. This last award consists of two days of mixing in the Atmos studio at El Mar Film Sound; two color correction sessions, a final mastering session, and DCP creation by Artemisa Lab; and a Don Obdulio Prize of USD 500 in art or production supplies.

See the full statement of the Student Jury

Audience Awards

Festival attendees voted for their favorite short films at the end of each screening. The votes counting showed the following results:

Best International Short Film: Detlev, directed by Ferdinand Ehrhardt of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg (Germany).

Best Uruguayan Short Film: Se perdió en la luz, directed by Manuel Tate of the Uruguayan Film School (ECU). This award consists of SinSol equipment worth USD 700; pitching and festival distribution guidance by Programa Cinescope; and a scholarship for an extracurricular course or workshop at ECU.

In total, the Festival awarded approximately USD 9,000 in prizes.

Parallel activities

As is tradition, before each screening of the short films in competition, the Festival offered parallel activities aimed at film and audiovisual students from across the country, recent graduates from various training centers, professionals and workers in the sector, and all interested members of the audience.

Argentine filmmakers Agustina Comedi and Leandro Listorti shared their experiences working with archival material. Agustina, director of “El silencio es un cuerpo que cae” (2017) and the short film “Playback. Ensayo de una despedida” (2019), investigates the links between archives, memory, and fabulation. Meanwhile, Leandro, an artist, filmmaker, producer, programmer, and archivist, works on the margins of archival footage and experimental practices. He is the author of the films “Los jóvenes muertos” (2010), “La película infinita” (2018), and “Herbaria” (2022), and has been a teacher at institutions such as Universidad del Cine (Argentina) and EICTV (Cuba).

Another activity brought together young filmmakers with experience in short films, exchanging ideas on the possibilities of this format outside the educational field. Participating were filmmakers Gonzalo Torrens and Ilén Juambeltz (both graduates of the ECU) and producer Eugenia Olascuaga (a professor at ECU), moderated by Juan Andrés Belo (producer, cultural manager, and professor, founder of the Detour Festival).

Finally, as part of ECU’s 30th anniversary celebration, it was a privilege and honor to have director and screenwriter Sergio De León sharing the creative process behind Siempre vuelven, his third film (and first fiction film), alongside producer Micaela Solé and sound designer Daniel Yafalian. These three filmmakers are highly experienced, all three graduates of the first ECU classes (1995 and 1997), who have witnessed and participated in the development of Uruguayan cinema over the years.

Following the awards ceremony at Sala Zitarrosa, the FIEC concluded on Friday night with a beautiful party at Club Uruguay, celebrating 25 years of the festival and 30 years of ECU with students, alumni from various generations, teachers, staff, and friends.

Thank you all so much for being a part of this celebration. See you again for the 26th edition!

 This new edition of the Festival was made possible thanks to the support of ACAU, Montevideo Audiovisual, Canelones Audiovisual, Municipio B, Sala Zitarrosa, Cine MACA, Alianza Francesa, Fic.UBA, Musitelli, La Mayor, Sin Sol, El Mar Film Sound, Artemisa Lab, Don Obdulio, Programa Cinescope, ANTEL, Lokotas, Café La Diaria, Café del Cine, Acuaria, Tazú Bar, Maki Sushi, Cerveza Patricia, Destilería Capicúa, Puertovideo, Equipos, La Diaria, Montevideo Portal, TV Ciudad, CILECT, FEISAL and FilmFreeway.