The 49th São Paulo International Film Festival ended on the night of October 30, 2025, with the jury's top trophy going to the Iraqi film 'The President's Cake'. Other awards highlighted productions from various countries, including Brazilian ones, in categories such as fiction, documentary, and queer. The ceremony was followed by a screening of 'Jay Kelly' by Noah Baumbach.
The 49th edition of the São Paulo International Film Festival, one of Latin America's premier cinematic events, concluded on Thursday, October 30, 2025. The jury awarded the top trophy to 'The President's Cake', directed by Hasan Hadi, an Iraqi feature following a nine-year-old girl gathering ingredients for a cake honoring Iraq's president.
The special jury prize went to 'DJ Ahmet' from North Macedonia, about a 15-year-old boy facing family pressures over his love for music. Actress Doha Ramadan won for her role in 'Happy Birthday', an Egyptian film about a domestic worker organizing a party. 'The Fight', a Spain-Colombia coproduction on family grief, received an honorable mention.
By audience vote, 'Maids', directed by Carol Rodrigues, was best Brazilian fiction film, exploring racial differences between cousins. 'Black Notebooks', by Joel Zito Araújo, took best Brazilian documentary, depicting the 1978 literary series by the Unified Black Movement, inspired by Carolina Maria de Jesus. Internationally, 'Yanuni', a Brazil-Austria-US-Canada-Germany coproduction on indigenous leader Juma Xipaia, won best documentary, and 'Palestine 36', Palestine's 2026 Oscar entry, best fiction.
The critics' jury selected 'The Nature of Invisible Things', by Rafaela Camelo, about hospital friendship, which also won the Prisma Queer for best Brazilian film. 'The Shadow of My Father', a Nigerian story entered by England for the Oscars, received the Brada for best art direction. The Prisma Queer awarded 'Queerpanorama', a US-Hong Kong-China coproduction about a gay man, and gave special mention to 'Death and Life of Magdalene', by Guto Parente.
The Abraccine award went to 'The Father and the Shaman', by Iawarete Kaiabi, on the loss of indigenous roots. 'Virtuosas', by Cíntia Domit Bittar, won Netflix distribution. 'Heart of Darkness', an animation by Rogerio Nunes, received R$25,000 from Projeto Paradiso.
Following the awards, 'Jay Kelly' by Noah Baumbach starring George Clooney was screened. Many winners will screen in the encore sessions from October 31 to November 5 at venues like Cultura Artística, Cinesesc, and Cine Satyros Bijou.