Nidhi Saxena, BKKIFF

Source: BKKIFF

Nidhi Saxena at Bangkok International Film Festival

Alexandre Koberidze’s Dry Leaf scooped the grand prix and Nidhi Saxena’s Secret Of A Mountain Serpent won the New Voices award at the revived Bangkok International Film Festival (BKKIFF), which made a comeback after an absence of 16 years.

Dry Leaf, the Germany-Georgia drama that premiered in competition at Locarno, was described as “inventive and mesmerizing”. “At a time when cinema celebrates the clean and unambiguous, this film stands apart – embracing texture, imperfection, and the tactile presence of our medium,” said a statement from the jury.

The special jury prize went to Mascha Schilinski’s Sound Of Falling, which is Germany’s submission for the Oscars and this week won the Golden Athena award for best film at Athens. The film premiered in Competition at Cannes, where it won the jury prize.

Portugal’s Pedro Pinho was named best director for I Only Rest In The Storm, a three-and-a-half hour drama that also bowed at Cannes.

The international competition jury comprised Vimukthi Jayasundara, Anocha Suwichakornpong, Kuo Ming Jung, Kiki Fung and Kongdej Jaturanrasmee.

Saxena, the Indian director of Secret Of A Mountain Serpent, was on hand to receive the top prize from the New Voices competition, a showcase for first, second and third features by Asian filmmakers. The section also presented a special mention to Hair, Paper, Water… directed by Nicolas Graux and Truong Minh Quy. The jury included Kamila Andini, Tony Bui and Soros Sukhum.

The awards ceremony took place on Wednesday (October 15) at SF World Cinema in Bangkok’s Central World shopping complex, where closing film Kohuho screened to a full house. Guests in attendance at the red-carpet gala event include Kokuho director Lee Sang-Il, Thai stars Ananda Everingham, known for his Khun Pan film trilogy, and Wissarut Himmarat from A Useful Ghost.

The festival ran from September 27-October 15 after being moved forward by four months from its original scheduled berth of January 2026 “due to some red-tape issues that required us to spend the budget sooner”, according to BKKIFF festival director Donsaron Kovitvaniycha.

“The prep time was much shorter and it’s a long festival, over 19 days. But it went smoother than expected and ended successful with the awards ceremony and the closing film Kokuho,” Donsaron told Screen after the ceremony.

He mentioned that the festival had received support from local Thai distributors of foreign films such as GDH, which supplied Japanese films Love On Trial and Kinki, as well as Sahamongkol International, which supplied Sound Of Falling, A Pale View Of Hills, and Berlinale Golden Bear winner Dreams.

He further revealed that a Thai distributor has acquired a couple of interational titles that played at BKKIFF as a result of strong ticket sales and audience reception.

Bangkok 2025 winners

International Competition Section

Bangkok Grand Prix Award: Dry Leaf, dir. Alexandre Koberidze (Ger-Geo)

Special Jury Prize: Sound Of Falling, dir. Mascha Schilinski (Ger-Fr)

Best Director: Pedro Pinho, I Only Rest In The Storm (Bra)

New Voices Awards

Winner: Secret Of A Mountain Serpent dir. Nidhi Saxena (India)

Special Mention: Hair, Paper, Water … ,dirs.. Nicolas Graux, Truong Minh Quy (Bel-Viet)

Thai Panorama Audience Award: Dream! dir. Paul Spurrier

Asian Short Films Competition

Best Asian Short Film

Attock, dir. Awais Gohar (Pak)

Delay, dir. Wang Han-Xuan (China-US)

Special mention: Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites, dir. Chheongkeo (Camb-Fr-US)

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