Celebrating its 10th Edition: Toronto Arthouse Film Festival's 2025 Award-Winning Films

In the past week, the Toronto Arthouse Film Festival marked its return with the eagerly awaited 2025 edition. This year's event featured four screening evenings at the Innis Town Hall, complemented by an engaging online streaming selection. A vibrant assortment of 31 films, curated from both local and international talent, encompassing narrative films, documentaries, experimental gems, and music videos, contributed to the festival's resounding success, drawing a diverse community of indie film enthusiasts.

Festival Curator and Director, Kris De Meester, expressed his delight, stating,

"Celebrating the 10th edition of the Toronto Arthouse Film Festival felt like a true milestone. The turnout was fantastic, but what stood out most were the valuable Q&As — genuine, thoughtful exchanges between filmmakers and audiences. It was inspiring to see so many directors present to share their visions in person, reminding us of what makes arthouse cinema so vital: real conversation, curiosity, and connection through film."

Today, TAFF takes great pleasure in unveiling the distinguished recipients of the 2025 awards, as determined by our jury panel:

Best Narrative Feature Film:

A Hunt For Hedgehogs (Hungary) by Mihály Schwechtje

Best Documentary Feature Film:

Ice Breath (Romania) by Leonard Alecu

Best Narrative Short Film:

We Who Remain (Norway) by Sindre Mangen Haram

Best Documentary Short Film:

Unscarred (Belgium) by Théo Roland

Best Animated Short Film

The God Man (Canada) by Andrew Foerster

Best Underground Film:

Papier Mâché (Canada) by Simon Madore

Best Experimental Film

Nonna's Seeds (Canada) by Patricia Marcoccia

Best Poetic Film:

The Lamb (France) by Hélène Matte, Marco Dubé

Best Acting:

Cláudia Jardim in A Mother Goes To The Beach (Portugal) by Pedro Hasrouny

Best Canadian Film:

Scarred (Canada) by Zeddy Chevron

Congratulations to all the talented winners!

Today also marks the launch of a new Call for Entries on FilmFreeway for the upcoming edition. Filmmakers are invited to submit their work here: https://www.torontofilmfestival.org

ABOUT TAFF:

Do you possess a distinctive vision? Are you a dedicated independent filmmaker unwilling to compromise on your artistic ideals? The Toronto Arthouse Film Festival extends a warm welcome to filmmakers who explore and innovate within the constraints of limited budgets to realize their creative visions. Our festival is dedicated to showcasing the pioneering and daring works of risk-taking filmmakers from around the world. These films, distinguished by their aesthetic and thematic diversity, herald the arrival of exciting new directing talents in the world of cinema.

Official Selection /

Winner of The Tarkovski Grant:

Lines (Germany) by Martin Schmidt

After Dark (Norway) by Iain Forbes

The Oldest (United States) by Cathlin McCullough

The Cascade (Mexico) by Pablo Delgado

Georgie (United States) by Jennie Butler

Confetti (United States) by Amanda Therese Bonaiuto

We Who Remain (Norway) by Sindre Mangen Haram

A Hunt For Hedgehogs (Hungary) by Mihály Schwechtje

To No Where (United Kingdom) by Sara Pantoli

Unscarred (Belgium) by Théo Roland

Arrested (Lithuania) by Indrė Juškutė

A Mother Goes To The Beach (Portugal) by Pedro Hasrouny

The Lamb (France) by Hélène Matte, Marco Dubé

Violet (Germany) by Laura Engelhardt

The God Man (Canada) by Andrew Foerster

Scarred (Canada) by Zeddy Chevron

Papier Mâché (Canada) by Simon Madore

Nine Easy Dances (Canada) by Nora Rosenthal

Baq'a The Open Valley (Canada) by Youssef Mutawe

Nonna's Seeds (Canada) by Patricia Marcoccia

Scenario (Japan) by Kazunori Miura

Lost Pieces of Her (Czech Republic, Portugal, United States) by Sofie Jo Lebow

Ice Breath (Romania) by Leonard Alecu

Demonboy (United States) by Aaron Lovett

Release (Hungary) by Zoltan Gergely Szabo

Magic Rage (France) by Jean-Marie Bonny Nkoa

Let it Dance (Australia) by Carolyn Corkindale

A Human Ride (Germany) by Kristian Gründling

From Red to Gray (Korea, Republic of) by Mingu Kang

Dragonfly (China) by Siyang Liu

Satélite (United States) by Flor Marmolejo