Cannes, France – May 2025 — The Jury of the 28th La Cinef Selection has announced this year’s winners, celebrating exceptional student filmmakers from around the globe. The awards were presented during a special ceremony at the Buñuel Theatre, followed by a screening of the winning films.
Presided over by German director Maren Ade, the Short Films and La Cinef Jury included actress-singer Camélia Jordana, Spanish cinema expert José María Prado Garcia, American filmmaker Reinaldo Marcus Green, and Croatian director Nebojša Slijepčević.
Selected from a record 2,679 submissions across 646 film schools worldwide, the 2025 La Cinef program featured 16 student films showcasing the next generation of international cinema talent.
Award Winners
- First Prize: First Summer by Heo Gayoung (KAFA, South Korea)
- Second Prize: 12 Moments Before the Flag-Raising Ceremony by Qu Zhizheng (Beijing Film Academy, China)
- Joint Third Prize:
- Ginger Boy by Miki Tanaka (ENBU Seminar, Japan)
- Winter in March by Natalia Mirzoyan (Estonian Academy of Arts, Estonia)
The Festival de Cannes awarded €15,000 to the First Prize winner, €11,000 for the Second Prize, and €7,500 to each of the two Third Prize recipients.
Audiences in Paris will have another opportunity to see these rising talents when the winning films are screened at the Cinéma du Panthéon on June 6.
More details about the films and their directors can be found on the official Festival de Cannes website.