Gwenola Heck’s ‘Gaïa’ Wins Top Prize at 38th Filmfest Dresde Short Film Fest

The animated film Gaïa by Gwenola Heck walked away with the €20,000 Saxon Film Promotion Prize in the National Competition at the 38th Filmfest Dresden international short film festival.

Commending the win, the jury said, “The winning film is a coming-of-age story about coming to terms with life and teaches us that sometimes even the smallest change, like covering a bullet hole with a smiley face sticker, can bring us peace.”

a total of 10 Golden Horsemen and seven special prizes worth €72,500 were awarded by the eight juries and the audiences from the 65 short films screened in the three competition sections.

The Golden Horseman Short Film for the best short film in the National Competition was won by Bleifrei 95 from Emma Hütt and Tina Muffler, and Water Sports from Whammy Alcazaren received the award in the International Competition.

The Golden Horseman Animated Film for the best animation work was awarded to Procrastination Yoga from Paulina Martyna Ziolkowska (world premiere, National Competition), as well as to Paradaïz by Matea Radic in the International Competition. Paradaïz was also honored with a special mention by the jury of the “fully political” – Short Film Award for Democratic Culture.

In the Central German Competition, the Golden Horseman was awarded to Unbemerkt Verstorben from Alina Cyranek, which world premiered at Filmfest Dresden.

The two youth juries awarded Qui Part À La Chasse (Hunting) from Lea Favre and Bad Luck from Jan Eilhardt. Moreover, Jan Eilhardt also received a special mention for his film Bad Luck from the jury of the LUCA Film Award for GenderEquality.

The audiences also awarded prizes in all three competition sections: In the National Competition, Blob and the Wolf from Georg Kästle and Valentin Bolte was the winner and also went on to receive a special mention from the youth jury in the National Competition. In the International Competition, the French production S The Wolf from Sameh Alaa was awarded. While in the Central German Competition, Cold Call from Stefanie Schroeder received the most votes.

Award Winners of the 38th Filmfest Dresden

International Competition Awards

Golden Horseman Animated Film International Competition
Prize Money: € 7,500
PARADAÏZ by Matea Radic (Canada, 2025)

Special Mention:
TUNA TARTARE by Lena Greene (USA, 2025)

Golden Horseman Short Film International Competition
Prize Money: € 7,500
WATER SPORTS by Whammy Alcazaren (The Philippines, 2024)

Special Mention:
FUKUYAMA by Ciro Puig Bonnet(Cuba, Spain, Haiti, 2026)

Golden Horsemen of the Audience International Competition
Prize Money: € 3,000
S THE WOLF by Sameh Alaa (France, 2025)

Golden Horseman of the Youth Jury International Competition
Prize Money: € 2,000
HUNTING (QUI PART À LA CHASSE) by Lea Favre (Switzerland, 2025)

Special Mention:
ABORTION PARTY by Julia Mellen (Spain, 2025)

Dresden Short Film Award of the German Film Critics Association
Prize Money: unendowed
BOUNDARIES (경계) by Seun Yee (South Korea, 2025)

Special Mention:
LE CHIEN DE SABLES (SAND DOG) by Fabien Dao (France, 2025)

National Competition Awards

Golden Horseman Animated Film National Competition
Prize Money: € 3,000
PROCRASTINATION YOGA by Paulina Martyna Ziolkowska (Germany, 2026)

Special Mention:
RADIX by Anne Breymann (Germany, 2025)

Golden Horseman Short Film National Competition
Prize Money: € 3,000
BLEIFREI 95 by Emma Hütt, Tina Muffler (Germany, Austria, 2025)

Special Mention:
WITH A KIND REGARD (MIT EINEM FREUNDLICHEN GRUSS) by Pavel Mozhar (Germany, 2026)

Golden Horseman of the Audience National Competition
Prize Money: € 4,000
BLOB AND THE WOLF (BLOB UND DER WOLF) von Georg Kästle, Valentin Bolte (Germany, 2025)

Golden Horseman Youth Jury National Competition
Prize Money: € 2,000
BAD LUCK by Jan Eilhardt(Germany, 2025)

Special Mention:
BLOB AND THE WOLF (BLOB UND DER WOLF) von Georg Kästle, Valentin Bolte (Germany, 2025)

Saxon Film Promotion Prize
Prize Money: € 20,000
GAÏA by Gwenola Heck (Germany, 2025)

DEFA Promotion Prize Animation
Prize Money: € 3,000
CITY IN THE FOX by Mikael Lindskov Jacobsen (Germany, 2026)

Awards in the Central German Competition

Golden Horseman Central German Competition
Prize Money: € 3,000
UNBEMERKT VERSTORBEN by Alina Cyranek (Germany, 2026)

Special Mention:
THE WEIGHT OF ALL THINGS (ALLES LIEGT AUF IHR UND IST DIE WELT) by Annie Krause (Germany, 2026)

Audience Award Central German Competition
Prize Money: € 500
COLD CALL by Stefanie Schroeder(Germany, 2025)

Cross-Competitive Awards
ARTE Short Film Prize
ACID CITY by Jack Wedge, Will Freudenheim (USA, 2026)

“fully political” – Short Film Award for Democratic Culture
Prize Money: € 3,000
ABORTION PARTY by Julia Mellen (Spain, 2025)

Special Mention:
PARADAÏZ by Matea Radic (Canada, 2025)

Golden Horseman Sound Design
Prize Money: € 3,000 (€1,500 non-cash prize for studio shot + € 1,500 prize money)
PRIMARY EDUCATION (PRIMERA ENSEÑANZA) by Aria Sánchez & Marina Meira (Cuba, Spain, 2025), Sound: Lilliam Chacón

Special Mention:
L’MINA by Randa Maroufi (France, Morocco, Italy, Qatar, 2025), Sound: Sara Kaddouri, Toni Geitani, Randa Maroufi

LUCA Film Award for Gender Equality
Prize Money: € 2,000
THE GIFT (EL REGALO) by Lara Izagirre Garizurieta (Spain, 2025)

Special Mention:
BAD LUCK by Jan Eilhardt (Germany, 2025)