{"id":1913,"date":"2025-09-21T20:24:58","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T17:24:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/?p=1913"},"modified":"2025-10-17T15:17:26","modified_gmt":"2025-10-17T12:17:26","slug":"wiz-art-2025-film-festival-announces-winners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/en\/news-en\/wiz-art-2025-film-festival-announces-winners-1913\/","title":{"rendered":"Wiz-Art 2025 Film Festival Winners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The 16th edition of the Wiz-Art International Short Film Festival has announced its winners: eight short films selected by the jury, audiences, and the Ukrainian Film Critics\u2019 Association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Grand Prix of Wiz-Art 2025 went to <strong><em>Daddy\u2019s Little Scratch<\/em> by Yehor Harmash (Ukraine, 2025)<\/strong>. The film tells the story of Slava, a young woman spending a day with her father Roman, who has returned home on short leave from the war. Together they travel to another city to return an expensive carpet that Roman had bought as a gift for his daughter. Over the course of their journey, they try to bridge the distance created by his eight years of service. Slava gradually realizes she must get to know the person her father has become.<br>As the Grand Prix winner, <em>Daddy\u2019s Little Scratch<\/em> has also been <strong>selected for the European Film Academy Award<\/strong>. It will compete with 29 other films at the award section <strong>European Short Film \u2014 Prix Vimeo<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image1913_9c0226-0c .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image1913_9c0226-0c size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/daddys-little-scratch-1024x576.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-870\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/daddys-little-scratch-1024x576.webp 1024w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/daddys-little-scratch-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/daddys-little-scratch-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/daddys-little-scratch-1536x864.webp 1536w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/daddys-little-scratch.webp 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The International Competition award went to <strong><em>Living Stones<\/em><\/strong><strong> by J\u00e1kob Lad\u00e1nyi Jancs\u00f3, (Austria, Hungary, 2025)<\/strong>. The story follows Natasha, a young woman undergoing therapy in an unusual rehabilitation center far from the city. Her sessions with the therapist are slow and difficult \u2014 she resists trust. When he suggests equine therapy, Natasha begins to feel a fragile sense of connection and acceptance that allows her to confront her darkest memories. The boundary between doctor and patient blurs, their relationship grows increasingly intimate, and the line between healing and harm becomes dangerously thin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cGoing through a traumatic experience puts you in a state where memories, fantasies, fears, and disturbed thoughts blend together and distort perception, making nightmares feel real and reality feel like a dream. The film we chose as Best Short Film in the International Competition explores this universal theme with a thoughtful use of cinema\u2019s unique tools. By leaving space for emotion and interpretation, the director and his team invite each viewer\u2019s imagination into an intense and cathartic experience.,\u201d commented the International Competition jury.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image1913_bfb9de-7f .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image1913_bfb9de-7f size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/stone-1024x540.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-879\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/stone-1024x540.webp 1024w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/stone-300x158.webp 300w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/stone-768x405.webp 768w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/stone-1536x810.webp 1536w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/stone.webp 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The winner of the National Competition was also <strong>Yehor Harmash\u2019s film <\/strong><strong><em>Daddy\u2019s Little Scratch<\/em><\/strong><strong> (Ukraine, 2025)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The same film also won the National Competition at Wiz-Art 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cIn exploring the relationship between a father and daughter, the winning film in the National Competition is at once a tender and unsentimental portrait of generational difference and family dynamics. In its investigation of issues of universal themes, the film also highlights the pain suffered by modern day Ukraine.&nbsp; Disconnection and trauma &#8211; both physical and mental &#8211; return home from the war, disrupting attempts at ordinary life. With powerful performances and assured directing, the National Award goes to DADDY\u2019S LITTLE SCRATCH by Yehor Harmash,\u201d stated the National Competition jury.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The National Competition winner received a special prize \u2014 a certificate worth 50,000 UAH for equipment rental from M-Rental.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Audience Award in the National Competition went to <strong><em>Curfew<\/em> by Yelyzaveta Toptyhina (Ukraine, 2025)<\/strong>. The film tells the story of a young photographer who, after an expedition, misses her chance to return to the city. At a bus stop, she meets a boy celebrating his birthday. As the curfew approaches, the two strangers are forced to spend the night together in a roadside hotel.<br>The audience favorite also received a <strong>nomination for the European Short Film Audience Award (ESFAA)<\/strong>, an annual European prize recognizing the best short film chosen by audiences at ten leading festivals. As part of this network, Wiz-Art nominated Curfew, which will now tour across ten European festivals.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image1913_d6cfe3-f5 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image1913_d6cfe3-f5 size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7-1024x768.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-862\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7-1024x768.webp 1024w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7-300x225.webp 300w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7-768x576.webp 768w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/7.webp 1147w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Audience Award in the International Competition was given to <strong><em>Shyness of Trees<\/em> by Bingqing Shu, Maud Le Bras, Jiaxin Huang, Simin He, Lina Han, Lo\u00efck du Plessis d\u2019Argentr\u00e9, and Sofiia Chuikovska (France, 2024)<\/strong>. This animated film follows H\u00e9l\u00e8ne, a 40-year-old woman visiting her elderly mother in rural France. But her mother behaves strangely, as if she has developed a mysterious connection with plants, insects, and an ancient oak tree at the end of the garden.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image1913_f90025-4d .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image1913_f90025-4d size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"560\" src=\"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/trees-1024x560.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-889\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/trees-1024x560.webp 1024w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/trees-300x164.webp 300w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/trees-768x420.webp 768w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/trees.webp 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The ESFAA Audience Award at Wiz-Art went to <strong><em>Two People Exchanging Saliva<\/em> by Natalie Musteata, Alexandre Singh (France, USA, 2024)<\/strong>. The film tells the story of Anjin, an unhappy woman who obsessively shops at a department store. There she becomes fascinated by a na\u00efve shop assistant. Despite a ban on kissing, a bond develops between them, arousing the suspicion of a jealous colleague.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image1913_850b82-e9 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image1913_850b82-e9 size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"554\" src=\"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/saliva-1024x554.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-957\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/saliva-1024x554.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/saliva-300x162.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/saliva-768x415.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/saliva-1536x830.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/saliva.jpeg 1665w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The Ukrainian Film Critics\u2019 Association also named two favorites. A Jury Diploma was awarded to <strong><em>I Died in Irpin<\/em><\/strong><strong> by Anastasiia Falileieva (Ukraine, Slovakia, Czech Republic 2024)<\/strong>. The animated film recreates a deeply personal story of survival: on February 24, 2022, a couple fled from Kyiv to Irpin. They spent ten days in the besieged city and managed to leave with the last evacuation convoy. Time has passed, but the haunting feeling of having \u201cdied in Irpin\u201d remains. The film conveys this intimate experience through a subjective lens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cThis is a film where animation masks an unbearable horror, yet it seeps through every frame. It subtly conveys the atmosphere of the times through personal conflict, turning a private story into a universal one,\u201d the Film Critics\u2019 jury explained.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image1913_aa28aa-3e .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image1913_aa28aa-3e size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IDII_2-1024x576.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-874\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IDII_2-1024x576.webp 1024w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IDII_2-300x169.webp 300w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IDII_2-768x432.webp 768w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IDII_2-1536x864.webp 1536w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/IDII_2.webp 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A Special Mention from the Ukrainian Film Critics\u2019 Association was awarded to <strong><em>Hello, I\u2019m on the Hill <\/em>by Liza Pyrozhkova (Ukraine, 2024)<\/strong>. The documentary tells the story of Mount Kremenets in the devastated city of Izium, Kharkiv region, which after months of Russian occupation became an \u201cisland of connection\u201d \u2014 the only place where people could find mobile signal to reach their loved ones.<\/p>\n\n\n<style>.kb-image1913_ec25be-a7 .kb-image-has-overlay:after{opacity:0.3;}<\/style>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-kadence-image kb-image1913_ec25be-a7 size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"700\" height=\"460\" src=\"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/001_hello_im_on_the_hill_pyrozhkova_-_liza_pyrozhkova.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"kb-img wp-image-975\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/001_hello_im_on_the_hill_pyrozhkova_-_liza_pyrozhkova.jpg 700w, https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/001_hello_im_on_the_hill_pyrozhkova_-_liza_pyrozhkova-300x197.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cThis is a story where an ordinary phrase becomes a lifeline to the outside world, a way to announce oneself and carry the voice of a city emerging from isolation. In a small gesture lies a larger narrative of both tragedy and resilience, revealing the strength of a community unafraid to say: \u2018We are here,\u2019\u201d said the jury in their statement.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 16th edition of the Wiz-Art International Short Film Festival has announced its winners: eight short films selected by the jury, audiences, and the Ukrainian Film Critics\u2019 Association. The Grand Prix of Wiz-Art 2025 went to Daddy\u2019s Little Scratch by Yehor Harmash (Ukraine, 2025). The film tells the story of Slava, a young woman spending&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":870,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"narrow","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"unboxed","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"hide","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1913","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1913","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1913"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1913\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2089,"href":"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1913\/revisions\/2089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1913"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1913"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wiz-art.ua\/festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1913"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}