8th Edition – 2025

Geographical diversity and international presence

Introduction

The 8th edition of the Moinho Cine Fest took place after the dissolution of the Union of the Parishes of Custóias, Leça do Balio and Guifões, marking a new phase in the festival’s history. It was the first edition promoted by the Parish Council of Custóias and the last organized by Anartem – Cultural Association, signalling a new stage in the festival’s trajectory.

A total of 346 submissions from 47 countries were received, of which 41 films from 16 countries were selected, reinforcing the festival’s geographical diversity and international presence. The competitive categories included nano‑film, micro‑film and short film. Despite the possibility of using a larger venue, the festival maintained its identity by favouring a more intimate environment, closer to the audience.

Awards

Álvaro Martins – Best Film: Place under the sun — Vlad Bolgarin (Moldova)
Best Portuguese Film: Umbral — Darina Manapova (Portugal)
Best International Film: Oruk‑Ene — Ibadylla Khalilovich Adzhibaev (Kyrgyzstan)
Best Short Film: Gardening — Sarah Beeby (United Kingdom)
Best Micro Film: The Girl Who Walked on Snow — Bruno Carnide (Portugal)
Best Nano Film: Portrait — Ignacio Rodó (Spain)
Honourable Mention: The Steak — Kiarash Dadgar (Iran)
Honourable Mention: Holy HEAVƎNESs — Farnoosh Abedi & Negah Khezre Fardyardad (Iran)

Official Selection

The Official Selection brought together films of multiple genres and origins, reflecting the diversity that marked this seventh edition.

Short Film

Adas Falasteen — Hamdi Khalil Elhusseini and Samar Taher Lulu (Palestine)
Another Island — Eduardo Saraiva Pereira (Portugal)
Dark Lights — Diana Monteiro (Portugal)
Gardening — Sarah Beeby (United Kingdom)
Holy HEAVƎNESs — Farnoosh Abedi and Negah Khezre Fardyardad (Iran)
Living Roots — Francisca Seabra (Portugal)
Next Generation — Matheus Amorim (Brazil)
Oruk‑Ene — Ibadylla Khalilovich Adzhibaev (Kyrgyzstan)
Pear Gardem — Shadab Shayegan (Germany)
Place under the sun — Vlad Bolgarin (Moldova)
Sweet Tomorrow — António Alves (Portugal)
Take Care — Joana Alves (Portugal)
The Flamenco club — Javier Gómez Bello and Ezequiel Comesaña (Spain)
The Third Child — Serna Amini (Iran)
Umbral — Darina Manapova (Portugal)
Unspoken — Maciej Adamek (Poland)

Micro Film

Além do Terno — Carlos Evandro, Vitor Gatti, Jéssica Zenobini, Thomas Myke and Camila Taunay (Brazil)
Alpha Packs — Concha Alonso Valdivieso, Pablo Galindo and Jesús Pertíñez (Spain)
CAM1L0 — Facundo Martinez (Argentina)
i want everything to remain as it was — Carlos Moreira (Portugal)
Immigrant — Nilram Ranjbar (Iran)
Ljudski – Zbogom — Rastko Šejić and Žaklina Crnobrnja (Serbia)
Not for Sale — Moein Rooholamini (Iran)
Nuno — Nuno Taborda (Portugal)
Origami — Álvaro León (Spain)
Painted Devil — Bruno Pimentel (Czechia)
Pimple — Fernando Alle (Portugal)
Scent of a Shoes — Kiarash Shiravand (Iran)
The First — Tiago Iúri (Portugal)
The girl who walked on snow — Bruno Carnide (Portugal)
Where The Time Breathes — Marcelo Lagreze (Chile)
Wild Hive — Robin Lancaster Bisio (United States of America)

Nano Film

.FLEETING LOVE. — Txus Angulo (Spain)
Am I pretty? — Matheus Almeida (Brazil)
Behind the Curtains — Chris Furby (United Kingdom)
Portrait — Ignacio Rodó (Spain)
The Discovery — Ernesto Rodriguez Cruz (United States of America)
The Wandering Balloon — Leo Fajardo (Portugal)
Visit Nagoro — Alessia Ambrosini (Italy)
You Look Good — Sam Hendrian (United States of America)

Out of Competition

The Last Straw — André Almeida Rodrigues (Portugal)

Jury

Bernardo Freire

Bernardo Freire is a film critic and co-author of the podcast Freire & Marques no Cinema. He presented the programme A Lei do Cinema on Camões TV and published the book Visão de um Crítico – Reflexões e Ensaios de Cinema. He collaborates with national and international publications and has served on juries for several film festivals and awards.

João Rita

João Rita is a film programmer and promoter with a background in Cinema. He is Director of the Arouca Film Festival and President of the Arouca Film Club, where he develops programming, curation and cultural mediation projects. His work focuses on promoting Portuguese cinema and audience development.

Maria Adrover

Maria Adrover is a screenwriter, journalist and Creative Writing lecturer, with a degree in English Philology and master’s degrees in Tourism Marketing and Dramaturgy. She is Deputy Director of the Arouca International Film Festival and Vice-President of the Arouca Film Club, working in programming, training and cultural project development.