Pilar Almenar, director of Humans Fest, with Stephan Kampf, screenwriter of "No Dogs Allowed"
- The German production directed by Steve Bache, which addresses the taboo of pedophilia, receives the award for Best Fiction Feature Film
- Sareen Hairabedian's feature film, which depicts an armed conflict through the eyes of a child, has been recognized as Best Documentary Feature
- The Syrian-German production “Future is panorama”, by Muschirf Shekh Zeyn, and the Spanish production “Imade”, by Ignacio Acconcia González, have won Best International Short Film and Best Documentary, respectively.
- The Valencian awards, Best Short Film and Best Short Film Screenplay, went to “Carmela”, by Vicente Mallols
German production No dogs allowed, by Steve Bache, and the Jordanian My sweet land, by Sareen Hairabedian, have been awarded the prizes for best feature film in the fiction and documentary categories, respectively, at the 16th edition of the Humans Fest. Both films premiered in Spain as part of the Valencia International Film and Human Rights Festival, organized by the Foundation for Justice since 2009.
The 16th Humans Fest awards were announced this Saturday, June 7, at an event held at the University of Valencia's Botanical Garden. Dozens of people from Valencia's cultural and social circles gathered to attend the awards ceremony, hosted by À Punt journalist Sara García López.
ABOUT THE WINNING WORKS IN FEATURE FILMS
No dogs allowed, the debut feature film by director Steve Bache, addresses the taboo of pedophilia. Specifically, it tells the story of Gabo, a 15-year-old boy who seems like a normal teenager, but is developing uncontrollable tendencies and befriends Dave, a man in his forties, with whom he explores a friendship that quickly turns into something more sordid. The jury, composed of Orisel Castro López, Araceli Isaac and Rosanna Mestre, has chosen it as the winner of the Official Section of fiction feature films "for being a soul-destroying film about pedophilia, which opens the window to the complexity of adolescence and which surprises with the two sides of its protagonist, in addition to being formally beautiful." The award was collected by Stephan Kampf, screenwriter of No dogs allowed, who was also present at the screening on Friday, June 6 at Cines Babel for a subsequent discussion with the audience.
The jury of the Humans Fic section has also awarded a Special Mention to the production Palestine Thank you for banking with us, directed by Laila Abbas, “for its surprising plot, for showing the difficulty of economic and bureaucratic independence for women in Muslim culture, as well as for presenting in an original way the complexity of close family relationships.”
For its part, My sweet land by Sareen Hairabedian won the award for Best Documentary Feature in the Official Section for depicting the life of eleven-year-old Vrej when war breaks out again in Artsakh, and for questioning whether his young shoulders can sustain the hopes of a nation. The jury, composed of Jost Daamen, Celia Riera, and Elisa Ferrer, chose this work "for sensitively portraying the transition to adulthood in the midst of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, through the eyes of a child."
OFFICIAL SHORT FILM SECTION
The award for Best Fiction Short Film has gone to Future is panorama, a Syrian-German production directed by Muschirf Shekh Zeyn, "for the quality of the direction and performance," according to the section's jury, composed of Pedro del Río, Dora Martí Requena, and Lola Moltó. This work tells the story of how Siham learns that her daughter is hiding in a bar from being shot at by a far-right terrorist group. Desperation, fear, and hopelessness drive her ever further down the spiral to save her. This jury highlighted "the way in which the dehumanization that radicalization leads to in society is expressed."
On the other hand, Imade was awarded the Best Documentary Short Film, a work directed by Spaniard Ignacio Acconcia González. The jury, composed of Paola Franco, Bebé Pérez, and Laura Pérez Gómez, chose it "for being an honest, sensitive, and moving portrait of the difficult migration situation for people with hearing disabilities"; as well as for being a story "full of pain, but also of love and hope."
This jury has decided to award a special mention in this competitive category to the short Dissonance, by Raquel Larrosa, “for addressing in the first person a social problem still current in the Sahara, with a clear narrative, without underlining, and from a necessary perspective, free from sensationalism.”
RECOGNITIONS IN VALENCIAN KEY
The Official Section of Humans Fest includes two awards for Valencian creations. Thus, the award for Best Valencian Short Film has been awarded to Carmela, by Vicente Mallols, “for the importance of addressing historical memory with sensitivity and rigor, through a solid script, powerful symbolism and highly elaborate animation work, with a truly impressive result,” in the words of the jury made up of filmmakers Alicia Arnau, Andrea Segarra and María Ferradas, who participated in the second edition of the Humans Lab audiovisual creation laboratory.
Likewise, the EDAV award for Best Valencian Short Film Script has also been awarded to CarmelaAccording to the jury, composed of Isadora Guardia, Elena Gobernado, and Fermin Palacios, this work stands out "for the originality of its proposal, its concise, direct, and moving script, capable of encompassing and conveying the values of justice and reparation, as well as the depth and accuracy of its historical narrative." Both awards were accepted at the closing ceremony by director Vicente Mallols and screenwriter Helena Sánchez Bel, respectively.
THE YOUNGEST TALENT AWARD
Humans Fest has a historic section within its official competition with microfilms created by students. This year's title was "Building Peace in a Minute." It was made possible thanks to the participation of students from La Purísima Franciscanas, CEIP Angelina Carnicer, IES Ramón y Cajal Valladolid, and the Audiovisual Communication Degree at the UPV Campus in Gandia. Among the works presented, the winner was voted on by the public. Pure and hard mathematics, made by students from the CEIP Angelina Carnicer of València.
HUMANS FEST CONTINUES ON FILMIN
As in previous editions, the Valencia International Film and Human Rights Festival once again has a Filmin channel, which will remain available until June 15. This means that two of the feature films and ten of the short films in competition this year can be enjoyed on the platform.
AN EDITION AGAINST ARMED CONFLICTS AND FOR THE CULTURE OF PEACE
Humans Fest held its 16th edition from May 29th to June 7th, focusing on armed conflict and the culture of peace. Over 40 fiction and documentary films from countries across four continents, including Spain, Argentina, Germany, the Czech Republic, the United Arab Emirates, Chile, and the United States, were screened. A comprehensive program was also developed, allowing this year's theme to be addressed from a variety of perspectives.
On the one hand, the film cycle at the IVC Film Library included eight films, including several works by war reporter and documentary filmmaker Hernán Zin, honorary award winner. Peace and Justice 2025 who participated in a discussion with journalist Rosa María Calaf after the screening of Dying to Tell. The difficulties of reporting from Palestine with the documentary have also been shown here. Eyes of Gaza Director Mahmoud Atassi and producer Abdulrahman Alkilany, who connected live via video call with on-site journalist AbdalQader A Sabbah so he could speak directly to the audience in the room.
This cycle has also offered sessions for children, framed in Menuda Filmo, with Flow, this year's Oscar and Golden Globe-winning animated feature film. It also featured Portuguese director Diogo Cardoso, who co-directed the documentary. For you Portugal, I swear! on the consequences of colonialism.
For the fourth consecutive year, cinema has been brought to the city streets free of charge with open-air screenings in the courtyard of Nuestra Señora de los Desamparados School in the Nazaret neighborhood; in the Plaza Jardín de la Ermita in the Orriols neighborhood; and, for the first time, in the La Torre neighborhood thanks to a space provided by Sedajazz.
Furthermore, thanks to the collaboration agreements between the Foundation for Justice, the ONCE Foundation, and the Association of Cochlear Implant Patients of the Valencian Community (AICCV), several film screenings were held with audio description and special subtitles, allowing people with visual and hearing disabilities to enjoy them. Both the opening and closing galas were attended by a sign language interpreter thanks to FESORD.
Added to all this are activities such as Debates Humans at the Rector Peset Residence Hall: two events in which, on the one hand, the short films that emerged from the participatory documentary workshop taught by La Cosecha Comunicación as part of the Humans Fest were presented, and on the other hand, conversations were held with women who have been on the front lines of peacebuilding in both Colombia and Palestine.
Likewise, this year the so-called Vermouths Humans At MuVIMAS (the MuVIM cafeteria): two more meetings with activists to discuss hate speech and the tools to combat it, as well as peaceful responses in the current context of increasing military spending and the arms trade.
Finally, this 16th edition of Humans Fest featured a workshop organized in collaboration with CERMI, focused on audiovisual professionals. It was led by filmmaker Miguel Ángel Font, who shared tools, examples, and strategies for creating audiovisual works that are more accessible and inclusive from the outset.
Humans Fest is part of the international Human Rights Film Network, along with 52 other film and human rights festivals around the world. Its 15th edition, the latest to be held, was thanks to the collaboration of the Vice Presidency and Ministry of Social Services, Equality, and Housing of the Generalitat Valenciana; the Valencian Institute of Culture; Valencia City Council; the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA); the Valencian Provincial Council; and Caixa Popular. À Punt, the Valencian regional broadcaster, is the festival's official media outlet.