Winners Announced at Berlin Panorama Audience Awards: 'Sorda' and 'The Moelln Letters' Secure Top Honors
The Berlin International Film Festival has unveiled the winners of the 2025 Panorama Audience Awards, recognising outstanding storytelling and audience impact in various categories. Among the notable winners was the Spanish drama Sorda (Deaf) by Eva Libertad, which clinched the Best Feature Film award.
Directed by Eva Libertad, Sorda tells the poignant story of an inter-abled couple in Spain, Ángela and Héctor. Ángela, who is deaf, faces pressure from her hearing parents to wear hearing aids. After giving birth to a daughter, Ángela questions her ability to connect with her child, leading to new strain on her relationship with Héctor.
Produced by Distinto Films, Nexus CreaFilms, A Contracorriente Films, and A Contracorriente Films, and marketed globally by Latido Films, Sorda explores themes of identity and familial dynamics within the deaf community.
In the Panorama Dokumente category, the German documentary Die Möllner Briefe (The Möllner Letters), helmed by Martina Priessner, won the award. The documentary revisits the tragic 1992 arson attack in Mölln, Germany, where neo-Nazis targeted Turkish-German families. Die Möllner Briefe follows survivors, including İbrahim Arslan, as they uncover hundreds of condolence letters that were never delivered to the victims' families.
Frelle Petersen's Hjem, kære hjem (Home Sweet Home) was the third-place winner in the feature film category. The film provides a glimpse into the lives of five diverse residents of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum.
Areeb Zuaiter's Yalla Parkour showcases the fearless parkour athletes in Gaza. In the same category, Lesbian Space Princess, directed by Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese, was the second-place winner. The film focuses on themes of identity and acceptance within the lesbian community.
The Berlin International Film Festival's 2025 lineup also included other noteworthy winners such as Dreams (Sex Love) for the Golden Bear. The festivities marked another successful year of showcasing diverse stories and talent from around the world.
Sorda, the Spanish drama by Eva Libertad, not only won the Best Feature Film award at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival's Panorama Audience Awards but also showcases themes of entertainment related to identity, familial dynamics, and the deaf community.
In the documentary category, Die Möllner Briefe, directed by Martina Priessner, gained recognition in the Panorama Dokumente section of the same event, offering insights into the tragic 1992 arson attack in Mölln, Germany, and dealing with the timely theme of entertainment surrounding tolerance and understanding.
