Best Italian Feature Film – E se mio padre by Solange Tonnini Awarded for the sensitivity with which it addresses a fragile and universal moment: the instant childhood cracks, through a girl’s discovery of her father’s double life. While at first glance the film recalls the bittersweet tone of Italian tradition, it reveals surprising depth thanks to its delicate and attentive direction and an extraordinary cast capable of conveying rare emotional nuances. The work explores the loss of innocence without rhetoric, counterposing the pure gaze of childhood to the reassuring lies of adulthood, using a sober, human and respectful language. The quality of the performances, masterfully directed, gives the film a narrative strength that captivates the audience and makes this intimate and contemporary story a valuable contribution to contemporary cinema.

Special Mention – Italian Feature Film – 6:06 by Tekla Taidelli An intimate and engaging road movie supported by a screenplay able to transform a real journey into a path of genuine redemption. The two protagonists deliver sincere and profound performances, enhanced by direction attentive to emotional nuances. Fabio Nunziata’s editing gives the film a fluid and immersive rhythm, helping create an essential, intense and strikingly human work.

Best International Feature Film – Violent Butterflies by Adolfo Dávila (Mexico) Awarded for the boldness with which it intertwines ethical reflection and narrative tension, transforming Viktor and Eva’s encounter into a powerful metaphor for personal and moral metamorphosis. The film sensitively investigates the fracture between individual principles and systems of justice, offering a vibrant story that raises profound questions. Despite some technical imperfections and a deliberately controversial ending, the work stands out for its visceral energy, strong performances, elegant cinematography and intense score.

Best LGBT Feature Film – Eva by William Reyes (Honduras/Colombia) Eva stands out for the maturity with which it addresses themes of identity, motherhood and resilience. The story transforms devastating grief into a journey of rebirth, depicting a protagonist capable of redefining herself in the most dramatic moment of her life. The film offers a powerful reflection on embracing one’s destiny and reconfiguring family roles beyond social norms.

Best Italian Documentary – Arte Sciopero by Luca Immesi Awarded for its ability to merge civic engagement and visual force in a compelling and necessary story. Through a rigorous and deeply human gaze, the documentary shows how art can become an instrument of resistance and social change. Best International Documentary – Stop Killing Our Women by Marco Venditti (Papua New Guinea) The jury recognizes a work that transforms data, stories and wounds into a cinematic narrative that strikes with precision and humanity. Venditti creates a film that goes beyond denunciation, inviting viewers to understand the cultural and social roots of violence and offering a lucid and respectful look at lives marked by tragedy.

Rai Cinema Channel Award – Best Italian Short Film – La Talpa by Marco Santoro Awarded for its ability to balance irony and depth, transforming the disillusionment of suburban life into a vibrant tale of truth and humanity. Special Mention – Italian Short Film – Gonfiami by Iacopo Zanon An ironic and melancholic reflection on contemporary loneliness and the illusion of “artificial” love. The short film reinterprets the language of Her with originality, transforming the relationship with an inflatable doll into a metaphor for emotional distance and the need for real connection.

Best Animated Short Film – Rukeli by Alessandro Rak An animated work of extraordinary visual power recounting the story of Johann Wilhelm Trollmann, a Sinto boxer persecuted under Nazism. Best International Short Film – Sága by Maïlys Gelin & Clément Grosdenier (France) An ambitious short film that stages the interiority of a marginal character experiencing a traumatic and secret transformation. AI Shorts Award – Animalz – Part One by Simone Bocchino and Luca Ontino A visually interesting experiment exploring the narrative potential of artificial intelligence. Best Student Short Film – (In)Visible by Sam Joseph (UK) A work of great emotional intensity exploring marginalization and the need for recognition with visual sensitivity and stylistic coherence.

Best Series Concept – L’appartamento sold out by Gianni Cardillo and Francesco Apolloni Awarded for a concept that weaves together reality and invention, offering a lively and necessary portrait of contemporary Italy.

Best Feature Film Screenplay – La risacca by Chiara Benedetti Awarded for the ability to combine the harsh reality of those who have received little from life with hints of social fantasy, creating a unique atmosphere that guides the protagonist toward change. Best Feature Film Concept – Operazione Fuo.Co. by Federica Angelini Awarded for channeling the hopes of young people in the suburbs into a project of civic struggle that unites an entire community. Best Short Film Screenplay – L’alfabeto bianco by Massimo Saverio Maida. A screenplay of rare formal and conceptual beauty, an essential and evocative work where unspoken words become cinema and cinema becomes emotional experience.

The 24th edition of the RIFF – Rome Independent Film Festival came to a close in its historic venue, the Nuovo Cinema Aquila in Rome, and simultaneously at Cinema Farnese, featuring more than 80 films, many of which premiered nationally, in Europe or worldwide.

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