Europe’s top event for independent cinema, ÉCU – The European Independent Film Festival announces its 2025 award-winning film, including its highest honour, “Europe’s Best Independent Film”.
With 43 films from 19 countries participating to the festival this year, ÉCU 2025 ended its indie-packed festival with its established final ceremony recognising 25 award winners in 16 categories.
For the last 20 years, ÉCU has been helping to launch and expand the careers of many talented independent filmmakers. The Festival is extremely proud to assist these passionately driven artists who create incredible cinema without the benefits of large production budgets. ÉCU’s mission to discover and promote extraordinary independent films from around the world renders it a major European cultural event.
LISTED BELOW IS THE FULL LIST OF ÉCU 2025 WINNERS:
| Europe’s Best Independent Film 2025 | AUX ARMES, CHRISTOPHER | Elise Amblard |
| Best European Independent Dramatic Short | DEPREDADOR | Javier Fesser |
| Best European Independent Dramatic Feature | THE SLUGGARD CLAN | Rastislav Boroš |
| Best European Independent Documentary | SEEDS FROM KIVU | Néstor López & Carlos Valle |
| Best Independent Experimental Film | CODDESS VARIATIONS | Hervé Martin Delpierre |
| Best European Independent Music Video | BEFORE THE DAWN | Alexander Denysenko |
| Best European Independent Animation | CHICKEN | Anna Benner |
| Best European Independent Comedy | LES PETITS MONSTRES | Pablo Leridon |
| Best Non-European Independent Dramatic Short | HOLY HEAVÊNESS | Farnoosh Abedi & Negah Khezre Fardyardad |
| Best Non-European Independent Dramatic Feature | CUADRILATERAL | Daniel Rodríguez Risco |
| Best Non-European Independent Documentary | GISELOU | Mohammad Sadeq Esmaeeli |
| Best Student Film | ALL BEAUTY QUEENS HAVE BROKEN BONES | Max Tullio |
| Best Actor | LES PETITS MONSTRES | Actor – Samuel KALAMBAY |
| Best Actress | BROKEN BIRD | Actress – Rebecca Calder |
| Best Editing | SWIMMING WITH WINGS | Editor – Daphna Awadish Golan |
| Best Cinematography | RUDI | Cinematographer – Alex Jaffar |
| Best Director | TRIBU | Carlos Gómez-Trigo |
| Special Jury Mention | SOLITARIUM | Raoul Dattola |
| Special Jury Mention | IN MY BEGINNING IS MY END | Trevor Murphy |
| Special Jury Mention | HOME | Janina Hüttenrauch |
| Audience Award | TOKYO STRANGE TALE | Koichi Ueno |
| The Ahmed Khedr Award for Excellence in Arab Filmmaking. | ASRAR | Nawaf Boarki |
| Excellence in Women’s Filmmaking | WITNESS | Aida Tabianian |
| Best Short Script | THE EYES OF REFUGEE | Written by Ro Çil |
| Best Feature Script | A HOUSE FOR THE FLOWERS | Written by Juliana Petry Philippi |
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