Belgian custody drama ‘We Believe You’ wins big at Seville European Film Festival

Charlotte DeVillers and Arnaud Dufay’s debut feature film we believe in you It won the Golden Giraldillo Award for Best Film at the 22nd Seville European Film Festival, which ended on November 15th.

The Belgian drama about a tense custody hearing also won Best Original Screenplay and Best Actress for Miriem Akediou.

The film debuted in the Perspective section of the Berlinale earlier this year and garnered special mention. Produced by Mackintosh Film and distributed internationally by The Party Film Sales. Filmin and Karma Films own the rights in Spain, with Karma handling theatrical release.

George M. Unkowski DJ Ahmet It won the Grand Jury Prize for its combination of humor, kindness and vitality. ”

The co-production between North Macedonia, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Croatia premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2025, where it won the World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award in the Creative Vision category. Films Boutique has international rights.

DJ Ahmet Newcomer Arif Jakub won the Best Actor award for his role as a 15-year-old boy from a remote mountain village in Macedonia who finds freedom in electronic music. The film depicts his struggle for self-definition amid family misunderstanding, local prejudice, and a community at odds with his passions. Firmin owns the rights in Spain and plans to release it exclusively on the platform.

Sherian Davis won the Best Director award. All That’s Left of YouThis is the work that Jordan submitted for the International Feature Oscar. The filmmaker’s third feature follows a Palestinian family shaped by out-of-control political forces over eight decades, starting in 1948, the origin of the forced displacement. The film is being produced by Match Factory, with Karma Films holding the rights in Spain.

The official selection jury was chaired by British producer and former Edinburgh International Film Festival director Linda Miles, American storyboard artist John Coven, marketing director Bonnie Volland, Spanish director Laura Hodgman, and mk2’s Nacho Martínez-Uceros.

discovery

The Showcase Award, dedicated to the first and second films in the Rampa series, went to British-Nigerian filmmaker Akinola Davis Jr. father’s shadowBest British International Film Oscar.

The film premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section, and Match Factory held worldwide distribution rights. Shot and set in Nigeria, the film interweaves Yoruba, Naija Pidgin, and English and unfolds over a day as two brothers navigate Lagos with their long-absent father during the 1993 electoral crisis. Mubi has the rights in Spain, but it is still unclear whether the film will be released theatrically in Spain.

The 22nd SEFF ended at Teatro Cervantes. Chopin, Chopin!directed by Polish film director and producer Michał Kwieczynski.

Full list of winners of the 22nd Seville European Film Festival

golden giraldiro
we believe in you
Director: Charlotte DeVillers, Arnaud Dufay

Jury Grand Prize
DJ Ahmet
Director Georgi M. Unkowski

Best Director Award
Sherian Davis
All That’s Left of You

Best Screenplay Award
Charlotte DeVillers, Arnaud Dufay
we believe in you

Best Actor Award
Arif Jakup
DJ Ahmet

Best Actress Award
Miryem Akediu
we believe in you

Best edit
Hansjörg Weisbrich
late shift

Best Cinematography Award
Angelo Faccini
horse anatomy

Best Art Direction
Juan Pablo Garay
horse anatomy

Rampa Showcase Award
father’s shadow
Director Akinola Davis Jr.