The 37th Palm Springs International Film Festival revealed this year’s juried award winners, with Oliver Laxe’s Sirât winning the prestigious FIPRESCI Prize for Best International Feature Film.
Sirât follows a father and his son, who travel to a rave in the deserts of southern Morocco in search of his missing daughter.
The Egyptian film Happy Birthday by Sarah Goher was awarded the FIPRESCI Prize for Best International First Feature Film. It follows an eight-year-old girl who works as a maid for a wealthy family in Cairo, who is determined to organize a perfect birthday party for her employer’s daughter.
Natchez, Suzannah Herbert’s film exploring the Mississippi town that relies on antebellum tourism to survive, won the Best Documentary Award.
See below the winners of the 2026 Palm Springs International Film Festival jury awards.
FIPRESCI PRIZE
FIPRESCI Prize for Best International Feature Film: Sirât (Spain), Director Oliver Laxe
Jury Statement: “At a year when the competition featured such a strong presence for stories about children and their parents, this film thrillingly captured our attention with its portrait of a father’s devotion to his son and daughter, as well as the chosen family they encounter along the way. The techno beats by Kangding Ray make their quest exhilarating and enlightening, while the singular vision of director Oliver Laxe conjures an electric sense of aliveness as the journey ultimately asks us to confront death and the hereafter. Since Palm Springs is the ultimate film buff’s party in the desert where the mountains meet the sky, we feel it’s only appropriate to award the FIPRESCI Prize to Sirāt.”
FIPRESCI Prize for Best International First Feature Film: Happy Birthday (Egypt), Director Sarah Goher
Jury Statement: “The FIPRESCI Award for Best First Feature goes to Happy Birthday by Sarah Goher, for its endearing portrayal of contemporary Egypt through the eyes of a child who embraces life with instinctive freedom, unaware of the social boundaries that will soon confront her. With a gentle yet assured directorial hand that draws out a truly exceptional performance from young star Doha Ramadan, Goher’s first feature reaches beyond sentimentality to reconnect us with our own inner child, moving the viewer while quietly prompting reflection on the arbitrary hierarchies that shape—and constrain—the world we inhabit.”
FIPRESCI Prize for Best International Screenplay: Sentimental Value (Norway), Director. Joachim Trier
Jury Statement: “The FIPRESCI Award for Best International Screenplay goes to Sentimental Value, written by Joachim Trier and Eskil Vogt — a tale where love, family, art, and memory infuse new meanings and make us dig deep into our choices, regrets, and mistakes. The film shares the big and small tragedies of our existence, often lived within the family house, yet approaches them with a pinch of humour and levity. Trier and Vogt show us the healing power of art at its finest, delivering a film that is moving and relatable, from Scandinavia to the world.”
FIPRESCI Prize for the Best Actress in an International Feature Film: Nina Ye, Janel Tsai, Shi-yuan Ma – Left-Handed Girl (Taiwan), Director Shih-Ching Tsou
Jury Statement: “To the powerful ensemble of Left-Handed Girl, Nina-Ye (I-Jing) and Shih-Yuan Ma (I-Ann), both in their feature acting debuts, d Janel Tsai (Shu-Fen) complement each other to create a cohesive family unit. Portraying three generations of women migrating to Taiwan to reconstruct their lives from the ground, their performances stand with admirable naturalism, immersing themselves in the relationship dynamics of the characters, while at the same time captivating the audience with subtle comedy and tenderness. A touching view of three different perspectives of women that made the perfect ensemble cast for this jury.”
FIPRESCI Prize for Best Actor in an International Feature Film: Milan Ondrík – Father (Slovakia), Director Tereza Nvotová
Jury Statement: “His performance captured our attention from the very first frame as a devoted father who begins an ordinary day simply by bringing his daughter to daycare. However, when the father makes a devastating discovery, this performance brings to life a palpable sense of grief. Ondrik poignantly captures the consequences of contemporary workaholic culture and questions of burnout and mental health while sensitively drawing attention to the reality of Forgotten Baby Syndrome and the many families that are ripped apart by the tragic loss that Father powerfully conveys.”
BEST DOCUMENTARY AWARD
Best Documentary Award: Natchez (USA), Director Suzannah Herbert
Jury Statement: “Many of the documentaries in this year’s competition show history as an ever-evolving site of contention. Natchez takes as its subject the bustling industry of Antebellum tourism on the Mississippi, showing that the meaning of American history is anything but settled. Director Suzannah Herbert’s striking visual style and sharp eye for detail result in a film that is both formally and intellectually stimulating.”
Best Documentary Award Special Mention: Yanuni (Austria), Director Richard Ladkani
Jury Statement: “This atmospheric and often-thrilling portrait of Indigenous chief Juma Xipaia deftly balances the personal story of a tireless activist with the turbulent political context in which she works.”
NEW VOICES NEW VISIONS AWARD
New Voices New Visions Award: 3670 (South Korea), Director Joonho Park
New Voices New Visions Special Mention: Deaf (Spain), Director Eva Libertad
Jury Statement: “This year’s New Voices New Visions competition presented an exciting collection of new additions to the cinematic canon, with refreshing narratives that lent themselves to new discoveries about the human experience. But 3670’s subversive and culturally distinctive take on the familiar coming out narrative through the experience of its gay North Korean defector offered an illuminating, sensitive, and relatable new chapter for queer and global cinema. This deftly layered cultural exploration offers new glimpses into what it means to find ourselves, love, and self-acceptance in worlds full of danger and uncertainty.”
IBERO-AMERICAN AWARD
Ibero-American Award: Runa Simi (Peru), Director Augusto Zegarra
Ibero-American Special Mention: It Would Be Night in Caracas (Mexico/Venezuela), Directors Mariana Rondón & Marité Ugás
Jury Statement: “We chose Runa Simi because it reminds us of the importance of being seen, and of preserving language, identity, and community. In its center is a remarkable protagonist, one who inspires not only future generations, but also future leaders. The film speaks to the universal need to express oneself and to claim a place on equal footing with the stories traditionally told by major Hollywood studios, in this case Disney. In the current state of the world, it is deeply moving to encounter a story that does not sugarcoat struggle yet still offers hope—reminding us of the power to fight for the causes that truly matter.”
DESERT VIEWS AWARD
Desert Views Award Winner: Beloved Tropic (Panama), Director Ana Endara
Jury Statement: “As a jury, we were deeply moved by the film, Beloved Tropic. Set against a stunning, lush landscape, the film’s natural backdrop mirrors the richness of Mercedes’ inner life, illustrating both abundance and fragility as her world slowly starts to shift. Ultimately, Beloved Tropic honors the quiet strength required to love and care for someone through their memory’s unraveling. It affirms that even in fragmentation, connection endures, and that caring for one another is the truest expression of community.”
YOUNG CINEASTES AWARD
Young Cineastes Award Winner: Remaining Native (USA), Director Paige Bethmann
Jury Statement: “We, the young Cineastes jury members, selected Remaining Native as the winner because of the compelling storytelling and cinematography. This story had aspects that nearly every teen could relate to, from making and achieving goals to learning about your own heritage.”
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