Winning Films ISFF 2025

Jury member asist. prof. dr. Branka Bešević Gajić, film director:

“This year’s Sport Film Festival brings an exceptionally dynamic and inspiring program that explores the power of sport, human endurance, and the passion for victory across various categories. The diversity of submitted films also showcases stories of perseverance, team spirit, overcoming obstacles, and personal growth.
Through documentaries, fiction films, and experimental works, filmmakers have delved into themes that extend beyond the sports arena – from the  social changes that sport brings, through the personal struggles of individuals, to universal values such as fair play, discipline, and resilience. It’s particularly exciting to see how filmmakers have combined visual artistry and sporting energy into powerful narratives that are sure to captivate the audience.

The festival remains a unique platform for promoting sport through the medium of film, connecting film enthusiasts, athletes, and filmmakers in a shared celebration of movement, passion, and the spirit of athletic competition. We look forward to every screening and the discussions that will arise from this year’s program!.”

The jury announced the winning films of ISFF 2025 as

feature film

Fedya. The People’s Footballer
Genre: feature film
Director: Nikolay Akelkin, Russian Federation
Production Year: 2024

Justification:

This film explores the life of Russian football legend Fyodor Cherenko. Through the prism of social changes in the Soviet Union and later Russia, The portrait of the sportsman follows his sporting and personal journey. With the dynamic directing and fluently structured script it shows, in addition to sporting achievements, the complexity of the relationship between sports, politics and personal challenges. It delivers a moving and inspiring narrative.

feature short film

Second Wind
Genre: Feature, Short
Director: Faustine Masingarbe, France
Production Year: 2023

Justification:

It’s a story about rediscovering strength and motivation through sport. This short film distinguishes in an emotional approach to the subject, impressive acting, and a story about overcoming one’s own limits. The film offers a clear visual narrative achieved with minimal directing resources, a story that can be applied to any athlete.

documentary feature film

When The Wind Becomes Silent
Genre: Documentary
Director: Mateusz Gołębiewski, Poland, Norway
Production Year: 2023

Justification:

The film is an inspiring Olympic and sporting story about the rivalry between athletes from “two different worlds”. It is a testament to the human moral dimension, and although it dates back several decades, it clarifies the understanding of the true sporting spirit of champions for all time.
It is also a meditative portrayal of the relationship between sport and nature, exploring the human need for physical and spiritual balance through stunning imagery and narrative as self-observation.

documentary short film

Fight Camp: Love, Sweat and Hunger
Genre: Documentary, short
Director: Sally Lomidze, USA
Production year: 2025

Justification:

A well-structured story for the short film format is a powerful depiction of the harsh reality of combat sports. Through personal stories, it illuminates the motivations of individuals, the necessary sacrifices and the passion that lead to success.
With its directing and editing versatility, it illustrates the dynamics of the sport, while intimate narratives and confessions create a substantive contrast to the brutal dueling.

Olympic/paralympic spirit

Codex Olimpia
Genre: Documentary, Short, Experimental
Director: Jefrey A Brick, USA
Production Year: 2025

Justification:

The short film is an exciting masterpiece as animated impression on the Winter Olympics: we follow different types of animation, drawing styles and the help of artificial intelligence. All these elements create an inspiring and creative “look-back” through different time periods. It explores the history and meaning of the Olympic Games and illustrates the specificities of the sports through the stories of individual competitors and their achievements.

SPORT AND SOCIETY

Smokyes Dream – When Formula 1 Came to Town
Genre: Documentary, Feature
Director: Christian Albinsson, Sweden
Production Year: 2024

Justification:

The documentary contains all the elements of a classic documentary: a good script, good directing, good archival material, and, of course, added value: both in terms of the visualization and content, it is enhanced by a strong overall tone that permeates into the entire film: it is a combination of respectful humor, self-irony and wit. In general, the film explores how sport can influence social and economic change and analyzes the historical significance of Formula 1 in a specific time context.

Film voted by TV viewers

Snow Dogs
Genre: Documentary, Feature
Director: Mikhail Moroz, Russian Federation
Production Year: 2024

Justification:

The film Snow Dogs is captivating in both its content and direction. It portrays and intertwines a distant land, its landscape, its inhabitants, and their lives with the central story: a dog sled race. It’s about the strong bond and interdependence among all who reside on this remote peninsula in the far northeast. From a family story, the film blossoms into an epic depiction of the longest dog sled race. We learn that it’s a way of life, a means of survival, and a way of being in general. The diversity of the beautiful landscape under harsh weather conditions finds its counterpoint in the warmth of human relationships and the bond between mushers and their dogs. Full of warmth and humanity, it’s a hymn to life, to the coexistence of people and animals in cruel living conditions.

I FEEL SLOVENIA AWARD (award from the festival director)

The Dragon From Koseze
Genre: Documentary, short
Director: Mark Pirc, Slovenia
Production Year: 2025

Justification:

Following the wrapping up of Goran Dragić sports career this documentary praise and value the inheritage of the champion. With the skillful recording of the two-day event in Ljubljana, the content is intertwining with the athlete’s personality and his extraordinary life journey. So the film itself becomes festive, joyful, enthusiastic and enjoyable… just like Goran Dragić himself!