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12th International Festival Signes de Nuit - Bangkok - August 14-23, 2026

24th International Festival Signs of the Night - Thailand



Bangkok - The Spirit of Opening

The Festival Signs of the Night - The Spirit of Independence



MAIN AWARD



D for Distance

Emma Matthews, Christopher Petit
Finland / 2025 / 1:30:00


This film essay is a montage of contemporary footage, archive material and cinematic history. It tells the story of how one young man’s childhood epilepsy became a symbol of the world’s troubles and how he triumphed against adversity. Co-directed by cult British filmmaker and writer Petit, the film centres on a deeply personal story and becomes a complex treatise on medical power, consumption and the Cold War, drawing on early cinema, animation and the work of William Burroughs. It takes us as far as the Arctic Circle, which has never seemed so warm as in this adventure of a son and his parents..


 

JURY DECLARATION

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SPECIAL MENTION



Miracle in Maiori

Miracle á Majori
Anouk Phéline
France, Italy / 2025 / 0:30:00


An inquiry on the traces of Roberto Rossellini in Maiori, where the final miracle of "Journey to Italy" happens. Extras and witnesses of the film describe the scene the way they lived it, the way they see it. From within. Their words are resurrecting a bygone world.

ASIA PREMIERE


 

JURY DECLARATION

The film presents a complex portrayal of the life of an African emigrant in Europe, a narrative that likely resonates with millions of other migrants across the globe. The film's ambiguity allows viewers to develop either sympathy or antipathy towards the protagonist and thereby serving as a self-reflection for the viewers themselves.


DIRECTOR STATEMENT

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SIGNS AWARD


The Signs Award for Documentary honors films, which express in an original, convincing and sensitive way the perturbing aspects of reality.



Memory

Vladlena Sandu
France, Netherlands / 2025 / 1:38:00


Six-year-old Vladlena moves from Crimea to Grozny following her parents’ divorce, unaware that war will soon consume her childhood. As the Soviet Union collapses, the Chechen Republic fractures. Her Russian-speaking friends flee while deported Chechens return, reclaiming their homeland. Tensions escalate, and an armed conflict erupts. Violence engulfs the city – neighbors are murdered, her family is targeted, and Grozny becomes a battlefield. After four years of war, her mother is gravely wounded, and an armed attack forces Vladlena to flee, becoming a displaced person in Russia. In this autobiographical poetic hybrid film, Sandu revisits her traumatic childhood memories to confront a haunting question: How can the cycle of violence that shapes children and is passed through generations be broken?

THAILAND PREMIERE



 

 



MENTION FOR THE SIGNS AWARD


The Signs Award for Documentary honors films, which express in an original, convincing and sensitive way the perturbing aspects of reality.




Child of Dust

Dziecko z Pylu
Weronika Mliczewska
Poland, Vietnam, Sweden, Republic Chech, Quatar / 2025 / 1:33:00


Sang is one of hundreds of thousands of unwanted and discriminated children left behind by the American soldiers after the Vietnam War. When his lifelong dream of finding his father comes true, Sang's only mission is to race against time to meet his ailing dad and break the cycle of war trauma that has plagued generations. After a long and challenging journey, Sang can finally go to the USA, but without his wife, daughter, and beloved grandson. Reuniting with his father is a healing experience for both, but far from easy. Even though 50 years have passed since the last American soldier left Vietnam, many wounds remain open.

THAILAND PREMIERE


 






NIGHT AWARD

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The Night Award for Documentary honors films, which represent reality in an ambivalent and enigmatic way, avoiding stereotypes of representation
and simple conclusions.



Joanna Is Skywalking

Maja Britasdotter Östberg
Sweden / 2025 / 1:16:00


Joanna’s journey is a testament to the power of following one’s passion, embracing change, and seeking both personal and artistic growth. It’s a story of incredible dance moves and the quest to find balance through life’s ups and downs. We follow Joanna to Johannesburg, South Africa, as she digs deep into the Pantsula culture, which emerged during the apartheid era. The challenges she faces will be more than just the exhaustion from mastering the fastest footwork on earth. The history becomes incredibly relevant when her IsiPantsula video hits 1 million views on social media, raising a pressing question: Do you have the rights…? This project is about unity, dance, and respect for our planet and the people who’ve borrowed this little space for a while.

THAILAND PREMIERE
 



EDWARD SNOWDEN AWARD

The Edward Snowden Award honours films, which offer sensitive (mostly) unknown information, facts and phenomena of eminent importance, for which the festival wishes a wide proliferation in the future.




The Guest

Zvika Gregory Portnoy, Zuzanna Solakiewicz
Poland, Qatar / 2024 / 1:18:00


Maciek lives in a Polish village close to Belarus. It is winter 2021; the whole area has turned into a military zone, patrolled by border guards searching for “illegals” and pushing them back to Belarus. One day, Maciek’s mother lets an exhausted Syrian refugee into their house. Constructed like a thriller, this flawlessly executed film calls into question our definition of humanity.