Henry Awards Semi-Finalists 2025

Film still credit: Theo Montoya.

ANHELL69

Director: Theo Montoya

Producers: Bianca Oana, David Hurst, Juan P. Castrillón, Theo Montoya

Countries of Production/Origin: Colombia, Romania, France, Germany

Logline: A funeral car cruises the streets of Medellin, while a young director tells the story of his past in this violent and conservative city, he remembers the pre-production of his first film, a Class-B movie with ghosts.

Film still credit: WILLA.

ANOTHER BODY

Directors: Sophie Compton, Reuben Hamlyn

Producers: Elizabeth Woodward, Sophie Compton, Reuben Hamlyn

Countries of Production/Origin: United States, United Kingdom

Logline: ANOTHER BODY follows a college student’s search for answers and justice after she discovers deepfake pornography of herself circulating online.

Film still credit: © Ajimati Films.

COCONUT HEAD GENERATION

Director: Alain Kassanda

Producers: Emilie Guitard, Alain Kassanda

Countries of Production/Origin: France, Nigeria

Logline: Every Thursday, a group of students from the University of Ibadan, the oldest university in Nigeria, organizes a film club, transforming a small amphitheater into a political agora where they refine their vision and develop a critical voice.

Film still credit: Tanit Films.

FOUR DAUGHTERS

Director: Kaouther Ben Hania

Producers: Nadim Cheikhrouha, with: Habib Attia, Thanassis Karathanos, Martin Hampel

Countries of Production/Origin: Tunisia, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia

Logline: FOUR DAUGHTERS is a compelling portrait of five women and a unique and ambitious work of nonfiction cinema that pushes against the conventional boundaries of the documentary form to explore the nature of memory, rebellion, and the ties that bind mothers and daughters.

Film still credit: Ibrahim Nash’at.

HOLLYWOODGATE

Director: Ibrahim Nash’at

Producers: Talal Derki, Odessa Rae, Shane Boris

Countries of Production/Origin: Germany, United States

Logline: After 20 years of war in Afghanistan, HOLLYWOODGATE follows the Taliban as they enter an American base loaded with billions of dollars of weapons left behind; the film tracks the fundamentalist militia’s transformation into a military regime, showcasing their use of Hollywood-style propaganda.

Film still credit: Lianain Films.

IF WE BURN

Directors and Producers: James Leong, Lynn Lee

Country of Production/Origin: Hong Kong

Logline: An urgent, immersive journey into Hong Kong’s 2019 pro-democracy protests, and a meditation on what it means to resist. 

Film still credit: Daniella Carter still by D. Smith.

KOKOMO CITY

Director: D. Smith

Producers: D. Smith, Harris Doran, Bill Butler

Country of Production/Origin: United States

Logline: A raw depiction of the lives of four Black trans sex workers as they confront the dichotomy between the Black community and themselves. 

Film still credit: Courtesy of Xoliswa Bongela.

MILISUTHANDO

Director: Milisuthando Bongela

Producers: Marion Isaacs, Milisuthando Bongela

Countries of Production/Origin: South Africa, Colombia  

Logline: Set in past, present, and future South Africa—an invitation into a poetic, memory-driven exploration of love, intimacy, race, and belonging by the filmmaker, who grew up during apartheid but didn’t know it was happening until it was over.

Film still credit: Hiba Khodr.

Q

Director: Jude Chehab

Producers: Jude Chehab, Fahd Ahmed

Countries of Production/Origin: United States, Lebanon

Logline: God works in mysterious ways and so do women. 

Film still credit: Greenwich Entertainment.

QUEENDOM

Director: Agniia Galdanova 

Producers: Igor Myakotin, Agniia Galdanova 

Countries of Production/Origin: France, United States 

Logline: In defiance of Putin’s regime, a queer, twenty-one-year-old artist risks her life performing in surreal costumes throughout Moscow. Jenna Marvin’s radical public performances blend artistry and activism—and put her life in danger. 

Film still credit: Kristen Lovell. Photo by Samantha Box.

THE STROLL

Directors: Kristen Lovell, Zackary Drucker  

Producer: Matt Wolf  

Country of Production/Origin: United States  

Logline: The history of New York’s Meatpacking District as told from the perspective of transgender sex workers who lived and worked there. The filmmaker who walked “The Stroll” for a decade, reunites her community to recount the violence, policing, homelessness, and gentrification they overcame to build a movement for transgender rights.

Film still credit: From footage originally captured by Suha Khamis.

THREE PROMISES

Director: Yousef Srouji  

Producer: Marielle Olentine  

Countries of Production/Origin: Palestine, United States

Logline: A mother films her family’s life while sheltering from Israel’s attacks during the Second Intifada in the West Bank. Her son revisits the past through this footage, delivering a heart-breaking portrait of the anguish of parents forced to choose between their children’s safety and the emotional upheaval of leaving home.   

Film Still credit: Amaan Shaikh & Vinay Shukla.

WHILE WE WATCHED

Director: Vinay Shukla  

Producers: Vinay Shukla, Luke W Moody, Khushboo Ranka  

Countries of Production/Origin: India, United Kingdom  

Logline: A timely depiction of a newsroom in crisis, WHILE WE WATCHED follows tormented journalist Ravish Kumar for two years as he battles a barrage of fake news, falling ratings and the resulting cutbacks.  

Film still credit: Aubrey Gordon. Photo by Joseph Cultice.

YOUR FAT FRIEND

Director & Producer: Jeanie Finlay 

Countries of Production/Origin: United Kingdom, United States 

Logline: The irrepressible rise of writer and fat activist Aubrey Gordon, a film about fatness, family, the complexities of making change and the deep, messy feelings we hold about our bodies.

Film still credit: Courtesy of Icarus Films/The dGenerate Film Collection. 

YOUTH (SPRING)

Director: Wang Bing 

Producers: Sonia Buchman, Mao Hui, Nicolas R. De La Mothe, Vincent Wang  

Countries of Production/Origin: France, Luxemburg, Netherlands  

Logline: YOUTH (SPRING) is a documentary driven by the thrum of industrial sewing machines—just like the lives of the young garment workers it portrays.