Rome Independent Film Festival (RIIF) announced the winners of the XXII edition of the RIFF Awards with the Award for Best Italian Feature Film going to Ciurè by Giampiero Pumo. The film won “because it is constructed with delicacy and courage. Because Pumo is very good in the dual role of director and protagonist. Because it is an independent film that has the tone of a refined product. A film that talks about two worlds distant from each other that despite this meet and clash, giving life to a fairy tale in reverse”. Ciuré also won the “Mario Mieli” Special Prize for the best LGBTQIA+ project.

The award for Best International Feature Film went to White Paradise by Guillaume Renusson (France) “because in a scheme already explored by previous works it manages not to remember or fear its predecessors and to excite with expert direction and a precise and very well directed cast . It’s an emotional film.”

The award for Best Italian Documentary went to “Dino’s Dark Room” by Corrado Rizza which “discovers – for those who don’t know him – the figure and work of Dino Pedriali with a moving and interesting story, not only for the direct testimony of those who ‘he met, of those who worked or collaborated on it and also – obviously – for the inevitable reference to Pasolini.”

The award for Best International Documentary went to “Light Falls Vertical” by Efthymia Zymvragaki (Spain/Germany/Italy/Holland) (because “the theme of violence in the family is interesting and even more so the choice to combine two different experiences but united by the same anguish. The direction of the actors tends towards pure realism, creating a disjointed and painful visual experience, despite the atmosphere of an island of dreams.”

A special mention went to “Planet B” by Pieter Van Ecke (Belgium).“

The Award for Best Italian Short went to “Polvere” by Paolo Carboni which also won the Rai Cinema Channel Award.

The Award for Best International Short went to “Gift” by Xiaotong Jiang (China), the Best Animated Short Award to “Odd One Out” by Micky Wozny (UK) and the Best Short for Film Schools to “Immortel.Le” by Éléonore Bürki (Switzerland).

In the Collateral Awards, the FilmAmo Award for the Documentary category went to “Planet B” by Pieter Van Ecke (Belgium) and the FilmAmo Award for the Feature Film category to “Tales of Babylon” by Pelayo de Lario (UK).

In Pitch Day, the Award for Best Screenplay for a Feature Film went to Christian Pendered Zur with “Cold Summer”, the award for Best Short Film Screenplay to “The Last Reporter” by Michele D’Anca, and the Award for Best Subject for a Feature Film to “Aurora Doesn’t Sleep at Night” by Virginia Bellizzi.