The Polish film, which documents the transformation of everyday life for the inhabitants of a historic village in Turkish Kurdistan, won the “Grand Environment Prize” at CineEco. This year’s 31st edition of the Serra da Estrela International Environmental Film Festival drew more than 3,760 spectators, 1,650 pupils from schools in the municipalities of Seia, Oliveira do Hospital, Nelas and Gouveia, and the participation of 59 filmmakers, producers and actors. The CineEco 2025 awards ceremony took place this Saturday at 5.00 pm, in the auditorium of the Casa Municipal da Cultura in Seia.
The documentary “The Town That Drove Away” (Poland), by filmmaking duo Grzegorz Piekarski and Natalia Pietsch, won the “Grand Environment Prize” at CineEco 2025. The film is one of ten works that premiered at the Seia festival as part of the International Feature Film Competition, following the relocation to a new town of the inhabitants of ancient Hasankeyf, submerged by the waters following the commissioning of the region’s mega hydroelectric project.
The “Camacho Costa Award”, part of the Portuguese-Language Feature Film Competition, went to the disarming, urgent and poetic fiction film “Enquanto o Céu Não Me Espera” (Brazil). Rooted in the Amazon, director Christiane Garcia portrays the story of a humble riverside farmer who, despite the many difficulties his family faces, fights to remain on the land of his ancestors.
The “Environmental Anthropology Award”, presented across both the International and Portuguese-Language Feature Film Competitions, went to Katwe (Uganda/Sweden), by Nima Shirali, a documentary following the lives of the inhabitants of a small town beside Lake Katwe in Uganda, where a salt refinery has stood abandoned for 40 years while politicians continue to promise to free the community from the grip of poverty, corruption and toxic working conditions.
“Plastic Surgery” (United Kingdom) won the “International Short and Medium-Length Film Award”. This thriller, directed by Guy Trevellyan, explores the impact of pollution and microplastics on human beings. The film tells the story of a doctor who, on her last day before going on maternity leave, sees her routine plunge into chaos when she encounters an unexpected threat.
“Cão Sozinho” (Portugal/France), by Marta Reis Andrade, won the “Portuguese-Language Short and Medium-Length Film Award”.
“Vânia e Valéria” (Brazil), by Isabela da Silva Alves and Isabella Milena Nascimento da Cunha, won the “Environmental Education Award”, presented within the International and Portuguese-Language Short and Medium-Length Film Competitions. In the “Animation” category of these same competitions, the distinction went to “Martha” (Switzerland), by Marcel Barelli, an old silent documentary from the 1910s, recently restored.
The award for “Fiction and Non-Fiction Short Films” was presented to “L’ancien Monde” (France), by Owen Archinet.
The “Regional Panorama Award”, for works produced in the Serra da Estrela region that best promote environmental themes, went to “O Último Pastor de Sabugueiro” (Portugal), by Laurène da Palma Cavaco, a documentary about Dinis, a young shepherd and secondary school student.
The Special Awards, which span all CineEco competitions, were also presented: the “Water Value Award” to “Sukande Kasáká” (Brazil), by Kamikia Kisedje and Fred Rahal, and the “Youth Award” to “A New Kind of Wilderness” (Norway), by Silje Evensmo Jacobsen.
About the 31st Edition of CineEco 2025
The 31st edition of CineEco ran from 10 to 18 October, screening more than 80 films from 31 countries and offering a rich and diverse cinematic mosaic on contemporary environmental challenges. This year, the festival drew more than 3,760 spectators to the cinema-theatre and auditorium of the Casa Municipal da Cultura in Seia, as well as a significant number of directors, producers and actors – 59.
As in previous editions, CineEco once again placed emphasis on its educational component, with screening sessions of fiction, non-fiction and animation short films, involving the participation of 1,650 pupils from schools in the municipalities of Seia, Oliveira do Hospital, Nelas and Gouveia.
CineEco also continued its Film Market initiative, promoting networking between production companies and film students, alongside a broad programme of complementary activities and events, including exhibitions focused on environmental issues, performances, the “curtinhas” strand for younger audiences, book presentations, filmmaking workshops for all ages, seminars, post-screening discussion sessions and classic cinema screenings.
CineEco continues throughout the year through its national and international extensions. In the coming months, it will tour with its customary extensions to film clubs, schools, associations, universities and partner festivals. This is a way of bringing environmental cinema to diverse audiences and territories, promoting ecological awareness, inclusion and access to culture, and affirming the Festival’s commitment to environmental education and social change.
CineEco is organised by the Município de Seia and holds the High Patronage of the President of the Republic and the United Nations Environment Programme. It also receives financial support from DGArtes.
The Festival’s programme is curated by Cláudia Marques Santos, Daniel Oliveira and Tiago Alves.
