Igor Bezinović’s Fiume o morte!, a hybrid documentary revisiting the peculiar occupation of Rijeka by Italian nationalists led by poet, aristocrat, and army officer Gabriele D’Annunzio after World War I, won the coveted Tiger Award for best competition film at the 2025 International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), headed up by managing director Clare Stewart and program director Vanja Kaludjercic.
Jon Blåhed’s Raptures, which explores a 1930s apocalyptic cult in Sweden, was honored with Rotterdam’s Big Screen Award during the fest’s awards ceremony on Friday. The film is the first-ever feature shot in Meänkieli, a minority language in Sweden.
Tiger Special Jury Awards went to Sammy Baloji’s The Tree of Authenticity, a cinematic essay about Congo’s colonial past and ecological significance, and Tim Ellrich’s Im Haus meiner Eltern, a drama about an alternative therapist who must balance the demands of her professional life with the needs of her aging parents and older brother.
Meanwhile, the 2025 FIPRESCI Award, handed out by international film critics, was also presented to Fiume o morte!
And the NETPAC Award for a feature from the Asia and Pacific region was bestowed upon Varsha Bharath’s Bad Girl. Finally, The Visual Feminist Manifesto, directed by Farida Baqi, received the Youth Jury Award.
Rotterdam’s Audience Award will be unveiled in the coming days. Green Border, Agnieszka Holland’s harrowing tale of refugees caught in the wooded boundary between Belarus and Poland, won the fest’s audience honor last year.
On Thursday, the IFFR Pro Awards were handed out to the likes of Georgian drama Tear Gas from Uta Beria, Robin Coops’ One Charming Night, and Thomas Woodroffe’s Erratics.
The Rotterdam festival, which opened on Jan. 30, closes on Sunday.
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