In its fourth year of celebrating features by first- and second-time filmmakers with its $140,000 Bright Horizons competition, the Melbourne International Film Festival has awarded 2025’s prize to “A Poet” by Colombian director Simón Mesa Soto.
Led by “Aftersun” filmmaker Charlotte Wells and also featuring Alex Ross Perry, Athina Rachel Tsangari, Col Needham, Caitlin Yeo, Tamala and Nam Le, the Bright Horizons Jury selected Mesa Soto’s sophomore feature from the ten titles contending for the accolade. The film also received the Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
“A tragicomic satire and microcosm of melancholy and irreverence, ‘A Poet’ depicts Óscar, a failed poet turned reluctant mentor drifting
between aspiration and self-destruction. The film is a biting fable of art as both an inescapable burden and a personal compass, breaking convention through its refreshingly brisk pace, unpretentious use of 16mm cinematography, deadpan performances by a mostly first-timer cast, and pared-back jazzy score,” said the MIFF jury in a statement.
“The film’s balancing act of unflinching character study and social satire marks Simón Mesa Soto as a vital voice in contemporary Latin American cinema.”
As announced at a ceremony on Saturday, August 23, “A Poet” emerged victorious over Diego Céspedes’ “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo,” which won the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes — and also over the Rose Byrne-led “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” from director Mary Bronstein, MIFF’s opening film, plus James J. Robinson’s “First Light,” Andrew Patterson’s “The Rivals of Amziah King,” “April” by Georgian filmmaker Dea Kulumbegashvili, Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s “A Useful Ghost,” “Renoir” from Chie Hayakawa, Mascha Schilinski’s “Sound of Falling” and Harris Dickinson‘s “Urchin.”
In addition to being in the running for the Bright Horizons Award, “First Light” was among the homegrown features vying for the Blackmagic Design Best Australian Director Award, as also chosen by Wells and company. Photographer-turned-filmmaker Robinson took home the accolade — a $50,000 cash prize, plus a fully kitted-out URSA Cine 12K camera valued at $27,500 — with Zoe Pepper, Samuel Van Grinsven and Sophie Somerville all nominees for “Birthright,” “Went Up the Hill” and “Fwends,” respectively.
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“James J. Robinson’s ‘First Light’ is a moving and powerful meditation on faith, institutional corruption and moral awakening. The film is anchored by a pitchperfect performance from Ruby Ruiz and a sensorial mise en scène, inviting the audience into the spiritual grandeur of the landscape and the sacred intimacy of the convent to interrogate, alongside Sister Yolanda, not only the crime at hand, but also the Catholic Church and modern society itself,” remarked the jury.
“As the first Australia–Philippines co-production to debut at MIFF, ‘First Light’ not only showcases Robinson’s promise as a cineaste but also marks a noteworthy milestone in cross-cultural cinema.”
Rewarding excellence in storytelling by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander screen creatives, and bestowing a $20,000 cash prize plus $25,000 in tailored financial services from Kearney Group, 2025’s Uncle Jack Charles Award went to the Yarrenyty Arltere Artists for art direction on “The Fix-It-Man and The Fix-It-Wooman.” “Beast of War” actor Mark Coles Smith, “Faceless” co-director William Jaka, “Imagine” filmmakers Jack Manning Bancroft and Tyson Yunkaporta, and “Journey Home, David Gulpilil” co-director Trisha Morton-Thomas were also nominated.
“We recognise this heartwarming short film as the culmination of community collaboration, innovation, artistic skills and self-determined storytelling at Yarrenyty Arltere Artists,” said the Uncle Jack Charles Award Jury of “Sweet As” filmmaker Jub Clerc, 2024 winner April Phillips and artist Reko Rennie.
“How energising to see these soft sculptures come to life on the bright light, big city dance floor! The romantic scenes were both hilarious and sincere, and the combination of digital and hand made process felt rich and unique to the convention of animation. We can’t wait to see more from the creative team in the future.”
Also among MIFF’s accolades, Sue Thomson’s documentary “Careless,” about Australia’s aged-care industry, received the Audience Award, while Sarah Winkenstette’s “Greetings From Mars” was the pick of the MIFF Schools program from the MIFF Schools Youth Jury of Alex Feehan, Mia Sattler and Tadhg Sheehan.
Back on Friday, August 15, the festival unveiled its MIFF Shorts Awards for 2025. As decided by Audrey Lam, Regen Studios co-founder Anna Kaplan and Umbrella Entertainment’s Senior Theatrical Manager Nikita Leigh-Pritchard, Rashida Seriki’s “Leaving Ikorodu in 1999” collected the Grand Prix from the Academy Awards-accredited and BAFTA-qualifying competition, which is in its 64th year.
Other Shorts Awards winners spanned Rebecca Metcalf’s “The Eviction” for Best Australian Short Film, “Faceless” directors William Jaka and Fraser Pemberton for Emerging Australian Filmmaker, Eve Liu’s “Nervous Energy” for Best Fiction Short Film and Maryam Tafakory’s “Razeh-del” for Best Documentary Short Film, as well as Janneke Swinkels and Tim Frijsinger’s “Murmuration” for Best Animation Short Film and “Remote Views” by Alexis McCrimmon anointed the Best Experimental Short Film.