Alexandre Koberidze’s Dry Leaf scooped the grand prix and Nidhi Saxena’s Secret Of A Mountain Serpent received the New Voices award on the revived Bangkok Worldwide Movie Competition (BKKIFF), which made a comeback after an absence of 16 years.
Dry Leaf, the Germany-Georgia drama that premiered in competitors at Locarno, was described as “ingenious and mesmerizing”. “At a time when cinema celebrates the clear and unambiguous, this movie stands aside – embracing texture, imperfection, and the tactile presence of our medium,” stated an announcement from the jury.
The particular jury prize went to Mascha Schilinski’s Sound Of Falling, which is Germany’s submission for the Oscars and this week received the Golden Athena award for greatest movie at Athens. The movie premiered in Competitors at Cannes, the place it received the jury prize.
Portugal’s Pedro Pinho was named greatest director for I Solely Relaxation In The Storm, a three-and-a-half hour drama that additionally bowed at Cannes.
The worldwide competitors jury comprised Vimukthi Jayasundara, Anocha Suwichakornpong, Kuo Ming Jung, Kiki Fung and Kongdej Jaturanrasmee.
Saxena, the Indian director of Secret Of A Mountain Serpent, was available to obtain the highest prize from the New Voices competitors, a showcase for first, second and third options by Asian filmmakers. The part additionally offered a particular point out to Hair, Paper, Water… directed by Nicolas Graux and Truong Minh Quy. The jury included Kamila Andini, Tony Bui and Soros Sukhum.
The awards ceremony passed off on Wednesday (October 15) at SF World Cinema in Bangkok’s Central World procuring complicated, the place closing movie Kohuho screened to a full home. Company in attendance on the red-carpet gala occasion embody Kokuho director Lee Sang-Il, Thai stars Ananda Everingham, identified for his Khun Pan movie trilogy, and Wissarut Himmarat from A Helpful Ghost.
The competition ran from September 27-October 15 after being moved ahead by 4 months from its unique scheduled berth of January 2026 “attributable to some red-tape points that required us to spend the finances sooner”, in accordance with BKKIFF competition director Donsaron Kovitvaniycha.
“The prep time was a lot shorter and it’s a protracted competition, over 19 days. Nevertheless it went smoother than anticipated and ended profitable with the awards ceremony and the closing movie Kokuho,” Donsaron instructed Display screen after the ceremony.
He talked about that the competition had acquired help from native Thai distributors of overseas movies equivalent to GDH, which equipped Japanese movies Love On Trial and Kinki, in addition to Sahamongkol Worldwide, which equipped Sound Of Falling, A Pale View Of Hills, and Berlinale Golden Bear winner Desires.
He additional revealed {that a} Thai distributor has acquired a few interational titles that performed at BKKIFF because of sturdy ticket gross sales and viewers reception.
Bangkok 2025 winners
Worldwide Competitors Part
Bangkok Grand Prix Award: Dry Leaf, dir. Alexandre Koberidze (Ger-Geo)
Particular Jury Prize: Sound Of Falling, dir. Mascha Schilinski (Ger-Fr)
Greatest Director: Pedro Pinho, I Solely Relaxation In The Storm (Bra)
New Voices Awards
Winner: Secret Of A Mountain Serpent dir. Nidhi Saxena (India)
Particular Point out: Hair, Paper, Water … ,dirs.. Nicolas Graux, Truong Minh Quy (Bel-Viet)
Thai Panorama Viewers Award: Dream! dir. Paul Spurrier
Asian Quick Movies Competitors
Greatest Asian Quick Movie
Attock, dir. Awais Gohar (Pak)
Delay, dir. Wang Han-Xuan (China-US)
Particular point out: Grandma Nai Who Performed Favorites, dir. Chheongkeo (Camb-Fr-US)