On Thursday, April 9, the ceremonial presentation of the 2025 Sun in a Net Awards took place at the Old Market Hall in Bratislava. The national film and television awards are presented by the Slovak Film and Television Academy (SFTA), while the Slovak Film Institute (SFI) serves as a co-organizer and partner of the event.
The fifteenth edition of the event once again brought a change in how the ceremony was made accessible to the public. Slovak Television and Radio (STVR) did not broadcast the gala live and also did not provide technical production or recording of the event, which marks a change from last year, when it at least recorded the ceremony. For the second consecutive year, viewers were therefore able to follow the evening online via several partner platforms (Denník N, SME, Aktuality, 360, .týždeň, Kinema, Topky and ČSFD.sk), on the official event website, and through a live television broadcast on Channel 1.
Out of a total of 38 submitted audiovisual works, 15 films (one more than last year) competed in the Best Fiction Film category. The biographical film about Slovakia’s most successful athlete, Nepela, received the highest number of nominations (13) and won awards for best editing, costume design, and visual effects. The most awarded film of the year was Flood, the first feature film made in the Rusyn language, which received six awards. It triumphed in the categories of Best Screenplay, Best Film Sound, Best Production Design, Best Actress in a Leading Role, and Best Actor in a Supporting Role, while also winning the Audience Award for most popular film of the year, based on votes cast by more than 5 000 viewers. Just one award behind was the drama Father, which won the award for Best Fiction Film, Best Film Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Actor in a Leading Role.
The award for Best Documentary Film went to Better Go Mad in the Wild, while Tales from the Magic Garden was named Best Animated Film. In the category of Best Short Fiction or Documentary Film, the prize went to the student documentary How to Listen to Fountains. The Award for Outstanding Contribution to Slovak Audiovisual Culture was presented to dramaturge and educator Zuzana Gindl-Tatárová, who was also a co-founder of the Sun in a Net Awards.
BEST FICTION FILM
Father, dir. Jiří Mádl, prod. Veronika Pašteková, Anton Škreko, Miloš Lochman, Karel Chvojka, Marta Gmosińska, Mariusz Włodarski
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM
Better Go Mad in the Wild, dir. Miro Remo, prod. Tomáš Hrubý, Pavla Janoušková Kubečková, Miro Remo
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Tales from the Magic Garden, dirs. David Súkup, Patrik Pašš, Leon Vidmar, Jean-Claude Rozec, prod.
Martin Vandas, Alena Vandasová, Juraj Krasnohorský, Henrieta Cvangová, Kolja Saksida, Jean-François Le Corre, Mathieu Courtois
BEST FILM DIRECTION
Tereza Nvotová, film: Father
BEST SCREENPLAY
Dominika Udvorková, Martin Gonda, Martin Šuster, film: Flood
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Adam Suzin, film: Father
BEST FILM EDITING
Roman Kelemen, film: Nepela
BEST FILM SOUND
Bohumil Martinák, Ivan Ďurkech, Quentin Collette, Renaud Guillaumin, film: Flood
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
Jonatán (Pjoni) Pastirčák, film: Father
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Juraj Kuchárek, film: Flood
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Helena Tavelová, film: Nepela
BEST MAKEUP
Martin Jankovič, Michaela R. Kicková, Zuzana Zvonár, film: Duchoň
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Michal Křeček, Andrea Shaffer, František Štepánek, film: Nepela
BEST ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Sára Chripáková (Mara), film: Flood
BEST ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Juliána Brutovská (Zuza), film: Caravan
BEST ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Milan Ondrík (Michal), film: Father
BEST ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Vladimír Čema (pop), film: Flood
BEST TV FILM/MINISERIES/SERIES
Moloch, dir. Lukáš Hanulák, prod. Lukáš Hanulák, Vratislav Šlajer, Barbora Mudrová, Lada Dobrkovská
BEST SHORT FICTION OR DOCUMENTARY FILM
How to Listen to Fountains, dir. Eva Sajanová, prod. Anna Mária Zimová, VŠMU
OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION TO SLOVAK AUDIOVISUAL CULTURE
Zuzana Gindl-Tatárová
AUDIENCE AWARD THE SUN IN A NET
Flood, dir. Martin Gonda, prod. Katarína Krnáčová, Tomáš Gič, Viktor Schwarcz
Photo: SFTA/Zdenko Hanout
