HRIFF Winners 2025

BEST FEATURE FILM

 
​"The Devil Makes Work For Idle Hands" (2025)
​Directed by Colin O'Reilly

A man on parole, a struggling mother, and a pair of drug dealing brothers each become part of a dazzling multiplicity of plots, but one story.

"An indie tour de force that shines a light on the gritty reality of life in contemporary Britain."

SPIRIT OF HASTINGS AWARD

"The America Ground"
​​Directed by Adam Clements
​
From the town of Hastings on the South Coast of England comes a quirky historical story, one told differently every time you hear it, as much legend as history. What is the truth of the America Ground, and what is myth?

CATEGORY WINNERS

Animation

Comedy-Horror

Drama

Fantasy

LGBTQIA+

Micro Movie

Music Videos

Student Films

Comedy

Documentary

Experimental Film

Horror

Made in Hastings

Micro-Budget Movie

Science Fiction

 BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY 
"The Red Room”
 by Sophie Cohen & Tamsin Lower

BEST DIRECTOR
Joe Snelling
for “TheWaiter, The Scientist & Jenny”
​​
BEST EDITING
“TheWaiter, The Scientist & Jenny”
by Joe Snelling

BEST MISE EN SCENE
“Buddha’s Ashtray”
by Adam Unierzyski

BEST PERFORMANCES
Lindsay Bennett-Thompson
in “Boys Like You”
*
Lena Stamm & Sandra Medina
in “Dom Outtryckta - The Unexpressed”
*
Izabela Zwierzyńska
in “TakeCare”​

BEST SCREENPLAY
“Grotto”
by Alexis Roland

BEST SOUNDSCAPE
“Awake”
by Sophie Austin

BEST YOUNG PERFORMANCES
Rory Gavlin, Seth Buller,
Emily Walker & Jack Doel
in “Tanner’s Field”

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“The Pearl Comb”
by Ali Cook