The 8th edition exceeds 64,600 spectators and confirms the festival’s role as a key space for creation, professional networking, and the visibility of women-directed cinema.
The Festival Cine por Mujeres Madrid (Madrid Women’s Film Festival) has concluded its eighth edition with figures that confirm its sustained growth and relevance within the audiovisual landscape. This year, the event recorded an 11% increase in audience compared to 2024, reaching over 64,600 spectators across in-person attendees, broadcasts on 8madridTV, viewings on Filmin, and streaming. This balance solidifies the festival as an essential gathering for discovering and debating the female perspective in contemporary cinema.
The 2025 edition brought together 54 professionals—including directors, scriptwriters, producers, actresses, and industry experts—who shared processes, concerns, and new lines of work through conversations, presentations, and training sessions. In total, the festival programmed 66 screenings, 12 professional activities, 17 in-person venues, and a selection of feature films from 17 countries, confirming the breadth and diversity of its proposal.
One of the most notable aspects has been the public’s interest in hearing from the creators. 29 female directors conversed about their films and the themes that fuel their work, while national and international experts and actresses analyzed the evolution of the industry from the perspective of equity and representation. Part of these encounters can now be seen on the festival’s YouTube channel.
The media impact also lived up to the edition: according to My News data, the festival generated 333 media mentions and reached a cumulative audience exceeding 482 million readers, figures that reflect the growing institutional, professional, and social interest in this benchmark space.
In its awards section, the festival recognized the career of the composer Zeltia Montes, honored for her ability to construct emotional universes through music. In the International Competition, the award for Best International Film 2025 went to Happy Birthday, by Egyptian director Sarah Goher, while the jury granted a Special Mention to Jakobs Ross (Songs Within), by Katalin Gödrös.
In the Spanish Competition, the winning film was Sorda, by Eva Libertad. Additionally, as a novelty, this year the Baturu Award was presented to first or second works by emerging female directors, which went to Avelina Prat for Una quinta portuguesa.
With this edition, the Festival Cine por Mujeres Madrid confirms that its work is not only necessary but structural for the industry: a space that broadens the narrative, boosts new voices, and contributes to a more plural and representative audiovisual ecosystem.
