That’s a wrap on AFI Fest.
The Los Angeles film festival concluded its 2025 run on Sunday, and less than a day later comes the reveal of the shorts award winners thanks to a jury made up of filmmakers Sue-Ellen Chitunya and Katherine Propper with film programmer, producer and publicist Rachel Walker.
The grand jury prize for live action went to Giulia Grandinetti’s Majonezë. “A young woman breaks free from the imposing forces of her life in this well-acted tale of family, love and rebellion. Immersing us in the local rituals and natural wonders of the Albanian countryside, Majonezë is an entertaining, cinematic punk rock fable,” praised the jury in its official statement.
The documentary short grand jury prize went to Charles Frank’s Shanti Rides Shotgun with the jury offering, “We enjoyed learning how to drive through the jam-packed streets of New York with Shanti. The candor, enthusiasm and commitment she brings to her job as a driving instructor for three decades left us wanting to go on a joy ride with her.”
In the animated short category, the grand jury prize went to Nathan Engelhardt and Jeremy Spears’ film Forevergreen. “Through the touching relationship between an orphaned bear cub and a father-figure tree, the film intertwines themes of friendship and sacrifice with incisive commentary on greed and climate change. It is a work that both enchants and challenges us, reminding us of the fragile interdependence between nature, compassion and survival,” said the jury.
The jury also offered up special mentions to Calvin Brown’s The Fisherman for craft, Huiju Park’s Welcome Home Freckles for direction, Said Zagha’s Coyotes for “bravery in storytelling,” India Opzoomer’s Poster Boy for direction, Bára Anna’s 9 Million Colors for vision and Whammy Alcazaren’s Water Sports for vision.
AFI Fest, presented by Canva (with water sponsor Fiji), took place Oct. 22–26, headquartered at Hollywood’s TCL Chinese Theatres. It featured more than 160 films, including seven red carpet premieres, 12 special screenings, 20 world cinema selections, 15 documentaries, six after dark titles, 23 films from the AFI Conservatory Showcase, 14 luminaries selections and a robust shorts competition. Guillermo del Toro served as guest artistic director.
The fest opened with Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere starring Jeremy Allen White as the iconic rocker. Other high-profile premieres included Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly starring George Clooney and Adam Sandler, Song Sung Blue starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson and The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants.
