Two Official Juries
The Feature Film Competition ‘Windows on the World’ Jury awards the City of Milan Prize for Best Feature Film ‘Windows on the World’ – €8,000.
As per tradition, the Jury composed of three Italian journalists and film critics from SNCCI (National Union of Italian Film Critics), in collaboration with AFIC, evaluates and awards the Best African Short Film and the Best Film in the Extr’A Section, the latter offered by Terre des Hommes Italia.
Official Awards
Feature Film Competition 'Windows on the World'
City of Milan Award for Best Feature Film “Windows on the World” – €8,000
African Short Film Competition
Prize for Best African Short Film – €2,000
Extr’A Competition
Prize for Best Film in the Extr’A Section, sponsored by Terre des Hommes Italia – €1,000
Special Awards
City of Milan Award
Awarded to the film most voted by the audience.
CINIT Award
This award consists of the acquisition of Italian distribution rights and is granted to an African short film with educational value.
ACEC Award (Catholic Association of Cinema Exhibitors)
This award consists of the acquisition of Italian distribution rights and is assigned by an ACEC jury to a feature film in the festival lineup.
ACEC Milano (Catholic Association of Cinema Exhibitors) is a non-profit professional association that represents, promotes, and supports over 100 affiliated Community Theaters across its territory. These multifunctional venues serve as cinemas, theaters, and conference spaces, acting as longstanding cultural hubs in their communities.
Multimedia San Paolo/Telenova Award
This award consists of the acquisition of Italian distribution rights for an African short film.
"Future Visions" Award – Terre des Hommes Italia
The Terre des Hommes Italia Award is given to the best festival film that promotes the rights of children and adolescents.
University Jury Award
Awarded by a university jury composed of under-30 students from various Milanese universities, recognizing a feature film in competition. The jury activities are part of the Fuori per Festival project.
Official Juries
Feature Film Competition ‘Windows on the World’ Jury
Pia Marais
PRESIDENT
Born in South Africa, she studied sculpture and photography in Europe. Her debut feature film, The Unpolished, won the Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival in 2007. At Ellen’s Age was presented in Competition at the Locarno Film Festival in 2010. With Layla Fourie, she returned to her home country, South Africa, and the film won the Special Jury Mention at the Berlinale in 2013. In 2024, she returned to Locarno in Competition with Transamazonia.
Carolina Cavalli
Italian director and screenwriter. In 2022, her debut feature film, Amanda, was presented at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for Best Debut Film at the David di Donatello Awards. In 2023, she co-wrote Fremont by Babak Jalali, which was selected for the Sundance Film Festival and won the John Cassavetes Award at the Independent Spirit Awards. She is currently finishing her second feature film, Il rapimento di Arabella.
Scandar Copti
Palestinian director and visual artist from Jaffa. His debut film, Ajami (co-directed with Yaron Shani), won the Special Mention for the Caméra d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009 and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2010 Academy Awards. His second film, Happy Holidays, had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in 2024, where it won the Orizzonti Award for Best Screenplay.
Official Juries
African Short Film Competition and Extr’A Competition Jury
Fabrizia Centola
PRESIDENT
She graduated in Film Editing from the Civica Scuola di Cinema and earned a degree in Arts and Entertainment Sciences and Technologies from Università Cattolica. She collaborates with Milan-based productions as an editor and later also as a writer. She teaches Theory and Practice of Editing at the Civica Scuola di Cinema L. Visconti and IULM. She is the author of Il flash-back (2019), Inquadratura, scena e sequenza (co-authored with Diego Cassani, 2021), and 24 fotogrammi per una storia del montaggio cinematografico (2025).
Alessandro Amato
Film critic, cultural operator, and screenwriter. A member of SNCCI and FIPRESCI, he has published the essays La diva che non piace. Una nessuna centomila Kristen Stewart (2022) and Essere Marlon Brando. L’uomo, l’attore, il divo (2024). He has contributed to collective projects on filmmakers such as Marco Bellocchio, Roberto Faenza, and Pietro Germi. He writes for industry magazines and is the artistic director of the Torino Underground Cinefest.
Lorenzo Rossi
Research fellow at the University of Insubria. Within the field of visual studies, his work primarily focuses on the relationship between cinema, history, and visual arts. He is the author of monographs, scientific essays, and articles published in national and international visual culture journals. He is an editor for Cineforum magazine and collaborates with various film festivals, including the Torino Film Festival.