A jury of 33 film critics from 13 Latin American countries selected three finalists from 19 film entries for this year‘s Latin American Critics’ Award for European films which will be awarded at the Guadalajara Film Festival on 9 June 2025: Deaf by Eva Libertad (Spain), Little Trouble Girls by Urška Djukić (Slovenia) and Late Shift by Petra Volpe (Switzerland).
33 of the most prominent and influential film critics from 13 Latin American countries selected their top three films from 19 nominations, submitted by each country's national film institute – EFP’s member organisations – before voting for the winning film.
Eva Libertad's first feature film debut, Deaf is deeply personal and based on her short film of the same name. The main role is played by Eva‘s deaf sister Miriam Garlo. Deaf observes the nuanced relationship between a deaf woman and her hearing partner as they prepare to have a child. Their different worlds—marked by communication challenges and uncertainties —are portrayed with intimacy, especially in the film’s quietest moments. According to the Spanish director, “The feature film comes from that desire to take a deeper dive into the complexity of the relationship between the deaf and hearing worlds: engagement and disengagement, connection and love, but also clashes and conflicts… something that, as Miriam’s sister, has been a fundamental part of my life and which, still today, after spending our whole lives together, continues to change shape and present challenges, like a mystery that needs to be constantly unraveled.“ Deaf celebrated its world premiere at this year’s Berlinale Panorama Section and received the Audience Award and the Arthouse Cinema Award as well as six awards at the 28th Festival de Malaga including Best Film, Best Actress and Best Actor. Deaf is a Spanish production by Distinto Films, Nexus CreaFilms and A Contracorriente Films, represented by Madrid-based world sales company, Latido Films.
The debut feature by Urška Djukić, Little Trouble Girls follows introverted 16-year-old Lucia, who joins her Catholic school's all-girls choir and befriends Ana-Maria, a popular and flirty third-year student. When the choir travels to a countryside convent for a weekend of intensive rehearsals, Lucia’s interest in a dark-eyed restoration worker tests her friendship with Ana-Maria and the other girls. As she navigates unfamiliar surroundings and her budding sexuality, Lucia begins to question her beliefs and values, disrupting the harmony within the choir. Slovenian director Urška Djukić portrays the struggles of a teenage girl on the brink of adolescence. She wants “to explore the mysteries of the senses as tools for understanding ourselves. I think the long-standing taboo around sexuality has left us still unable to fully understand or harness its potential power. The body has its own instinctive intelligence, guiding us if we listen carefully.” Little Trouble Girls opened the new official competitive Perspectives section at this year’s Berlinale and won the FIPRESCI-Award as well the post-production services TitraFilm award worth €10,000 at the 2023 Les Arcs Film Festival Industry Village, in the Work-in-Progress section. Little Trouble Girls was produced by Slovenia’s SPOK Films, in co-production with Staragara IT (Italy), 365 Films (Croatia), Non-Aligned Films (Serbia), Nosorogi (Slovenia) and OINK (Slovenia). Heretic is in charge of world sales.
In Late Shift Nurse Floria passionately and very professionally works in the surgical ward of a Swiss hospital. Her every move is perfect. She has an open ear for all patients, even in the most stressful situations and is immediately on hand in an emergency. Ideally. However, in the harsh reality of her daily routine, things are often unpredictable. When she starts her late shift one day, a colleague is absent from the fully occupied, understaffed ward. As the night progresses, her work becomes more and more of a race against time. With her third feature film Late Shift Petra Volpe wanted to “make a movie that celebrates this profession.” The Swiss director once worked in care herself and lived with a nurse for a long time. She is aware of the pressure, the great responsibility and the inner turmoil. With her film, which takes place in one day and is told from Floria's perspective, she also wants to contribute to the discussion surrounding the challenges faced by professionals carers and their important work. Late Shift, produced by Zodiac Pictures (Switzerland), in co-production with Germany’s MMC Zodiac and Swiss Radio and Television, celebrated its World Premiere at this year’s Berlinale Special Gala section. TrustNordisk handles world sales.
In 2024, EFP launched the Latin American Critics’ Award to boost the visibility of European films in Latin America, while highlighting ath the same time the key role role of film critics in promoting arthouse cinema. It's about increasing circulation, sparking dialogue, and growing the appetite for European cinema across the region. Last year's winner was The Teachersʼ Lounge by İlker Çatak (Germany).
The Latin American Critics’ Awards, in cooperation with the Guadalajara Film Festival (FICG), is made possible thanks to the support of Creative Europe – the MEDIA Programme of the European Union - and the respective national film promotion institutes. Media partners are LatAm cinema and Cineuropa.
About the Guadalajara Film Festival
The reinvention of Mexican cinema started at the Guadalajara Film Festival (FICG), and since then, the festival has become a fundamental meeting point for the Mexican and Ibero-American film community. The FICG is the most solid film event in Latin America because of its programme and the assembly of industry professionals. It has contributed substantially to the formation of audiences of cinema.
