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2025 JURY AWARDS

Our juries have spent countless hours in the dark watching amazing works and stories, and after much deliberation, they have made their choices. Here are this year's recipients of the 35th Oslo/Fusion Jury Awards, along with the jury statements:

The jury have chosen a visionary work of cinema that interweaves revolutionary thought, rebellious art, and the enduring irrepressibility of queer desire. Featuring a remarkable ensemble cast and breathtaking black-and-white cinematography, the film is a warning on the cycles of history, a haunting reminder that what was once inflicted on us will inevitably return but can also be met with resistance from the power of love and allyship. 

This film transcends storytelling to become a mirror of our collective trauma, offering audiences not just a bold and provocative narrative, but a profound reflection on the human condition. 

The 2025 Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature goes to BEAUTIFUL EVENING, BEAUTIFUL DAY, directed by Ivona Juka.

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We would also like to recognize one film with an Honorable Mention for its raw, authentic look into a love story we have not yet seen depicted on screen. With stunning lead performances by Magnus Juhl Anderson and Nina Rask, as well as unflinching direction by Mathias Broe, the film captures the tension of vulnerability and the conflict between self-preservation and self-acceptance.
The Jury’s Honorable Mention goes to SAUNA.

Jury: Ingrid Jungermann, Campbell X, Virgin X

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The winning film tells an intimate and complex story in an engaging way. It takes unpredictable paths and challenges traditional views of the community it depicts. It shows a character struggling with these traditions, wanting to break free but also wanting to be approved. Given the topic of the film, it is unavoidable that it ends on one of the most pressing issue of our time, the Israeli occupation and ongoing genocide in Palestine.
The result is a time-sensitive story of an American queer rabbi challenging the right-wing radicalization and the orthodox traditions of his community, including his own family.

The 2025 Jury Award for Best Documentary goes to SABBATH QUEEN, directed by Sandi DuBowski.

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The jury would like to give Honorable Mention to a fun, creative and well-produced documentary, giving us a playful and honest artist portrait.
This year's Honorable Mention goes to PEACHES GOES BANANAS, directed by Marie Losier.

Jury: Marianne Gulli, Kari Nøst Hegseth, Eli El Sultan

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The short film we have chosen masterfully guides the spectator through shifting emotions of empathy for the protagonist, followed by antagony and disappointment. Its premise is simple yet urgent, raising an important question within the gay community: in loneliness or desperation, how far can one go?
Through layered storytelling and political innuendo, the film reveals that liberation is only possible by transcending ego, resisting oppression, and embracing solidarity over isolation. In doing so, we free ourselves and the other. No one is free until everyone is free. Speaking to the personal and the political, the film calls for empathy, action, and justice. Queer utopias are not fantasies, queer utopias are necessities.

The 2025 Jury Award for Best Short Film goes to SIMON AT THE NIGHTSHOP, directed by Thanasis Tsimpinis

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We want to give an Honorable Mention to a film that courageously enters the conversation around trans lives, portraying its subject with raw honesty and deep humanity. In a time of increasing aggression toward the trans community, the film offers a much-needed lens of empathy, understanding, and truth. It’s a bold and vital contribution to queer cinema.
An Honorable Mention goes to NO CONTEST, directed by Olivier Wright.

Jury: Guri Glans, Dan Helgi í Gong, François Monarcha

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This film touched all of us. It is a film that shows us that, in 2025, it is still a struggle to go out in the streets and be who you are, and feel the right to be who you are.
This film also shows the importance of having a community that supports you, and loves you for who you are. These days, where we’re seeing polarization and scary things happening in the United States, and spreading around the world, we wish that Robson’s speech in the school would be heard by the whole world right now.

The 2025 Fusion/Young Award goes to an important, touching and very strong film, LOVE IS WHO I AM / SOU AMOR, directed by Andre Amparo and Cris Azzi.

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This film gave us all a warm feeling inside, and its theme is something you don’t see enough these days in film, about being non-binary or gender fluid.
Our Honorable Mention goes to SKIFF, directed by Cecilia Verheyden.

Jury: Lotte W. Bech, Albert Reith, Henrik Østreng Eriksen

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CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE WINNERS - AS WELL AS ALL THE FILMS AND FILMMAKERS WHO HAVE MADE THIS YEAR'S FESTIVAL!