Director Janicke Askevold from Norway wins the Ecumenical Prize of the Churches at the Locarno Film Festival. Her film centres on a journalist and single mother who wants to get to know the father of her child
The Ecumenical Jury honours the film ‘Solomamma’ (Norway/Latvia/Lithuania/Denmark/Finland, 2025). The film is about Edith, a journalist and single mother who struggles with the challenges of single parenthood. When the identity of the man who helped her conceive her child as a sperm donor becomes known, she seeks him out under the pretext of interviewing him about his company. From this encounter, a genuine relationship gradually develops. However, Edith sinks deeper and deeper into lies, jeopardising the fragile life she has built for herself.
Jury selects film ‘Solomamma’ for important questions about the ethics of life
‘Solomamma raises important ethical questions about origin, identity and belonging,’ the jury explains its choice. It goes on to write: ‘What is the miracle of conception and birth when the understanding of life is conceived in medical-technical paradigms? What is the source and responsibility of a new life and the uncontrollable consequences of such a decision?’
The jury also emphasised the focus on the responsibility of a single mother as an autonomous individual. Particularly relevant here are the ‘conditions of an independent life in which one nevertheless remains connected to others.’ With this choice, the Ecumenical Jury honours a film that seriously and profoundly addresses fundamental questions of life ethics.
Church Prize endowed with 10,000 Swiss francs
The Locarno Ecumenical Jury Prize is endowed with 10,000 Swiss francs and goes to Norwegian director Janicke Askevold. The prize money is donated by the Evangelical Reformed Church and the Roman Catholic Church of Switzerland.
Commendation for the Swiss film ‘Le Lac’
In addition to its prize, the Ecumenical Jury awarded a commendation to the film ‘Le Lac’ (Switzerland 2025) by Fabrice Aragno. The film is set on Lake Geneva. The jury wrote: "Le Lac shows us a couple who do not shy away from dealing with loss, but struggle with it. Grief has left them speechless, but they experience a deep understanding of each other even without words because they consciously confront their pain. With their sailboat, they battle the elements and literally face the storm by sailing right into it. Wind and weather bring them to the border between life and death."
International jury of church media organisations
The Ecumenical Jury of the 78th Locarno Film Festival consisted of: Melanie Pollmeier, Switzerland (President); Ileana Bîrsan, Romania; Philippe Cabrol, France; Roland Kauffmann, France. The jury is newly assembled each year by SIGNIS and INTERFILM and consists of experts from the fields of church, film, theology and religious studies.
About the Ecumenical Jury at the Locarno Film Festival
An Ecumenical Jury was first established at an international film festival in 1973. Locarno is thus the first festival to bring together Christian film organisations in a jury. Since then, the SIGNIS and INTERFILM awards have been presented jointly. In 2023, the jury celebrated its 50th anniversary at the Locarno Film Festival and presented an honorary award to the internationally renowned director István Szabó. The Locarno Film Festival took place this year from 6 to 16 August 2025. The Ecumenical Jury was invited by the festival but worked independently and selected films according to its own criteria. It reviewed the 18 films in the programme's International Competition.