The winning films, selected by our esteemed SIFFA juries in the shorts and documentary categories, delve into profound themes and narratives. These include an exquisite and powerful documentary exploring the philosophical concept of preserving oneself in love, emphasising that "the future of humanity largely depends on how it correctly chooses the goal and direction of movement towards it" (‘Altai’).
Other winners include compelling stories about the patience and resilience of mothers (‘Baluches’), as well as reflective films on the experience of growing up (‘Vovka’) and a Biblical narrative (‘From the Mouth of Babes’ – ‘From the Painter’s View’).
The winners of this year’s In Competition screenings are:
SIFFA President Award - Film: Altai the Grain of the Future. Director: Natalya Bondarchuk
SIFFA Award for the Best Documentary - Film: Little Baluches. Director: Raya Nasiri
Vera Glagoleva's SIFFA Award for the Best Debut Film - Film: Voiceless. Director: Zahra Mojahed
SIFFA Award for the Best Documentary Director - Film: The Human Side of Plastic: Babacar Thiaw. Directors: Andrew Lynch, Ben Ayers, Rush Sturges
SIFFA Award for the Best Short Film - Film: Going First. Director: Anna Lee
SIFFA Award for the Best Actor - Film: Don’t Worry About Me. Actor: Masoud Keramati
SIFFA Award for the Best Screenplay - Film: Sweet Sorrow. Director: Parisa Zandbaf
SIFFA Award for the Best Pictorial Art - Film: Alien. Director: Jurita Kalite
SIFFA Award for the Best Montage - Film: Shift Change. Director: Mark Hensley
SIFFA Award for the Best Montage - Film: Shift Change. Director: Mark Hensley
Mohy Quandour's SIFFA Award for the Best Youth Film - Film: From the Painter’s View. Director: Goli Zarei
This year, for the first time, an award was given to perpetuate the memory of the legend of world cinema Mohy Quandour (Kandour),
SIFFA Award for the Best Short Film Director - Film: Vovka. Director: Oksana Stashenko
The Cranes are Flying (1957) Director: Mikhail Kalatozov
Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears (1980) Director: Vladimir Menshov
The Double (2013) Director: Richard Ayoade
Two Women (2014) Director: Vera Glagoleva
Vysotsky. Unknown... a true story (2018-2024) Director: Anatoly Balchev
Seven Moments of Robert Rozhdestvensky (2022) Director: Pavel Menyaylo
Khitrovka. The Sign of Four (2023) Director: Karen Shakhnazarov (inspired by the books of Conan Doyle, the essays of Gilyarovsky and the ideas of Stanislavsky).
Special screening of the shorts - The Place (2001) by the director Arkady Kogan.
SIFFA Award for the Distinguished Patronage - Dear Darling management and team for the 3 years of exceptional commitment
Best SIFFA Partner of the Year - Anvar Turobov, Founder and CEO of ALNUR
SIFFA 2024 awarded Anastasia Ivanova for the Excellence in Digital Art and Design.