Dublin International Film Festival 2025: Award winners announced
Posted: 5th March 2025
The Dublin International Film Festival 2025 ended on Sunday, 2nd March, concluding 11 days of Irish and international films screenings and a full programme of industry events. Screen Ireland was proud to support the festival as its official Industry Partner, and to support a wide range of feature and short films selected as part of this year's programme.
This year, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland was delighted to partner with Limelight Communications to support the annual Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards, whose award winners were announced on the last day of the festival. We are particularly delighted to congratulate the Screen Ireland supported films which were awarded on the day - Éamon Little's Born That Way (Best Irish Documentary), Ross Whitaker's Beat the Lotto (Best Irish Film) and Claire Frances Byrne's Ready or Not (Michael Dwyer Discovery Awards for Molly Byrne, Alicia Weaver and Ruby Conway Dunne).
DIFF unveiled its awards on Tuesday, 4th March following an awards ceremony in the Complex the previous weekend. The Audience Award for feature film went to Myrid Carten's A Want in Her, which also picked up the Festival's Best Documentary Award, while the Audience Award for short film went to Jeda de Brí's Naked Lights. Other Screen Ireland supported films awarded by the Festival were Virgin Media Discovers short film Trasna na Líne, winner of the Sue-Bruce Irish Short Film Award, and Aoife Kelleher's Testimony, winner of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties Human Rights Film Award. Spilt Milk writer Cara Loftus, Cat & Mouse writer Clare Monnelly and cinematographer Albert Hooi were this year's Discovery award recipients.
The full list of awards can be found below.
DIFF Awards
- Audience award feature: A Want In Her
- Audience award short: Naked Lights
- Discovery award: Cara Loftus, Clare Monnelly and Albert Hooi
- Best documentary award: A Want In Her
- Avalon World Cinema award: Santosh
- International Short Film award: The Man Who Would Not Remain Silent
- Animated Short Film award: Inside, The Valley Sings
- Sue Bruce-Smith Irish Short Film: Trasna na Líne
- Irish Council for Civil Liberties Human Rights Film Award: Testimony
Dublin Film Critics Circle Awards
- Best film On Falling, directed by Laura Carreira
- Best director Maura Delpero, for Vermiglio
- Best editing Ramon Zürcher, for The Sparrow in the Chimney
- Best actress Shahana Goswami, for Santosh
- Best actor Albrecht Schuch, for Peacock
- Best ensemble Backstage, directed by Afef Ben Mahmoud and Khalil Benkirane
- Best documentary Riefenstahl, directed by Andres Veiel
- Best cinematography Sverre Sørdal, for Sister Midnight
- Best debut Good One, directed by India Donaldson
- Best screenplay Tracie Laymon, for Bob Trevino Likes It
- Michael Dwyer discovery Ruby Conway Dunne, Molly Byrne and Alicia Weafer, for Ready or Not
- George Byrne maverick Carrie Crowley
- Best Irish film Beat the Lotto, directed by Ross Whittaker
- Best Irish documentary Born That Way, directed by Éamon Little
- Special jury prize Latina Latina, directed by Adrian Duncan