The festival is over, we’re all packed up and getting ready for the next one! In the meantime we still have this year’s winners to announce and this is not the end of the year’s planning for us (and hopefully also you); we also have Kaboom Anime and Kaboom Cult ongoing the rest of the year.
We’re excited to announce the winners of this year’s Kaboom Audience Awards! Huge congratulations to all the talented nominees and winners, your work truly resonated with our audience! 💥
THE AWARD WINNERS
AUDIENCE AWARDS
Winner Best Feature: Allah is Not Obliged by Zaven Najjar (Belgium/Canada/France/Luxembourg, 2025)
Winner Best Short: Beef Tomato (Vleestomaat) by Patty Stenger, Yvonne Kroese (Netherlands, 2025)
Winner Best Experimental: Merrimundi by Niles Atallah (France/Chile, 2025)
Winner Best Commissioned: Where Wool Speaks, and We Must Listen (Desi Oon) by Suresh Eriyat (India, 2025)
KABOOM JURY AWARDS
Kaboom Award for Best VR: Less Than 5gr of Saffron (Frankrijk, 2025) van de Iranese regisseur Négar Motevalymeidanshah, die een sterke boodschap over vrijheid gaf in haar dankwoord.
Nancy Award Winner: Endless Cookie van Seth Scriver & Pete Scriver (Canada, 2025).
The film that Nancy has selected is a documentary that deals with colonialism, racism, spirituality, and family relations. It was made by two Canadian half brothers with the same father and two different mothers, one a white woman and the other a Cree Indian.
The film is a testament to the fact that racism and bigotry are still alive and doing quite well during these troubled times that we are living through.
Kaboom Award for Best Documentary: Their Eyes van Nicolas Gourault (Frankrijk, 2025).
This film elegantly exposes the invisible labor that is done frame by frame creating a sinister notion behind our modern technology.
Kaboom Award for Best Dutch Student Short: Error Connection Lost van Uliana Gromyko (Nederland, 2025).
A heartbreaking story of two siblings trying to stay connected, crafted with an inventive technique that mirrors the medium of their bond.
Kaboom Award for Best Dutch Short: Murmuration van Janneke Swinkels & Tim Frijsinger (Nederland/België, 2025)
Small gestures express so much in this touching story about a man transforming out of his body into freedom.
Kaboom Award for Best Student Short: SH van Qi Duan (China, 2024).
Best Student awarded goes to a film that takes us on a journey with different characters searching for a dopamine kick and connection in the loneliness of everyday life. A disturbing atmosphere and hopelessness portrayed in strong artistic changing styles.
Jamie Bolio Award Winner: Boundaries van Seun Yee (Zuid Korea, 2025)
The award goes to a film that uses graphic artistic animation that plays with perspectives, rhythm and time. Pulling and pushing of personal limits and understanding them in a universal context.
Kaboom Award for Best International Short: What We Leave Behind van Jean-Sébastien Hamel, Alexandra Myotte (Canada, 2025)
The award goes to a film that puts us on a long journey of the pain of keeping a secret with very striking symbolism. The clever use of space in the visualization added to the suffocation of the character.
OSCAR, BAFTA and Annie Awards Qualifications
Kaboom is an ACADEMY AWARD® Qualifying Festival. The winners of the Kaboom competitions for Best Short Film and Best Dutch Short Film are automatically longlisted for the ACADEMY AWARD® competition for short animation.
The Kaboom Animation Festival is an official festival partner of the Annie Awards.
The Annie Awards are presented annually by ASIFA Hollywood, and the winners of the Kaboom Awards for Best Short Film, Best VR, the Jamie Bolio Award and Best Documentary are eligible for the Annie Awards in the same categories.
Kaboom is also a BAFTA Qualifying Festival.
