Light Moves is thrilled to announce our 2025 award winners, celebrating films that show outstanding artistic innovation in dance on screen.
Light Moves Innovative use of Music and Sound Award sponsored by Contemporary Music Centre Winner:
100 M Directed by Monika Szpunar, Music by Joanna Wabik
Adjudicator Irene Buckley, composer: 100 M demonstrates creative sound design that skilfully blends field recordings, voice and musical composition, showing a strong sense of craft, attention to detail and close connection between sound and imagery.
Light Moves Student Merit Award, sponsored by Irish World Academy of Music & Dance Winner:
AETERNA Directed by Hannah Goodman
Adjudicator Grant McClay, Course Director, BA Contemporary Dance at Irish World Academy of Music & Dance: From the subtle articulation of fingers to snapshots of physical intention, Aeterna sets the tone for an immersive journey. Choreographic choices and movement phrases carried depth and embodied texture. Striking contrasts, white movement against black, later shifting to black on black, draw the viewer into a delicately lit world. Framing was thoughtful within a contained environment, while rhythm and pacing were refined through smooth, considered cuts and transitions. The visual design showed a cohesive aesthetic, complemented by an original score that continually surprised and enriched the experience.
Light Moves Choreography and/or performance Award sponsored by Dublin Dance Festival Winner:
BOLERO.S Directed and Choreographed by Mehdi Kerkouche
Jazmin Chiodi, Artistic Director Dublin Dance Festival: BOLERO.S really stood out for me – it’s a bold reimagining of a classic, a work that bridges generations and cultures with real clarity and contagious energy. Mehdi Kerkouche captures the spirit of Ravel’s Boléro while giving it a fresh, contemporary pulse – a vibrant expression of today’s identity through dance.
Light Moves Overall Film Award Winner:
Until… Directed by Tanin Torabi
Adjudicator Lucy Cash, filmmaker and artist: This year’s shortlist highlights the ways in which screendance is in dialogue with the world in powerful, urgent ways. Until… is an impressive single shot work that exposes what’s at risk in gestures of resistance and does so through a meticulously crafted single sequence in a moving and compelling way.
