The 25th edition of the International Short Film Festival was a great success.
- malescortowebsite
- Jul 26
- 3 min read
Over 900 spectators attended Malescorto 2025 week, with the Awards Ceremony crowning the winners from among 31 top-notch international short films in the Official Selection. This year's Festival saw a growing attendance, confirming the public's interest in short films.
The Technical Jury awarded the 2025 Malescorto Grand Prize to the short film "Deep in My Heart Is a Song" by American director Jonathan Pickett. This film is exemplary in its narrative strength, originality, and mature use of audiovisual elements, free of forced rhetoric. Filmed in the desert plains of Arizona, amidst evocative landscapes and intense atmospheres, the short is inspired by a true story, narrated by its protagonist, Johnny Bencomo, a cowboy singer of few words but a powerful stage presence. A touching, intimate tale that celebrates the poetry and generosity of the human heart as secular remedies for life's tragedies, accompanied by the protagonist's own music. Its success was also confirmed by audience members, receiving the highest number of audience votes.
The "TrasmettereArchitettura" Award , supported by the Order of Architects, Planners, Landscape Architects, and Conservationists of the provinces of Novara and VCO, was awarded to Marta Guillén's Spanish work Azul meteoro (Meteorite Blue). This work enchants with its visual poetry and the delicate way it narrates the encounter between two solitudes: those of Nilo and Athena. The settings become palpable protagonists, architectural symbols of a shared inner journey. Between dialogues and existential questions, the emotional tension grows alongside the exploration of the locations, transforming the space into a mirror of their fears, hopes, and desires.
The “Associazione Musei dell'Ossola” Award , offered by the association of the same name as part of the Interreg Di-segnare project, was won by Les lucioles (The Fireflies), a French animated short film by Mathieu Staropoli, Maïa Xueref, Clémentine Gabard, Ambre Fournier, Loïs Angilella, Léa Faynel, Hannah Gozlan, Emilie Richard, and Claire Represa. The film, set in France in the 1930s, tells the story of several female workers struggling amid the toil and dangers of the era's industry. It is a short but powerful work, capable of bringing to light a forgotten chapter in the history of women's work. It is not only a social commentary, but also a tribute to the silent resilience of so many women whose sacrifice has been ignored for decades. A small animated masterpiece, it manages to move the viewer with the power of memory alone.
The Audience Award was given to the Irish short film Room taken (Occupied Room) by Tj O'Grady Peyton, with a score of 3.71 out of 4. Also highly rated were the American short film Deep in My Heart Is a Song (In My Heart Is a Song) by Jonathan Pickett, with an average of 3.56 points, and the French short Le dérapage (The Slip) by Aurélien Laplace, with an average score of 3.46 points. More than 500 viewers voted in this edition, confirming their interest in active participation and dialogue with the Artistic Director.
Three special mentions were awarded this year, recognizing the diversity and quality of the works selected by the Artistic Direction. Cartagène , a French animated short film created by ESMA students, stands out for its technical sophistication and visual originality: a journey through memory and affection that, through a comic-book style and clever use of computer graphics, recreates the faded atmosphere of old magnetic tapes to tell the story of the bond between a child and his grandfather. From New Zealand comes Rochelle, directed by Tom Furniss, which stands out for its powerful screenplay and quality direction, balancing drama and tenderness. Benjamin Sawyer's intense and surprising performance leads the viewer through a tale of friendship and emotional transformation. Italy is represented by Fucking Boobs and Mani a terra, directed by Paolo Cipolletta: an intimate and poetic story that, through the bond between two young people with Tourette's syndrome, delicately addresses themes such as isolation, understanding and self-discovery, creating a lively and unconventional image of contemporary Naples.
Download this edition's Palmarès and discover the Technical Jury's reasons:
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