ALL FINALISTS | SHORTLIST: R · T · D
Alba Kepi (ORA, Albania), Valery Marinov (BNT, Bulgaria), Tabe Ebangha Enonchong (CRTV, Cameroon), Martina Šantavá (ČT, Czech Republic), Philipp Müller (ZDF, Germany), Merkl László (MTVA, Hungary), Fabio Mancini (RAI, Italy), Gabriella Tafuri (TV2000, Italy), Worood Alkhazali (JRTV, Jordan), Kim Jongwoo (MBC, South Korea), Gena Teodosievska (MRT, North Macedonia), Pablo Ramírez (RTVE, Spain).
The President: Gena Teodosievska (MRT, North Macedonia).
Nous, jeunesse(s) d'Iran (We, the Youth of Iran)
Direction: Solène Chalvon-Fioriti. Sound Track: Charlie Nguyen Kim. Editing: Laure Matthey. Photography: Noor Azadi, Sandra Calligaro, Solène Chalvon-Fioriti. Producer: Béatrice Schönberg (Chrysalide). Producing Organisations: France 5, Chrysalide Production. Coproducing Organisations: Elephant Doc, participation of France TV. Production Year: 2024.
Her name went round the world: Jina Mahsa Amini, aged 22, died on 16 September 2022 following a violent arrest by the Tehran religious police. Her graceful, made-up face, a symbol of freedom under attack, sparked off a massive revolt by young people – mainly students from the lower middle classes – which was violently suppressed in autumn 2022. Faced with arrests, torture and executions by the Islamic regime, the movement ran out of steam. But behind the broken momentum lies another, silent revolution: the irrepressible cultural mutation of Iran's generation Z. A massive, highly urban (almost 80% of the population live in cities), highly educated youth – and a youth in pain, deprived of fundamental individual freedoms: to love, to meet, to dress without constraint, to dance, to sing…
Pericolosamente vicini – Vivere con gli orsi (Dangerously Close – Living with Bears)
Direction: Andreas Pichler. Producing Organisation: Beetz Brothers FILM Productions. Coproducing Organisations: Miramonte Film, BR, SWR, SKY, RAI.
Nowhere else in the world do bears and humans live in such close proximity like they do in Trentino, near Lake Garda. However, as the bear population grows, dangerous encounters are on the rise. A 20-member team of rangers and veterinarians is tasked with protecting both people and animals. When 26-year-old Andrea Papi is found dead in the forest during Easter 2023, it's suspected that he was killed by the bear called JJ4. This incident marks the first recent death caused by a wild animal in Central Europe. As foresters attempt to capture JJ4, the conflict between animal rights activists and bear opponents intensifies. Should JJ4 be killed? How should we handle the return of large predators? When do bears become "difficult bears"? Who truly owns nature and the forest?
Ukraine's War: The Other Side
Direction: Sean Langan. Producers: Leslie Knott, Mark Miller, Sean Langan. Coproducing Organisation: Tiger Nest Films. Production Year: 2024.
Two years after Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, we wanted to make a film that expands our understanding of the logic that sustains a war of aggression – and shows what life is like inside the closed world of Russian propaganda. By presenting the view of the other side – through the eyes of soldiers on the frontlines and civilians in Donbas – we do not diminish the suffering of the Ukrainian people but highlight the wanton destruction and bleak future of Putin's war.