Seeds, Brittany Shyne’s documentary portrait of Centennial farmers in the geographical south has won the Full Frame Grand Jury Award at the 2025 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Using lyrical black-and-white imagery, the film examines the decline of generational Black farmers and the significance of owning land.
In a statement the jury said, “A quietly affectionate portal into the everyday joys and challenges of multiple generations in the American South, this patiently observed film offers an exquisitely photographed celebration of a community historically overlooked in American mythology. We are pleased to award Seeds the 2025 Full Frame Grand Jury Prize for this loving portrait of Black farmers.”
The 2025 Iris Tillman Hill Audience Award was presented to Come See Me in the Good Light, directed by Ryan White in the Feature category, and The Devil Is Busy, directed by Christalyn Hampton and Geeta Gandbhir, in the Short category.
“We are proud to celebrate the 2025 award-winning films,” said Sadie Tillery, Full Frame Festival Co-Director and Artistic Director. “We are grateful to the award presenters for their support and especially wish to thank the jurors who joined us in reviewing the films this year.”
Full Frame is a qualifying event for nominations for the Academy Award® Documentary Short Film category and the Producers Guild of America Awards.
The Full Frame Jury Award for Best went to perfectly a strangeness directed by Alison McAlpine.
Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) awarded its 2025 prize to Coexistence, My Ass! directed by Amber Fares; the Charles E. Guggenheim Emerging Artist Award honoring a first-time documentary feature director went to Marie-Magdalena Kochová for The Other One; and Speak directed by Jennifer Tiexiera and Guy Mossman, received the Kathleen Bryan Edwards Award for Human Rights.
Winners of 2025 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
FULL FRAME GRAND JURY AWARD
Seeds (dir. Brittany Shyne)
FULL FRAME GRAND JURY SPECIAL JURY AWARD
The Perfect Neighbor (dir. Geeta Gandbhir)
FULL FRAME JURY AWARD FOR BEST SHORT
Presented by Drs. Barbra and Andrew Rothschild
perfectly a strangeness (dir. Alison McAlpine)
CENTER FOR DOCUMENTARY STUDIES FILMMAKER AWARD
Presented by Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies
Coexistence, My Ass! (dir. Amber Fares)
CHARLES E. GUGGENHEIM EMERGING ARTIST AWARD
Presented by the Charles E. Guggenheim Family
The Other One (dir. Marie-Magdalena Kochová)
THE JOHN FRANKLIN HUMANITIES INSTITUTE AWARD
Presented by the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute at Duke University
Mama Micra (dir. Rebecca Blöcher)
Honorable mentions: perfectly a strangeness (dir. Alison McAlpine) and The Other Side of the Mountain (dir. Yumeng He)
FULL FRAME PRESIDENT’S AWARD
Presented by Duke University
The Spectacle (dir. Yasmin van Dorp)
KATHLEEN BRYAN EDWARDS AWARD FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Presented by the Julian Price Family Foundation in memory of Melanie Taylor
Speak. (dirs. Jennifer Tiexiera, Guy Mossman)
IRIS TILLMAN HILL AUDIENCE AWARD—SHORT
Presented by Peter Lange in honor of Iris Tillman Hill
The Devil Is Busy (dirs. Christalyn Hampton, Geeta Gandbhir)
IRIS TILLMAN HILL AUDIENCE AWARD—FEATURE
Presented by Peter Lange in honor of Iris Tillman Hill
Come See Me in the Good Light (dir. Ryan White)