Tampere Film Festival Awards Presented

The competitions of Tampere Film Festival culminated on Saturday evening, 7 March, with the Awards held at the atmospheric Comedy Theatre Palace, where the winners of the festival’s film competition series were announced. Awards were presented in the National and International Competitions, as well as in the Generation XYZ Competition dedicated to genre films.

During the evening, audience favorites were also honored, and the Sustainability Award Verso focused on ecological responsibility in film production was presented. In addition, the Sylvi Prizes by the Writers Guild of Finland were presented for the third time in connection with the festival, recognizing the best film and TV series scripts.

International Competition

The Grand Prix, the main award of the International Competition, went to the Georgian fiction short Inherited Silence (Georgia, 2025) directed by Mariam Khatchvani. According to the jury, the film offers a complex look at how domestic violence becomes normalized and the social structures that allow it to continue.

Mariam Khatchvan: Inherited Silence (Georgia, 2025)

A candidacy for the European Film Academy’s European Short Film – Prix Vimeo 2027 was awarded to Igor Smola’s short film It Lives Under The Snow (Azerbaijan, Singapore, 2025). The jury praised its carefully crafted cinematography and its haunting urban legend story that keeps audiences holding their breath until the very end.

The award for Best Documentary in the International Competition went to SON (Sweden, 2025) by Leona Cauklija. The Best Animation award was given to the experimental animated film Unanimated Strangers (Ireland, 2025) directed by Róisín Kelly. The jury selected Uragshaa harsan tsonh (France, Mongolia, 2025) by Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir as Best Fiction. The International Audience Award went to the documentary Living Despite Them (Palestine, 2024/2025), directed by Antonia Colodro and Alaa Hathleen.

The International Competition jury consisted of last year’s Grand Prix winner Martín Seeger, together with Yvonne Ashley Kouadjo, Sai Naw Kham, Sigrid Hadenius-Ebner and Sunna Nousuniemi.

National Competition

The Main Prize in the National Competition for films under 30 minutes went to Risto-Pekka Blom’s experimental documentary Liian sininen taivas (Too Blue a Sky, Finland, 2026). According to the jury, the film – presenting 150 years of history narrated by a freshwater pearl mussel – comes with an urgent reminder: the planet doesn’t belong only to us, nor the millionaires and billionaires.

Risto-Pekka Blom: Too Blue a Sky (Finland, 2026)

A Special Prize in the same category was awarded to Puolanka Pussy Rally (Finland, 2026), a documentary by Inka Achté and Einari Paakkanen. The jury described it as a film that paints a picture of the structural changes happening in a small Finnish community, using endearing humor to deliver a sharp social commentary. The film also received Tampere’s nomination for the European Short Film Audience Award.

The Youth Jury Award in the under-30-minute category went to In My Hand (Norway, Sweden, Finland, 2025) by Marja Helander and Liselotte Wajstedt, which was also screened in the International Competition. The jury described the film as touching, eye-opening, and visually striking, conveying an impactful message that deserves to be heard.

In the National Competition for films over 30 minutes, the Main Prize was awarded to Jukka Kärkkäinen’s documentary Kappale kauneinta Suomea – The Beauty of Errors (Finland, 2026). The jury described the film as a masterpiece that looks at its characters with a lot of humor and respect. The filmmakers invite us to the life of a family living in a small Finnish village, filled with hardships but above all, love. The film celebrates everyday life with flaws alongside its beauty of errors.

Jukka Kärkkäinen also received the annual Risto Jarva Prize from the Finnish Film Foundation. Exceptionally, the award was granted for two of his films: The Beauty of Errors, which competed in the over-30-minute category, and The Beauty of Automobiles (Finland, 2026), which competed in the under-30-minute category. The jury stated that this year they found it important to honor two films distinguished by their originality and personality – one short and one longer – representing two different but equally important ways of making films.

A Special Prize in the over-30-minute National Competition went to Karin Annika Pennanen’s documentary Päivien lumo (Days of Wonder, Finland, Denmark, Norway, 2025). The jury noted that the film successfully takes us on a journey through time and the hidden world of an unknown artist. In her search for a connection to her uncle, the filmmaker creates a heartfelt portrait of a unique mind.

The Church Media Foundation Prize was given to Selma Vilhunen’s short film Portti paratiisiin (A Gate to Paradise, Finland, 2025). The Sustainability Award Verso (presented by the City of Tampere, Audiovisual Producers Finland – APFI, and Tampere Film Festival) was awarded to the entire production team of the feature-length documentary Palava maa (Lessons in FIre, Finland, 2025), directed by John Webster, for the film’s ecological production practices.

The Student Award went to Muistot liikkuvat kuin kaukaiset saaret (Memories Move Like Distant Islands, Finland, 2025) directed by Saarlotta Virri. The film’s cinematographer Annika Miettinen also received the Golden Shade Equipment Rental Prize For Cinematographe (Valofirma – The Light House, Kamerafirma – The Camera House). A Special Mention in the National Competition was given to Helmi Donner’s short film Matalapaine (The Lightning Rod, Finland, 2025). The National Audience Award went to Sami Sänpäkkilä’s feature documentary Anssi Kasitonnin maailma (8000: An Art Odyssey, Finland, 2025).

The jury of the National Competition consisted of Ulla Heikkilä, Irene Soriano and Lauri-Matti Parppei.

Generation XYZ

The award for Best Genre Film in the Generation XYZ Competition went to Jocelyn Charles’s animated film Dieu est timide (God Is Shy, France, 2025). According to the jury, the film captures the true essence of existential horror. It doesn’t take the usual route of the genre, but something very unexpected: something that stays with you and makes you want to dive into your own fears.

Jocelyn Charles: Dieu est timide (France, 2025)

A Special Mention in the Generation XYZ Competition went to Rein Maychaelson’s Sammi, Who Can Detach His Body Parts (Indonesia, 2025). The Audience Award was won by TMWYH (Austria, 2025), directed by Helen Esther Aschauer.

The Generation XYZ jury consisted of Jana Riemann, AJ Annila and Marisha Rasi-Koskinen.

Sylvi Prizes

The Writers Guild of Finland has presented the Sylvi Prizes since 2021 for the best film and television screenplays. Many leading Finnish screenwriters have received the award. It is granted solely on the basis of the script, not the finished film or series. This year, the Sylvi Prizes were presented for the third time as part of Tampere Film Festival Awards.

Sylvi Prize for the Best Film Script went to Jossain on valo joka ei sammu (Finland, 2025), written by Lauri-Matti Parppei. The jury described the script as making full use of the possibilities of cinematic storytelling, managing to be both realistic and hopeful – “a real magic trick in this time and global situation.”

Sylvi Prize for the Best TV Series Script was awarded to Niklas Lindgren for Kurjen kirous. The jury noted that the series builds its narrative through well-motivated shifts between timelines, increasing tension and holding the reader’s attention until the end. Self-irony is a difficult genre, the jury added, but the series succeeds in it.

Awarded Films Screenings on Sunday at Finnkino Cine Atlas

The awarded films will be screened on Sunday, 8 March, at the Finnkino Cine Atlas cinema starting at 11:00. Tickets for the Awarded Films screenings can be purchased from the festival’s online store as well as from the festival’s ticket outlet at Finnkino Cine Atlas.

Awarded Films 2026 page