We Believe You

Source: Berlin International Film Festival

‘We Believe You’

Charlotte Devillers and Arnaud Dufeys’ debut feature We Believe You won the Golden Giraldillo for best film at the 22nd Seville European Film Festival, which wrapped on November 15.

The Belgian drama about a tense family custody hearing also took the prize for best screenplay for the writer-directors and the best actress award for Myriem Akeddiou. 

The film debuted in the Berlinale Perspectives section earlier this year, garnering a special mention. It is produced by Mackintosh Films and sold internationally by The Party Film Sales. Filmin and Karma Films have Spanish rights, with Karma handling the theatrical release. 

Georgi M. Unkovski’s DJ Ahmet was awarded the Jury Grand Prize, praised for its mix of humour, tenderness and vitality”.

The co-production between North Macedonia–Czech Republic–Serbia–Croatia premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2025, winning the World Cinema dramatic special jury award for creative vision. Films Boutique has international rights.

DJ Ahmet also won the best actor prize for newcomer Arif Jakup, who plays a 15-year-old from a remote Macedonian mountain village who finds freedom in electronic music. The film follows his fight for self-definition amid family incomprehension, local prejudice and a community at odds with his passion  Filmin has Spanish rights and is planning a platform-only release.  

Best director went to Cherien Dabis for All That’s Left Of You, Jordan’s submission for the international feature Oscar. The filmmaker’s third feature traces a Palestinian family from 1948 — the origin point of the displacement — across eight decades shaped by political forces beyond their control. The feature is being handled by The Match Factory and Karma Films has Spanish rights. 

The Official Selection jury was chaired by UK producer and former Edinburgh International Film Festival director Lynda Myles, alongside US storyboard artist John Coven, marketing executive Bonnie Voland, Spanish filmmaker Laura Hojman and mk2’s Nacho Martínez-Useros.

Discovery

The inaugural showcase award in the Rampa strand, dedicated to first and second films, went to UK-Nigerian filmmaker Akinola Davies Jr’s My Father’s Shadow, the UK’s entry for the best international film Oscar.

The film premiered in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, with The Match Factory holding world sales rights. Shot and set in Nigeria, the film unfolds over a single day as two brothers navigate Lagos with their long-absent father during the 1993 election crisis, blending Yoruba, Naija-Pidgin and English languages. Mubi has Spanish rights, but is not yet known if it will give the film a theatrical release in Spain. 

The 22nd SEFF wrapped at the Cervantes Theatre with Chopin, Chopin!, directed by Polish filmmaker and producer Michał Kwieciński.

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

Golden Giraldillo
We Believe You
Dirs: Charlotte Devillers, Arnaud Dufey

Grand Jury Prize
DJ Ahmet
Dir. Georgi M. Unkovski

Best director
Cherien Dabis
All That’s Left Of You

Best screenplay
Charlotte Devillers, Arnaud Dufeys
We Believe You

Best actor
Arif Jakup
DJ Ahmet

Best actress
Myriem Akeddiou
We Believe You

Best editing
Hansjörg Weissbrich
Late Shift

Best cinematography
Angello Faccini
The Anatomy Of The Horses

Best art direction
Juan Pablo Garay
The Anatomy Of The Horses

Rampa showcase award
My Father’s Shadow
Dir. Akinola Davies Jr

Alumbramiento
Renovation
Dir. Gabrielé Urbonaitè

Panorama Andaluz
Golpes
Dir. Rafa Cobos

Tiempo entre Olivos
Dir. Fany de la Chica

 

 

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