On March 26 and 27, a new edition of the NABA Cinema Awards took place — the event that celebrates the best cinematic audiovisual projects created by students from the Media Design and New Technologies Area across both the Milan and Rome Campuses. On March 27, as part of the Ceremonies held in both cities, the winning projects were awarded, selected by the NABA Faculty, an external jury of industry professionals, and the event’s partners.
NABA Cinema Awards 2025: the event in Milan
As always, the Milan edition of the NABA Cinema Awards featured a series of events hosted at Anteo Palazzo del Cinema. On March 26 and 27, the competing short films were premiered, while on March 27, Igor Muroni (NABA Lecturer) hosted a livestream on the Academy’s YouTube channel. In the lead-up to the Awards Ceremony, he interviewed members of the jury, finalist students, and Course Leaders from the Media Design and New Technologies Area.
The Milan Award Ceremony, hosted by Vincenzo Cuccia (Media Design and New Technologies and Set Design Area Leader) and Alumna and Content Creator Charlie Moon, was held on March 27 in the Sala Excelsior and live-streamed on the Academy’s YouTube channel. This was followed by an additional livestream from Spazio with Anteo, again with Igor Muroni, featuring more engaging interviews with students, jury members, and Course Leaders. After the ceremony, the finalist short films were screened in the Sala Excelsior.
NABA Cinema Awards 2025: the event in Rome
The 2025 edition of the NABA Cinema Awards in Rome, held at Cinema Intrastevere, also featured a rich programme of events. It began with the screening of the competing short films on March 26, followed on March 27 by the Awards Ceremony, hosted by Fabio Capalbo (BA in Film and Animation Course Leader) and Francesca Staasch (Academic Master in Screenwriting for Series Course Leader), and livestreamed on the Academy’s YouTube channel. As in Milan, the Awards Ceremony in Rome was followed by the screening of the finalist short films.
NABA Cinema Awards 2025: the categories celebrated during the Ceremonies in Milan and Rome
This year’s edition introduced two new features: the Milan and Rome events each had their own juries and award categories. Additionally, the Best Trailer award—voted by the NABA Instagram community—was presented on stage in both cities.
An internal jury composed of Lecturers, Course Leaders, and Advisors from the Academy awarded the following category prizes in Milan and Rome: Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, and Best Sound. In Milan, the following additional prizes were also presented: Best VFX, Best Set Design, and Best Game Trailer and Cinematic. An external jury, made up of industry professionals and experts, awarded the prizes for Best Short Film, Best Direction, and the Jury Special Prize in both cities. The award for Best Short Animation was assigned exclusively in Milan.
The Prem1ere Film Award, curated by Prem1ere Film, and the WIFTMI Chantal Award, curated by Women in Film, Television & Media Italia, were added to the list of special prizes in both cities. In Rome, the Cinematografo Special Prize was also awarded.
NABA Cinema Awards 2025: the winning projects
Here are the winning projects, created by students from the Milan and Rome Campuses, announced during the two Awards Ceremonies:
External Jury Awards – Milan:
- Best Short Film: "Petrolia" by Giulia Mancassola
- Best Direction: "Largohen Dallëndyshet" by Deni Neli
- Best Short Animation: "Fox’s Facades" by Ottavia Francesca Cremonesi, Alexia Ponzo
- Jury Special Prize: "Kaliz" by Irene Z’graggen
- Jury Special Mention: "Pharmakon" by Clara Rancatore
External Jury Awards – Rome:
- Best Short Film: "La parola amore non esisteva" by Eva Demattè
- Best Direction: "Saremo Alberi" by Chiara Evangelista
- Jury Special Prize (Ex Aequo): "Maccarìa" by Giulia Minella
- Jury Special Prize (Ex Aequo): "QUELLO CHE NON VEDI" by Noemi Miranda
Special Awards – Milan:
- Prem1ere Film Award: "Pharmakon" by Clara Rancatore
- WIFTMI Chantal Award: "Radio Perla del Tirreno" by Noemi Arfuso
- WIFTMI Chantal Special Mention: "Secret- Freedom tastes of reality" by Alice Chiofalo
Special Awards – Rome:
- Prem1ere Film Award: "La parola amore non esisteva" by Eva Demattè
- WIFTMI Chantal Award (ex aequo): "Maccarìa" by Giulia Minella
- WIFTMI Chantal Award (ex aequo): "@gesùofficial" by Annapaola Ragno
- Cinematografo Special Prize: "La parola amore non esisteva" by Eva Demattè
Faculty Awards – Milan:
- Best Screenplay: awarded to Gabriele Lippi for "Lezioni di ginnastica" by Gabriele Lippi
- Best Cinematography: awarded to Giulia Mancassola for "At Least I Will Be 8 294 400 Pixel" by Marco Talarico
- Best Editing (Ex Aequo): awarded to Adam Souf for "LOVE (A BEDTIME STORY)" by Adam Souf
- Best Editing (Ex Aequo): awarded to Francesca Venzano for "Maccaia" by Francesca Venzano
- Best Sound: awarded to Tommaso Contini for "Ruga" by Tommaso Contini
- Best VFX: awarded to Cristina Basaglia for "The Collapse" by Cristina Basaglia, Pablo Renato Albatrino
- Best Set Design: awarded to Kevin Vitale for "Kaliz" by Irene Z’graggen
- Best Game Trailer and Cinematics: awarded to Edoardo Tebaldi for "Get Out of My Dungeon!" by Edoardo Tebaldi
- Best Trailer: awarded to Francesca Venzano for "Maccaìa" by Francesca Venzano
Faculty Awards – Rome:
- Best Screenplay: awarded to Matteo Ducceschi for "FAME" by Matteo Ducceschi
- Best Cinematography: awarded to Pierluigi Chira Velasques for "FAME" by Matteo Ducceschi
- Best Editing: awarded to Alessando La Marca for "@gesùofficial" by Annapaola Ragno
- Best Sound: awarded to Alessandro Marsella for "Déjàvu" by Alessandro Marsella
- Best Trailer: awarded to "Quello che non vedi" by Noemi Miranda
NABA Cinema Awards 2025: the Milan and Rome juries
The external jury of the NABA Cinema Awards in Milan was composed of:
- Marino Guarnieri (Director and Producer)
- Adele Tulli (Director)
- Manuela Rima (Strategic & Digital Marketing at Rai Cinema)
- Alessandro Stellino (Artistic Director at Festival dei Popoli)
- Agata De Laurentiis (Founder of Cinemino and Head of Programming at Milano Film Fest)
These were the partners who presented some of the awards in Milan:
- Best Short Film: Oppo
- Best Short Animation: Wacom
- Best Direction: Moovie
- Jury Special Prize: Anteo Palazzo del Cinema
- Jury Special Mention: Anteo Palazzo del Cinema
The external jury of the NABA Cinema Awards in Rome was composed of:
- Daria D’Antonio (Director of Photography)
- Tommaso Santambrogio (Director)
- Daniela Virgilio (Actress)
These were the partners who presented some of the awards in Rome:
- Best Short Film: Image&Light
- Best Direction: Rec
- Chantal Award: WIFTMI
- Cinematografo Special Prize: Cinematografo
NABA Cinema Awards 2025: credits
The illustration of the visual identity, the opening title and the animations for this fourth edition of the NABA Cinema Awards were created by NABA Alumna Chiara Seveso. Supervision of the visual and opening title design was provided by Stefania Carbonara and Jacopo Martinoni.
The awards were 3D printed at the NABA Design Lab.
As in previous years, all the best student projects from Milan and Rome were collected in a single catalogue, with graphic design by Giordano Cruciani.