The Méliès d’or Competition Nominees 2025
Announcing the Méliès d’Or Nominees for Best European Fantastic Feature Film and Short Film
The Méliès d’Or is a prestigious award that stands as a symbol of quality, creativity, and imagination in European fantastic cinema. Named in honor of Georges Méliès, the pioneer of fantastic film in the silent film era, this award celebrates the best in the genre across Europe.
Throughout the year, Méliès d’argent awards are given to the finest European fantastic films at our member festivals. These winners then compete for the ultimate prize—the Méliès d’Or—presented annually at the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival in Spain. Let’s take a look at this year’s contenders!
Méliès d’Or – Feature Film Nominees
The following six films, each the recipient of a Méliès d’argent at one of the Federation’s competitive festivals, will compete for the Méliès d’Or for Best European Fantastic Feature Film 2025:
• Animale – Winner at Sitges Film Festival
• After Us, The Flood – Winner at Trieste Science+Fiction Festival
• Mr. K – Winner at Imagine Film Festival
• The Home – Winner at Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFFF)
• The Ugly Stepsister – Winner at Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF)
• The Holy Boy – Winner at Festival Européen du Film Fantastique de Strasbourg
• Her Will Be Done – Winner at MOTELX – Lisbon International Horror Film Festival
These films represent the best in contemporary European fantastic cinema, from psychological horror to dystopian visions, and from dark comedy to deeply emotional fantasy.
Méliès d’Or – Short Movie Nominees
In addition to the feature films, Méliès d’argent short films winners from across Europe will also compete for the coveted Méliès d’Or for Best European Fantastic Short Film. Here are the nominees:
- Sitges – Meat Puppet
- Lund – Shoes and Hooves
- Trieste – Où va le monde
- Imagine – Barlebas
- BIFFF – The Musical Spider
- NIFFF – Stomach Bug
- Strasbourg – Nervous Ellie
- MOTELX – Amarelo Banana
- Grimmfest – Coléoptère
- Nightmare – Playing God
- Ramaskrik – Real
- Razorreel – Bye Bear
- Splat! – Girls
- San Sebastian Horror – Etorriko da (eta zure begiak izango ditu)
- Molins de Rei – Puzzle
- Abertoir – Collection Only
- Fancine Málaga – To Bird or Not to Bird
- HARD:LINE – Elevation
- Fantaspoa – L’essence de la sirène
- Haapsalu – Atom and Void
- FANTBilbao – Game Over
- Grossmann – The Pearl Comb
- SLASH – Don’t Be Afraid
- Court Métrange – Next Door
Each short film has already captivated audiences with its originality, technical brilliance, and bold storytelling. The Méliès d’or winner for short films will join the ranks of Europe’s finest cinematic achievements.
Stay tuned for the official announcement of the winners at Sitges 2025, where the Méliès d’Or for both Best Feature Film and Best Short Film will be awarded. This annual celebration of European fantastic cinema continues to reflect the rich diversity and imaginative power of genre filmmaking across the continent.