The Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) has announced the winners of this year’s Feature Fiction, Feature Documentary, Short Film and Change Awards with Vanilla winning the Feature Fiction prize.

Vanilla, which had its Australian premiere at AFF, is directed by Mexico’s Mayra Hermosillo. The film is a textured family drama which unfolds through the eyes of a young girl raised by seven formidable women.

The Feature Fiction Award, which includes a $10,000 prize, is supported by Nunn Dimos Foundation.

The AFF Competition Jury – Pavel Cortés, Marion Pilowsky, Jub Clerc and John Sheedy – in awarding the prize to Vanilla said: “With rare tonal precision, Mayra Hermosillo crafts a narrative that delicately interlaces trauma, identity, and female solidarity with humour, warmth, and pathos. The film finds profound humanity in its flawed, vibrant characters and celebrates difference not as something to be resolved, but embraced. Hermosillo’s direction reveals a filmmaker of remarkable sensitivity and control, blending poetic visuals with emotional truth to create a cinematic world that is at once specific and universally resonant.”

On receiving news of the Awards, Marya Hermosillo said: “From a place surrounded by trees and about to start shooting, we’re receiving the news of this award, and it feels VERY STRONG. Thank you, Adelaide Film Festival, for giving our family a home and sharing it with the audience.

The magic of time — being sixteen and a half hours behind, waking up to find that the future awaits us with beautiful news like this — brings hope, because it reminds us that making films is a space of vulnerability, collectively, and reflection. It goes beyond differences of culture and language; it is about connecting with something that transcends reason. And now that our world is fighting so many wars, I wish that through art we can remember that humanity has no divisions — and if an Australian audience can resonate with a Mexican story, that is proof of it. THANK YOU!”

The Jury also gave a special mention to Dutch director Sven Bresser’s Reedland, noting its bold narrative choices and lyrical exploration of masculinity and memory.

The Feature Documentary Award prize, which includes a $10,000 prize, was awarded to She, directed by Parsifal Reparto. The film is a searing and moving study on globalisation’s impact on the collective lives of Vietnamese women factory workers, living away from their families.

In awarding the prize, the Jury said: “Through a lens both covert and compassionate, director Parsifal Reparato crafts a documentary of startling intimacy. Despite the physical and emotional distances these women endure, their inner lives—marked by longing, resistance, and resilience—emerge with quiet power. Reparato’s restrained yet expressive visual style allows his subjects’ stories to unfold with dignity, transforming their testimonies into acts of subtle defiance against systemic erasure.”

Parsifal Reparto said: ““When I first started this project, the workers would often tell me, ‘Who would ever care about our stories – the stories of us poor factory girls?’

“Today, receiving this recognition carries deep meaning – it’s a huge achievement for all of us. For us as filmmakers and producers, it’s a powerful encouragement to continue investing our time and energy in telling stories about workers’ rights around the world. And for the workers themselves, it’s a reminder that they are not alone – that the world cares, and that their struggles are seen, heard, and shared.

“We are truly grateful. As with all my films, She is a personal act of resistance – and in this case, a portion of the prize will be shared, in solidarity, with the workers through a support fund. It’s our way of giving back and standing together with labourers everywhere.”

The AFF Competition Jury also gave a special mention to Sanatorium - directed by Ireland’s Gar O’Rourke and set in a sanitorium in Odesa - or its haunting atmosphere and unflinching examination of wartime trauma and human dignity.

The winner of the Change Award is the feature documentary Trade Secret, directed by AFF guest Abraham Joffe, a gripping exposé of how the polar bear fur trade became conservation’s most dangerous secret.

Established in 2020, the Change Award is for positive or environmental impact and cinema expressing new directions for humanity, and this year saw five films competing for a $5000 cash prize. The Jury comprised Natasha Gadd, the CEO/Creative Director of the Australian International Documentary Conference, award-winning creative producer Katrina Lucas and changemaker Adelaide Xerri, who currently works for Climate for Change.

The Jury said: “It was a challenge for us to select a clear winner for the 2025 Change Award as the films in consideration were all extremely compelling but in quite different ways. Ultimately, it was Trade Secret by Australian Director Abraham Joffe that we feel best reflects the Change Award’s focus on lasting, positive impact. This powerful film sheds light on the nuanced complexities of policy, institutional power, and the long-term impacts of decisions that extend far beyond the urgent call to save the polar bears. With shocking revelations about the endangered species preservation industry, this film has the potential to create ripple effects that resonate on a global scale.

“We also congratulate the other nominees for their incredible innovation and bravery in tackling such pressing and challenging topics. Each of their films is a testament to the beauty and power of truth telling in these critical times.”

Director/producer Abraham Joffe said: "We’re incredibly grateful that Trade Secrethas received the Change Award from the Adelaide Film Festival. Our hope for the film has always been that it sparks urgent conversation and real action to bring greater protection not only for polar bears, but for the many vulnerable and endangered species still suffering from the threat of international commercial trade."

This year’s Shorts Award, which includes a cash prize of $3000 supported by Humanee, was won by The Eating of an Orange, a stunning exploration of identity, sexuality, conformity and self-expression told with incredible visual flourish by UK filmmaker May Kindred-Boothby. The jury was particularly taken by Kindred-Boothby's bold use of flowing, repeated movement and patterns in this mesmerising, expressionistic work. Congratulations to the entire filmmaking team.

The Jury - cinema programmer Miranda Flett, filmmaker Isaac Coen Lindsay and filmmaker Matt Veseley – said: “This year's short film competition showcased a diverse range of compelling storytelling from around the world. The jury found the process of selecting a winner invigorating but incredibly challenging. We were particularly struck by the high-quality animation that was on show, as is reflected in our selections. “

The Jury also gave a special mention to God Is Shy, the French animation directed by Jocelyn Charles for its resonant blend of character and unknowable horror.

On receiving the Award, May Kindred-Boothby said: “As an artist working largely alone it can sometimes be difficult to maintain faith in your work and your forward motions, having external encouragement of this kind is so unbelievably helpful and appreciated! I am so surprised and grateful for this recognition! The award money will be going straight into allowing me the time to focus on writing my next piece, so it really does make all the difference. I wish I could have been there in person to celebrate with you all but I am with you in spirit on the other side of this crazy globe. Sending best wishes to all - and so much thanks again!”

AFF CEO & Creative Director Mat Kesting said: “Kindness has been the emergent motif of the Adelaide Film Festival this year, prompted by the opening night film, Jimpa, and flowing through foyer conversations and now finally reflected by the prize-winning films selected by our competition juries. Congratulations to all the nominated filmmakers and winners. Thank you to our dedicated juries for their time and care in determining the winners – and to our partners Nunn Dimos Foundation and Humanee for supporting the celebration of screen culture in South Australia and recognition of excellence in filmmaking.”

Wednesday25th March

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