The Closing Night of Queer Lisboa 29 - International Queer Film Festival, took place this Saturday evening, September 27th, at 9pm, at Sala Manoel de Oliveira, in Cinema São Jorge, where the awards for the Feature Film Competition, Documentary Competition, Short Film Competition, In My Shorts Competition - which awards the Best European School Film - and Queer Art Competition, were announced. Below, the awards of Queer Lisboa 29:

 

FEATURE FILM COMPETITION

 

The jury, composed of filmmaker Catarina Vasconcelos, cultural manager Francisca Carneiro Fernandes, and programmer and distributor Gustavo Scofano, deliberated:

 

Best Film

Drifting Laurent, Anton Balekdjian, Léo Couture, Mattéo Eustachon (France, 2025, 110’)

 

“Reminding us that we are mostly doubts and vulnerability, this film has us face that. In its delicacy and strength, the film is a reminder that tenderness and vulnerability cannot, and should not, vanish from our days, our conversations, and our lives, and that the fringes are always more extraordinary, diverse, and enriching than the centre. A film which wisely and sensitively weaves together loneliness, mental health, the plight for different modalities of affection and belonging,  touching upon the question of sexuality, while not treating it as a central issue. Because this is a film which embraces us, on a trip between life and death, allowing us to believe in a world where everyone can freely be themselves. We were especially moved by the fact that this is a film about humanity: the humanity we could and would love to become.”

 

Special Mention

Lesbian Space Princess, Emma Hough Hobbs, Leela Varghese (Australia, 2025, 87’)

 

“Apparently simple and light-hearted, this film is evidence of a labour, rigour and reasoning of outstanding depth, in the many layers it presents us with. An essential film for everyone, teenagers, young people, and adults, given its transformative power, which is mostly the relevance and focus on the idea – often considered minor – of self-love. It is admirable (it gives us both relief and hope) that a queer film can use humor to make us laugh about some of our deepest wounds and fears, reminding us that joy can truly save us.”

 

Audience Award

Jone, Sometimes, Sara Fantova (Spain, 2025, 80’)
 

 

DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

 

The jury, composed of filmmaker and producer Marta Sousa Ribeiro, visual artist and researcher ROD, and journalist Silvia Alves, deliberated:

 

Best Film

This Is my Body, Jérôme Clément-Wilz (France, 2025, 64’) 

 

“In his opening speech at the festival, João Ferreira stated that Queer Lisboa 29 is a cinema of exposure, rebellion, and activism. Jérôme Clément-Wilz's “Ceci est mon corps” does exactly that. It is a film that stands out for its honest and raw language, through which Jerôme shares his private life and his quest for a truth that no one seems willing to see.”

 

Special Mention

My Sweet Child, Maarten de Schutter (The Netherlands, 2025, 58’)  

 

“An autobiography that pieces together fragments to recover the emotional memory of a mother. Maarten de Schutter's “My Sweet Child” touched us due to the manner in which the director managed to turn this personal investigation into an artistic and cinematic object.”

 

Audience Award 

My Sweet Child, Maarten de Schutter (The Netherlands, 2025, 58’)  

 

 

SHORT FILM COMPETITION

 

The jury, composed of artist Diego Bragà, filmmaker Francisca Manuel, and cultural journalist Tiago Manaia, deliberated:

 

Best Film

Birthdays, Adrian Jalily (Denmark, 2025, 19’)

 

“This portrait of queer childhood touched us deeply, and how society receives the presence of a child who does not conform to cisgender norms. Through the non-Manichean portrayal of parents when they put themselves in their child's shoes, there is a commitment to a more hopeful and free future.”

 

AltContent Award (for audio and musical post-production)

Homunculus, Bonheur Suprême (France, Italy, 2025, 18’) 

 

“For the experimentation of the sound design in its dialogues and universe.”

 

Special Mention

Twilight Ladies, Alain Soldeville, Alexe Liebert (France, 2024, 11’)
 

“For its trans-feminist discourse towards an empowered future, with a non-fatalistic view of trans lives affected by gentrification.”

 

Audience Award

Big Boys Don’t Cry, Arnaud Delmarle (France, 2025, 23’)
 

 

“IN MY SHORTS” EUROPEAN SCHOOL SHORT FILM COMPETITION

 

The jury, composed of artist Diego Bragà, filmmaker Francisca Manuel, and cultural journalist and actor Tiago Manaia, deliberated:

 

Best Film

To Our Gardens, Samuel Dijoux (France, 2024, 28’) 

 

“The real life and spontaneity of cruising at the Louvre in Paris, versus the commodification of digital apps and the fascism of societies. The layers of archaeological research are surprising.” 

 

Special Mention

Close to September, Lucía G. Romero (Spain, 2025, 30’) 

 

“Delivered by a dyke-feminist gaze in the harsh outskirts of a large seaside city. Brilliant direction of the actresses.”

 

 

QUEER ART COMPETITION

 

The jury, composed of performer and singer Bruno Huca, visual artist Luisa Cunha, and filmmaker Stéphane Gérard, deliberated:

 

Best Film

Truth or Dare, Maja Classen (Germany, 2024, 79’)

 

“Based on a game, the film offers us a direction and editing full of intelligence, delicacy, and an exquisite care with light, sound, and balance between scenes of beautiful simplicity and strong visual impact that lead us in a movement of tenderness in the deconstruction of our sexuality, delving into spaces of honesty, subtlety, spirituality, looking at and embracing diverse subjectivities, diverse traumas, celebrating diverse bodies that become sculptures, creating space for affection and vulnerability and conversations about consent, in a gesture not limited to language but revealing a mastery in the ethics of filmmaking almost as an "aftercare" for our current sexual imaginary.”

 

 

This festival edition welcomed dozens of international guests from countries such as Spain, Belgium, Brazil, France, Italy, Austria, Argentina, Chile, the Netherlands, Germany, and Canada, as well as a significant Portuguese presence, which enriched the dialogue between creators and viewers throughout the nine days of the event.

 

Cinema São Jorge and Cinemateca Portuguesa once again saw large audiences at their film screenings and talks, in addition to the parties and warm-up events that preceded this edition, resulting in an attendance of close to 8,000 spectators.

 

With a program strongly influenced by the troubled international political and social situation, Queer Lisboa 29 welcomed and promoted an activist and critically-driven cinema, but also a more personal cinema addressing themes such as trauma and overcoming adversity, grief and family, in a curatorial line that equally highlighted issues related to migration and diasporas, HIV/AIDS, sexuality, and mental health, celebrating the rich spectrum of LGBTQIA+ experiences and the transformative power that a queer gaze can have on the world.

 

With another edition of Queer Lisboa now over, the dates for Queer Lisboa 30, a special anniversary edition of the festival, have already been confirmed. It will take place from September 18 to 26, 2026, at Cinema São Jorge and Cinemateca Portuguesa. Meanwhile, the 11th edition of Queer Porto will take place between November 4 and 8, 2025, at Batalha Centro de Cinema, Casa Comum, and Passos Manuel.