‘DJ Ahmet’ Wins the 2025 Grand Jury Prize at the Sonoma International Film Festival
Set amidst spring in wine country, every year the 28th Sonoma International Film Festival offers a festive fusion of food, film, and community. Opening March 19, the festival wrapped things up on March 23 after five days of specialty screenings and culinary pleasures with its Grand Jury and Audience awards (see below). This celebration of cinema showcased 93 films from 21 countries, accompanied by an array of film talent and culinary stars. The festival’s diverse lineup included 39 narrative features, 16 documentary features, and 38 short films.
The festival opened with the World Premiere of documentary “Sweet Störy” (Utopia), directed by Sarah Justine Kerruish and Matt Maude, about saving a colorful café in a remote area of Sweden. The Centerpiece Film was “On Swift Horses” (Sony Pictures Classics), a period relationship drama starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Jacob Elordi, and Will Poulter, and the festival closed with Andrew Ahn’s “The Wedding Banquet” (Bleecker), starring Bowen Yang, Lily Gladstone, and Joan Chen, who accepted the SIFF Career Achievement Award on Closing Night.
Among the festival premieres were the North American debut of Strand Releasing’s Berlinale Golden Bear Winner “Dreams (Sex Love),” the California premieres of “Apollo 1,” “The Surfer,” and “The Ugly Stepsister,” and the world premieres of “Ali Eats America,” “Café Chairel,” and “Fatal Watch.”
Food lovers were treated to the extravagant Marcella Hazan tribute dinner alongside a special screening of “Marcella” and a master class in Japanese cuisine by Michelin-starred chef Yoshinori Ishii. “This year’s festival was a feast for the senses, blending extraordinary films with immersive food and wine experiences,” said SIFF Artistic Director Carl Spence.
2025 marked the debut of SIFF Pop-Ins, a program offering festival pass holders exclusive culinary and wine experiences at top local venues. Over three days, six locations—including The Bar at MacArthur Place, Wit & Wisdom, Capo Isetta Tasting Room, Enoteca Della Santina, Williams Sonoma, and Sonoma Cheese Factory—hosted packed events featuring chef-curated bites and wine pairings.
SIFF also marked the 20th anniversary of Gregg Araki’s “Mysterious Skin” and presented a Spotlight on Italian Cinema and a Scandinavian Film Showcase. Among the panels, this year’s “Film Veterans Tell All” featured an all-star lineup: Sundance Director Eugene Hernandez, who moderated, Strand Releasing chief Marcus Hu, Oscar-nominated producer Christine Vachon (“Past Lives”), Morelia FIlm Festival Director Daniela Michel, Vidiots founder Maggie Mackay, and Cinetic Media marketing whiz Brian Brooks.
Vachon also participated in a live taping of “The Film That Blew My Mind” podcast with ex-Sundance directors John Cooper and Tabitha Jackson.
GRAND JURY FILM AWARDS:
Grand Jury Award | Best Narrative Feature:
“DJ Ahmet” (Georgi M. Unkovski | North Macedonia)
Jury Statement from the Narrative Feature Grand Jury: Angelo Acerbi (Fred Film Radio),
Maggie Mackay (Vidiots) and Rajendra Roy (Chief Curator of Film, MoMA).
“We chose a film with sure-handed directing, brilliant casting – A classic love story reimagined – A film full of risks and rich rewards – we are honored to award Best Narrative Feature to DJ Ahmet.”
The film beat out the other Narrative Competition Films: “Café Chairel” (Director: Fernando Guillermo Barreda Luna/Mexico), “Gloria” (Director: Margherita Vicario/Italy), “Long Good Thursday” (Director: Mika Kaurismäki/Finland), “Mexico 86” (Director: César Diaz/France), “My Favorite Cake” (Director: Maryam Moghaddam, Behtash Sanaeeha/Iran), “The Party’s Over” (Director: Elena Manrique/Spain), and Oscar-shortlisted “Waves” (Director: Jiří Mádl/Czech Republic).
Grand Jury Award | Best Documentary Feature:
“Mistress Dispeller” (Elizabeth Lo | China/USA)
Jury Statement from the Documentary Feature Grand Jury: Brian Brooks (Cinetic Media), Jaie Laplante (DOC NYC), and Rachel Rosen (New York Film Festival). “For combining impeccable craft with a novelistic approach to nonfiction storytelling while always being empathetic to its subjects, this year’s Documentary Prize goes to Elizabeth Lo’s Mistress Dispeller.”
Special Mention | “Suburban Fury”
“For its bold ambition coupled with its probing research and daring approach, a Special Mention goes to director Robinson Devor’s Suburban Fury.”
“Mistress Dispeller” beat out the other Documentary Feature Competition Films: “Ali Eats America” (USA) Directed by: Roush Niaghi, Greg Morris, “Apollo 1” (United Kingdom) Directed by: Mark Craig, “Fatal Watch” (USA) Directed by: Mark Benjamin, Katie Carpenter, “Free Leonard Peltier” (USA) Directed by: Jesse Short Bull, David France, “Sweet Störy” (United Kingdom) Directed by: Sarah Justine Kerruish, Matt Maude, “Tokito: The 540-Day Journey of a Culinary Maverick” (Japan) Directed by: Aki Mizutani.
Grand Jury Award | Short Films and Jury Statements
All 38 Official Selection short films competed for three Grand Jury Short Awards.
The Short Film Grand Jury included Gregory Ellwood (The Playlist), Daniela Michel (Morelia International Film Festival), and Mike Plante (Sundance Film Festival).
Grand Jury Award: Live Action Short
“Trokas Duras” (Director Jazmin Garcia | USA)
“For shining a light on underheard voices in an era of contagious misunderstanding, we would like to give the Best Live Action Short Film to Trokas Duras.”
Grand Jury Award: Documentary Short
“Embracing Instability” (Director Nathan Willis | USA)
“For its insightful spotlight on an artist persevering through overwhelming change, we would like to give the Best Documentary Short Film to Embracing Instability.”
Grand Jury Award: Animated Short
“Como si la Tierra se las Hubiera Tragado” (Director Natalia León | France)
“For a stunning and emotionally resonant artistic achievement, we would like to give the Best Animation Short Film to Como Si La Tierra Se Las Hubiera Tragado.”
Special Jury Mention for Directing
“Sweet Talkin’ Guy” (Directed by Spencer Wardwell & Dylan Wardwell | USA)
¨For its brilliant and concise grasp of comedic filmmaking, Sweet Talkin’ Guy, directed by Spencer and Dylan Wardwell.“
AUDIENCE FILM AWARDS:
The Stolman Audience Award for Best Feature
“Meet The Barbarians” (France) Directed by: Julie Delpy
1st Runner-up: “DJ Ahmet” (North Macedonia) Directed by: Georgi M. Unkovski
2nd Runner-up: “Mistura” (Peru) Directed by: Ricardo de Montreuil
3rd Runner-up: “Waves” (Czech Republic) Directed by: Jiří Mádl
4th Runner-up: “Bad Shabbos” (USA) Directed by: Daniel Robbins
The A3 Audience Award for Best Documentary
“The Last Journey” (Sweden) Directed by: Filip Hammar, Fredrik Wikingsson
1st Runner-up: “Checkpoint Zoo” (USA) Directed by: Joshua Zeman
2nd Runner-up: “One to One: John & Yoko” (United Kingdom) Directed by: Kevin Macdonald
3rd Runner-up: “Apollo 1” (United Kingdom) Directed by: Mark Craig
4th Runner-up: “Sweet Störy” (United Kingdom) Directed by: Sarah Justine Kerruish, Matt Maude
The McNeely Award for Best Short Film
“Jane Austen’s Period Drama” (USA) Directed by: Julia Aks, Steve Pinder
1st Runner-up: “Teen Mary” (USA) Directed by: Ali Rosenthal
2nd Runner-up: “Foxhole” (USA) Directed by: Nick Dugan
3rd Runner-up: “Wingspan” (USA) Directed by: Matthew Fabiano
4th Runner-up: “Our Neighbors, The Peacocks” (USA) Directed by: Callie Barlow
