On the closing night, as usual, the jury composed of writer Alda Teodorani (jury president), special effects artist Leonardo Cruciano, and director and screenwriter Roberto De Feo awarded the coveted Golden Bats.
The Golden Bat for Best Feature Film went to the documentary Chain Reactions by Alexandre O. Philippe. The jury’s motivation was the following: “A work that transcends the realm of celebratory documentary to enter the more complex realm of metacinematic reflection. A tribute to a horror classic that becomes a reflection on the cultural legacy of an entire era. The film interweaves the voices of artists from different generations and worlds with rigor, sensitivity, and depth, to show us how a “dirty” and marginal film carved a furrow in the collective consciousness and the creativity of those who came after. The selected testimonies are not simple interviews, but segments of a critical essay that combines film history and cultural analysis. The winning film illuminates the roots of horror but, above all, raises new questions about the power of cinema. Precisely for its formal intelligence and its ability to bring a now legendary cinematic object alive and contemporary, the Golden Bat for Best Feature Film of the 45th Fantafestival goes to Chain Reactions by Alexandre O. Philippe.”
The Golden Bat for Best Short Film went to The Girl Who Cried Pearls by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski. The jury’s motivation was the following: “A work that stands out for the sophistication of its stop-motion animation and the care its creators have devoted to the characters, through excellent direction and impeccable editing. In a poetic and moving story, the tale of the girl who transforms pain into pearls is a metaphor for love and the price of greed, capable of making the viewer reflect and enhancing their perception of the internal world. The Golden Bat for Best Short Film of the 45th edition of the Fantafestival goes to The Girl Who Cried Pearls by Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski.”
The jury also awarded a Special Mention for Special Effects to Andrea Dalfino’s The Krampus Rises: “For its ability to convey the playful flavor of a late-twentieth-century horror genre that has never faded, with an almost anachronistic approach to Special Makeup. For showing us creatures and physical creations that require little post-production, yet still provide a visual richness where, in the indie world, budgets cannot. For its merit in placing itself at the center of a film’s style, fully conveying its narrative intentions through an entertaining production, the Fantafestival 45 jury awards a Mention for Special Makeup Effects to Andrea Dalfino’s The Krampus Rises.”
The short film Haiku 27 by Nikolaj Servettini won the Vespertilino Award, assigned by the organizing staff of Vespertilio Awards, a partner of the Fantafestival: “A young man’s hallucinatory journey into the labyrinth of his addiction, a disturbing visual experience in which the sound of a distorted bass becomes a soundtrack intended to exorcise the demons unleashed by abstinence and substances. The protagonist’s gaunt face, played by an excellent Jacopo Servettini, expresses the suffering in the eternity of an instant that repeats itself endlessly. All this is enhanced by evocative photography and special effects, which make a staging that is at once minimalist yet meticulously crafted down to the smallest details disturbing. This lysergic conflict between the psyche and the paraphernalia of narcotics is the winner: Haiku 27 by Nikolaj Servettini.”
During the 45th edition of the Fantafestival, the Golden Bat for Lifetime Achievement was also awarded to director Lamberto Bava, who celebrated the 40th anniversary of his cult film Demons. The Roman festival had already celebrated the 40th anniversary with the poster artwork by Federico Perrone, created in collaboration with Bugs Comics.
The 2025 Silver Bullet special award went to director Richard Stanley. Finally, the short film Haiku 27 also won the UNINT UNDER 35 Award, assigned by a jury of students from the master’s program in Translation and Adaptation at the University of International Studies of Rome (UNINT), the festival’s partner in subtitling, and reserved to young directors under 35. The jury’s motivation was: “Within a cyberpunk aesthetic, it has given us a stark and raw depiction of addiction. But that boy battling his demons, ultimately, could be any of us: a Kafkaesque relic, when society turns a blind eye, whether on this issue specifically, on mental health, or when it chooses to bury diversity. Therefore, the award goes to Nikolaj Servettini’s Haiku 27.”
