SIFFA 2025: Celebrating a Decade of the Festival

London, 20–27 November 2025

The So Independent International Film Festival (SIFFA) successfully concluded its landmark edition, celebrating ten years and its fifteenth release with a vibrant programme held across London from 20 to 27 November 2025.

This year, the festival unfolded in the heart of the West End at the Vue Piccadilly Cinema, located at 19 Regent Street in London’s cinema district.

Alongside film screenings, SIFFA presented three key industry events:

• 3 November – Raindance Studios

The festival opened its educational strand with a masterclass at Raindance Studios - London’s renowned center of independent filmmaking - led by acclaimed writer, investigative journalist and filmmaker Richard Belfield.

• 18 November – Official Press Conference at The Castle Cinema, Hackney

Filmmakers, partners, journalists and guests from around the world gathered for SIFFA’s official press conference. Participants viewed the documentary Temptation by Civilisation, created by the Antropov Foundation and dedicated to the Chilean philosopher Dario Salas Sommer, whose ideas inspired SIFFA’s slogan:

“Cinema of Higher Values – Beyond Differences, Towards Genuine Dialogue.”

• 24 November – Industry Talk

Led by award-winning filmmaker Joel Van Der Molen, industry legend Tommy Gunn, and other team members, this dynamic session explored strategies for positioning and selling films in today’s competitive global market.

• 28 November – SIFFA President’s Private Celebration Evening at Dear Darling

A special reception hosted by SIFFA Founder & President Luba Balagova-Kandour, featuring live music by Rob Marshall. This warm gathering brought together filmmakers, festival partners, jury members and friends of SIFFA. 

A heartfelt tribute was also paid to Ben Duncan, a British socialite and media personality who was a valued supporter of SIFFA and a friend of the festival. His family attended the event as special guests, making the moment especially meaningful.

Main Festival Programme

From 18 to 27 November, audiences were introduced to 39 films representing contemporary British cinema, Russian cinema, and new works by directors from Belarus, Bulgaria, India, Italy, Kazakhstan, China, Mexico, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Uzbekistan, the USA, France and Sweden.

These films were selected from 430 submissions received this year. Ten films were screened out of competition.

Twenty-eight films competed in three categories:

• Feature Film Competition – 11 films

• Documentary Competition – 5 films

• Short Film Competition – 12 films

Victory Day Programme

This year, the festival presented a special programme dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Second World War, featuring award-winning non-competitive films by contemporary Russian directors:

• White Tiger – directed by Karen Shakhnazarov

• The Last Frontier (Podolsk Cadets) – directed by Vadim Shmelev

• A Siege Diary – directed by Andrey Zaitsev

International Jury

SIFFA 2025 competitions were evaluated by three international juries chaired by distinguished industry professionals.

Feature Film Jury

Chair: Nikolai Lebedev

Members: Lembit Öpik, Isabella Marchese Ragona

Documentary Jury

Chair: Simon Danczuk (UK) 

Members: Yvette Hoyle, Joel Van Der Molen

Short Film Jury

Chair: Issam Hijjawi (Palestine/Jordan)

Members: Duchess Nivin El-Gamal

Closing Ceremony & Awards

The closing ceremony took place on 27 November at Vue Piccadilly Cinema in central London. The awards ceremony was hosted by actors Oleg Hill and Rosemary Lloyd.

SIFFA President’s Statement

SIFFA Founder & President Luba Balagova-Kandour summarised the results of the forum:

“In a world that is becoming more and more divided, our film festival is breaking down national borders. Films have overcome distances, differences of cultures and beliefs, uniting us. This unwavering ability of cinema to restore connection and dignity is the true triumph of SIFFA’s tenth anniversary and the fifteenth film forum.”

Acknowledgements

The festival team extends heartfelt gratitude to all filmmakers, partners, supporters and friends. Your trust, generosity and belief in SIFFA made this exceptional anniversary edition possible. The full list of winners and awardees is available at: https://www.siffa.media/winners-list