The American Film Institute (AFI) announced today the Grand Jury Prize winners and Special Mentions for AFI Fest 2025 presented by Canva. The Grand Jury Prize winners for Live Action Short, Documentary Short and Animated Short will be eligible for consideration in the 2026 Academy Awards for Best Live Action Short, Best Documentary Short and Best Animated Short. This year’s jury was comprised of filmmakers Sue-Ellen Chitunya, Katherine Propper, and film programmer, producer and publicist Rachel Walker.

Grand Jury Prize – Live Action
“Majonezë” (DIR Giulia Grandinetti)
Jury statement: “A young woman breaks free from the imposing forces of her life in this well-acted tale of family, love, and rebellion. Immersing us in the local rituals and natural wonders of the Albanian countryside, ‘Majonezë’ is an entertaining, cinematic punk rock fable.”

Grand Jury Prize – Documentary Short
“Shanti Rides Shotgun” (DIR Charles Frank)
Jury statement: “For having the intuition to know this local character deserves the spotlight and the skillful economic storytelling that lets her story shine, we award the Grand Jury Prize – Documentary to ‘Shanti Rides Shotgun.’ We enjoyed learning how to drive through the jam-packed streets of New York with Shanti. The candor, enthusiasm, and commitment she brings to her job as a driving instructor for three decades left us wanting to go on a joy ride with her.”

Grand Jury Prize – Animated Short
“Forevergreen” (DIR Nathan Engelhardt, Jeremy Spears)
Jury Statement: “’Forevergreen’ captivates with its beautifully realized visual world and profound emotional resonance. Through the touching relationship between an orphaned bear cub and a father-figure tree, the film intertwines themes of friendship and sacrifice with incisive commentary on greed and climate change. It is a work that both enchants and challenges us, reminding us of the fragile interdependence between nature, compassion, and survival.”

Special Jury Mentions

Special Jury Mention for Craft
“The Fisherman”(DIR Calvin Brown)
Katherine Propper: “With its top-tier “animagic” style, ‘The Fisherman’ lures us into the haunting Biblical story of Job. The poetry of speech and skilled craftsmanship on display here is astounding.”

Special Jury Mention for Direction – Documentary Short
“Welcome Home Freckles” (DIR Huiju Park)
Sue-Ellen Chitunya: “It’s no easy feat directing oneself in a deeply personal family story where you’re the central character. We were moved by how Huiju delicately balances capturing images and telling an introspective story of unresolved conflicts from her childhood, through difficult conversations with her parents and family members.”

Special Jury Mention for Bravery in Storytelling
“Coyotes” (DIR Said Zagha)
Sue-Ellen Chitunya: “Coyotes receives a special mention for its bravery in storytelling, with its humanely challenging look at what choices one might make in order to survive in war-torn regions.”

Special Jury Mention for Direction – Live Action Short
“Poster Boy” (DIR India Opzoomer)
Rachel Walker: “Every frame counts in this precise and thoughtful glimpse into the audition of an ambitious 90s boy band hopeful. Throw in the superb tension and pitch perfect performances, and there’s no question that India Opzoomer is a director to watch. “

Special Jury Mention for Vision – Animation Short
“9 Million Colors” (DIR Bára Anna)
Sue-Ellen Chitunya: “A vibrant and melodious stop motion animation with no dialogue, that deftly portrays an unlikely friendship between a mantis shrimp and a blind fish. ‘9 Million Colors’ is joyous to watch, it gives us a new way to see the magical world that lives under the sea.”

Special Jury Mention for Vision – Live Action Short
“Water Sports” (DIR Whammy Alcazaren)
Katherine Propper: “A vibrant, apocalyptic vision by a filmmaker having so much fun with composition and form. ‘Water Sports’ pulses to the beat of its fiery drum.”

This year’s festival welcomed a record number of attendees with ticket and pass sales reaching 10% higher than the previous year.

This year’s festival lineup included 7 Red Carpet Premieres, 12 Special Screenings, 14 Luminaries selections, 15 Discovery films, 20 World Cinema selections, 15 Documentaries, 6 After Dark titles, 44 films in the Short Film Competition, and 23 films from the AFI Conservatory Showcase presented by AMC Networks. There were 5 World Premieres, 5 North American Premieres and 4 U.S. Premieres. Of the official selections, 39% were directed by women and 29% were directed by BIPOC filmmakers. This year’s program represents 56 countries and includes 20 Best International Feature Oscar submissions, including “All That’s Left of You” (Jordan), “Eagles of the Republic” (Sweden), “Fiume O Morte” (Croatia), “Happy Birthday” (Egypt), “Kokuho” (Japan), “Left-Handed Girl” (Taiwan), “The Love That Remains” (Iceland), “Magellan” (Philippines), “My Armenian Phantoms” (Armenia), “My Father’s Shadow” (United Kingdom),”the Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo” (Chile), “Orphan” (Hungary), “Palestine 36” (Palestine), “A Poet” (Colombia), “The President’s Cake” (Iraq), “Sound of Falling” (Germany), “The Tale of Silyan” (North Macedonia), “A Useful Ghost” (Thailand), “The Voice of Hind Rajab” (Tunisia), and “Young Mothers” (Belgium).

AFI Conservatory Alumni with films at AFI Fest included Patrick Creadon, Frederick Elmes, Affonso Gonçalves, Patty Jenkins, Matthew Libatique, Lucy McKendrick, Williams Means, Charlie Polinger, Masanobu Takayanagi, Amy Vincent and James Wilson.

Among the returning filmmakers include Bradley Cooper, Annemarie Jacir, Charlie Kaufman, Sam Pollard, Ben Proudfoot, Hong Sang-soo, Clay Tweel and Thom Zimny.

Guests at the festival included Mahershala Ali, Will Arnett, Ike Barinholtz, Michael Barker, Noah Baumbach, Jim Belushi, Clint Bentley, Thora Birch, Craig Brewer, George Clooney, Kerry Condon, Scott Cooper, Russell Crowe, Macaulay Culkin, Jamie Lee Curtis, Julie Delpy, Guillermo del Toro, Laura Dern, Lav Diaz, Katie Diamond, Derek Drymon, Joel Edgerton, Cary Elwes, Caspian Elwes, Bill Fagerbakke, Dakota Fanning, Mona Fastvold, Ben Foster, Sutton Foster, Brendan Fraser, Danny Fujikawa, Gael García Bernal, Heather Graham, Seth Green, Colin Hanks, Shawn Hatosy, Paul Walter Hauser, Werner Herzog, David Heyman, HIKARI, Kate Hudson, Oliver Hudson, Robert Irwin, Terri Irwin, Hugh Jackman, Samuel L. Jackson, Patty Jenkins, Spike Jonze, Charlie Kaufman, Tom Kenny, Riley Keough, Jon Landau, Kelly Lynch, William H. Macy, Rami Malek, Marc Maron, Christy Salters Martin, Stacy Martin, Myha’la, David Michôd, Ramsey Naito, Diana Nyad, Amanda Peet, Chris Pérez, Laura Poitras, Imogen Poots, Lewis Pullman, Suzette Quintanilla, RZA, Adam Sandler, Ted Sarandos, Teddy Schwarzman, Patti Scialfa, Michael Shannon, Bruce Springsteen, Fisher Stevens, Kristen Stewart, Brenda Strong, Jeremy Strong, Scott Stuber, Sydney Sweeney, Drew Tarver, Brian Tyler, James Vanderbilt, Gus Van Sant, Taika Waititi, Jeremy Allen White, Mari Yamamoto, Warren Zanes and SpongeBob SquarePants & Patrick Star.

Canva was the exclusive Presenting Sponsor of AFI Fest. FIJI Water was the festival’s Official Water Sponsor. Corporate Partners for AFI Fest 2025 included Apple Original Films, Northern Trust, AMC Networks, AT&T, Amazon MGM Studios, Netflix and IMDbPro. “The Envelope” by The Los Angeles Times was the festival’s Primary Media Partner and the Red Carpet Premieres Media Partner. Official Media Partners were The Wall Street Journal, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and ABC7 On the Red Carpet.

To learn more about AFI Fest, visit FEST.AFI.com.

About AFI Fest
Now in its 39th year, AFI Fest is a world-class event, showcasing the best films from across the globe. This year’s edition took place in Los Angeles from October 22-26, 2025. With an innovative slate of programming, the five-day festival presented screenings, panels and conversations, featuring both master filmmakers and new cinematic voices. AFI Fest includes high-profile films with Q&As featuring the films’ cast and crew and a robust lineup of fiction and nonfiction features and shorts, providing a one-of-a-kind experience for movie fans. Additional information is available at FEST.AFI.com. Connect with AFI’s film festival at Facebook.com/AFIFEST, X.com/AFIFEST, Instagram/AmericanFilmInstitute, TikTok/@AmericanFilmInstitute and YouTube.com/AFI.