As a jury, we came across a collection of films marked by strong intermedial and inter-epistemic dimensions. This selection of works incorporates diverse forms of expression: we experienced a lesson of philosophical depth which interconnects ancestral and cosmic knowledge; we followed an exploration of images and textures that resonates with the feelings of revisiting childhood; we observed investigations  that bring spectral presences from the depths of history to the surface — presences that assert themselves in a territory that insist on keeping them invisible. We witnessed dances shaped by minimal, precise gestures in presentations shared with the audience; and we connected with elderly individuals as protagonists, eager to embrace the present moment — a time filled with joy, vulnerability, love, and solitude.

And finally, for challenging this jury’s repertoire and the canonical notions of cinephilia, for using humor as a potent political tool, for its intelligent engagement with contemporary languages — creatively questioning them —, for merging diverse cultures of visual and auditory imagery into a cyborg film, and for its intent to directly impact the audiovisual economy, we have made our choice.  In recognition of the film’s boldness, this jury awards Nightmare Trap, by Marco Antônio Pereira.

Anti Ribeiro, Érico Oliveira e Nanda Rossi

With a truly unique style, Dona Beatriz Nsimba Vita reimagines the circularity of myth, linking spaces and stories in a short film that is as visually captivating as it is intellectually challenging. The alchemy of the main character, who multiplies dramatically, inspires a film that is difficult to decipher, yet invites us into its plot through multiple senses: the exquisite visual work is aligned with rigorous sound research. Red dogs on guard, restless macaws, ghosts invading homes, a secretly hidden ancestral recipe, the end of the world, its rebirth… In this alchemical gathering, the imaginative work of the artist and filmmaker Catapreta constructs a poetic, not at all allegorical universe that draws connections with reality and especially proposes a strange suspension with cinema in the evidence of the world. The committee also congratulates the aesthetic exploration and historical research that gives shape to Dona Beatriz Nsimba Vita.

Azucena Losana, Fabio Rodrigues Filho e Kênia Freitas

Solo la luna comprenderá, by Costa Rican director Kim Torres, stands out for its creative weaving of temporalities, crafting a tapestry of memory through narrative and stylistic elements. The film reimagines mise-en-scène as a tool to reveal enigma and mystery. Arising from the challenge of capturing fleeting, intense moments, the film develops in a fabe-like atmosphere, relying on gaps and incompleteness, and on fragments of an almost story: in cutouts and windows, in the interplay between light and shadow that fills each shot like a game of hide-and-seek, emphasizing a temporal relationship shaped by the nature of this play, imbued with purpose and the pulse of life. It captures insignificant details of everyday life and the influence of the supernatural forces, embodying what is both eternal and ever-changing.

Through the children’s hazy recollections and imaginative perspectives — driven by a desire to leave and experience all the world has to offer, yet accompanied by a longing to remain deeply rooted in a past filled with affection — the film paints a vivid picture of what it might be like to grow up in Manzanillo, Costa Rica. The work delves into beach games and the endless wanderings through the village’s hidden corners, with the immersive, subjective, and purposefully imprecise camera — following everything closely and capturing the intensity of a moment witnessed only by the full moon. Incorporating experimental elements, Solo la luna comprenderá breaks away from traditional narrative structures, offering viewers a rich and transcendent cinematic experience.

Alessandra Brito, Gilson Plano, Pedro Vaz Peres