“This visually and emotionally stunning film transported us to a remote mountain top and into the most intimate moments of a family fighting to protect not only their land, but their way of life. The truest example of the power of cinema to make the personal political,” reads the Jury citation.
Shame and Money by Visar Morina, a coproduction between Germany, Kosovo, Slovenia, Albania, North Macedonia, and Belgium, received the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic.
Jury citation: “For his powerful and unique portrayal of human dignity in contemporary Kosovo that universally resonates. A sensitive filmmaker who masterfully draws the audience into the daily struggles of a family. For his deep empathy for his characters in a crucial moment in which they are beginning again”.
Hold onto Me by Myrsini Aristidou, the first Cypriot film selected for Sundance, received the Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic.
Films from FNE Partner Countries at Sundance Film Festival 2026:
World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic:
Shame and Money (Germany, Kosovo, Slovenia, Albania, North Macedonia, Belgium)
Directed by Visar Morina
Produced by Schuldenberg Films
Coproduced by Vicky Bane, Eagle Eye Film, Vertigo Ljubljana, On Film Production, List Production, Quetzalcoatl
Supported by Eurimages, BKM, Film – und Medienstiftung NRW, DFFF, QKK, the North Macedonia Film Agency, the National Center of Cinematography Albania, the Slovenian Film Centre, Tax Shelter Belgium
World Cinema Grand Jury Prize: Documentary:
To Hold a Mountain / Planina (Serbia, France, Belgium, Montenegro, Slovenia, Croatia)
Directed by Biljana Tutorov, Petar Glomazić
Produced by Wake Up Films
Coproduced by Les Films de l'œil sauvage, Stenola Productions, Ardor Films, Kinematograf, Cvinger Film
Associate producer: Cut-Up d.o.o jj
Supported by Film Center Serbia, the Film Centre of Montenegro, CNC France - Cinéma du Monde, the Slovenian Film Centre, the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, PACA Fund of the Southern France Region, RTV Slovenia, Tax Shelter Belgium, InMaat Foundation, Doc Society Climate Story Fund, Uniqua See Future Foundation, Catapult Film Fund, Chicken & Egg Films, Diane Weyermann fellowship, IDA Enterprise Grant, the Council of Europe, Eurimages
Audience Award: World Cinema Dramatic:
Hold onto Me (Cyprus, Denmark, Greece)
Directed by Myrsini Aristidou
Produced by One Six One Films, Filmblades
Coproduced by Fredo Pictures, Graal S.A
Supported by the Cyprus Deputy Ministry of Culture, ERT (Greek TV Channel), the Danish Film Institute, the Greek Film Center, the Black Family Grant of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Pleasant Bay Pictures, the Sam Spiegel International Film Lab - Emerging Filmmaker Award, Mango Productions
The Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic:
Andrius Blaževičius for How to Divorce During the War (Lithuania, Luxembourg, Ireland, Czech Republic)
Produced by M-Films
Coproduced by Red Lion, Feline Films, Bionaut
