BATNA, Algeria, Sept 17, 2025 – Algerian director Imene Ayadi’s short film “Nya” won the award for best fiction short at the 5th Imedghassen International Film Festival, which wrapped up Tuesday night with an open-air ceremony near the ancient Numidian mausoleum of Imedghassen in Batna province.
The film tells the story of seven-year-old Anya, who prepares to celebrate the Prophet’s birthday during Algeria’s “black decade,” awaiting her journalist father’s return from assignment. Actress Meriem Medjkane won best performance for her role in the same film.
Iranian actor Alireza Sanifar took best actor for “Alone Together”, directed by Omid Mirzaei, who also won best director. The best screenplay prize went to “Amarela” by Japanese-Brazilian filmmaker André Hayato Saito.
Other awards included best jury prize for “The Sun Sets on Beirut” by Lebanon’s Daniela Stephan and “A Promise to the Sea” by Egypt’s Hend Sohail. The documentary prize went to “Little Sahara”, a Spanish-Sahrawi co-production by Mexican Emilio Marti Lopez, while Egypt’s Mohamed Ghazala won best animation with “The Pyramid.”
The Algerian thriller “Algiers, 196 metres” by Chakib Taleb Bendiab won best critics’ week film, and Youcef Mahsas’s “L’Exécution” took the prize for best revolutionary short.
Festival commissioner Issam Taâchit hailed the event, which screened 53 films from 27 countries, as “a meeting point for creative energies in cinema” and a showcase of Algeria’s cultural heritage.
Vietnam was this year’s guest of honour, presenting its cinematic experience to Algerian audiences.
