Recognition · The Grand Prix

The festival's highest honour

THE Dana

The Grand Jury Prize: open to every film, in every category. One grand prix, open to every film in competition and awarded across the whole roster, not a single strand.

Alongside THE Dana, 33 juried prizes across 4 clusters.

34 honours in total, spanning features and formats, the crafts, performance, and the awards that recognise a film's reach, including the new Horizon Reel prize for AI-generated film.

01

Category Awards

14

  • Best Feature Film

    Outstanding achievement in feature-length filmmaking

  • Best Documentary Feature

    Outstanding feature-length documentary filmmaking

  • Best Animation Feature

    Outstanding achievement in feature-length animation

  • Dana Arabic Panorama Award

    The strongest film in the Dana Arabic Panorama

  • Best Web Series

    Outstanding episodic storytelling made for the web

  • Best Short Fiction

    Outstanding achievement in short-form fiction

  • Best Documentary Short

    Outstanding short-form documentary filmmaking

  • Best Animation Short

    Outstanding achievement in short-form animation

  • Best First Time Filmmaker

    The strongest first feature or first short by a new filmmaker

  • Best Social Impact Film

    The film that makes the strongest case for change

  • Best Mobile Phone Film

    The finest film shot entirely on a mobile device

  • Best Women Filmmaker

    Outstanding filmmaking in the Women Filmmakers Competition

  • Best AI Film

    The strongest film made with generative AI tools

  • Best Student Film

    Outstanding filmmaking by a student

02

Craft Awards

11

  • Best Director

    Outstanding direction, in any category

  • Best Screenplay

    The finest written screenplay, in any category

  • Best Story

    The most compelling original story, in any category

  • Best Dialogue

    The sharpest and most memorable written dialogue

  • Best Cinematography

    Outstanding camerawork and visual storytelling

  • Best Editing

    Outstanding achievement in editing

  • Best Original Score (Music)

    Outstanding original songs written for the film

  • Best Original Score (Background Score)

    Outstanding original instrumental score

  • Best Visual Effects

    Outstanding achievement in visual effects

  • Best Art Director

    Outstanding art direction and production design

  • Best Action

    Outstanding action filmmaking and stunt work

03

Performance Awards

5

  • Best Actor

    An outstanding leading performance

  • Best Actress

    An outstanding leading performance

  • Best Supporting Actor

    An outstanding supporting performance

  • Best Supporting Actress

    An outstanding supporting performance

  • Best Child Actor

    An outstanding performance by a performer under 16

04

Special Awards

3

  • Vanguard Award

    For the film that pushes the form furthest

  • Audience Choice Award

    Voted by festival audiences

  • Jury Special Mention

    Singled out by the jury for particular distinction

Clarifying notes

  • Documentary and Animation: under 40 minutes is Short, 40 minutes and over is Feature.
  • Best Child Actor: performers under 16 at the time of filming.
  • Best Dialogue: applies to films with significant spoken dialogue.
  • Best AI Film: requires full disclosure of AI tools used and verification of rights for all generated content.
The Jury

Industry Legends

Our distinguished jury comprises acclaimed filmmakers, actors, and industry leaders committed to recognizing exceptional cinema.

To Be Announced

Head of Jury

Distinguished filmmaker and industry veteran

To Be Announced

Feature Film Jury

Award-winning director

To Be Announced

Documentary Jury

Acclaimed documentarian

To Be Announced

Short Film Jury

Festival favorite and emerging voice

Full jury announcements coming soon. Subscribe to our newsletter for updates.

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