The jury: "Just as Elisabeth Sparkle's world in THE SUBSTANCE contracts, the cinematography of Benjamin Kracún simultaneously excels. Despite the constraints of her environment, he playfully explores her physical and psychological demise with highly stylised lens distortions and manipulations. It is loud and glossy, but also manages to eke out an unexpected intimacy and vulnerability. The audience is transported through to an unbearably painful, and hilariously raucous ending, achieved only through collaboration with all departments and is undoubtably a celebration of cinematography and cinema."

The jury: "In an original and experimental way, Frederikke Hoffmeier's original score in THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE works with distortion of acoustic sources and noisy electronic soundscapes. It is minimalistic so as not to steal the show but still to be remembered and conveys the cruelty of the protagonist's experience. Next to the cinematography which seems extremely modern, although it's a period film, the music has a modern and brave approach as well and creates a timeless musical language."

The jury: "With great precision and great intelligence, Tanja Hausner's costumes in THE DEVIL'S BATH build every single character in a masterful and very modern way. They contribute perfectly to the overall picture and story. On top of that, each costume, including the background actors and extras, is a piece of art, exciting in colour, proportions, texture, and visual rhythm."

The jury: "In the feverish musical odyssey EMILIA PÉREZ, Juliette Welfling's editing strikes us with its incredible fluidity and elegance. The richness of the story's registers and tonalities is orchestrated with remarkable meticulousness, immersing the audience in the narrative without feeling any of the usual stop-and-go between sung scenes and the others. Very impressive!"

The jury: "Evalotte Oosterop's make-up and hair in WHEN THE LIGHT BREAKS takes into account the complexity of the protagonists' relationships. Without a guideline to follow, she creatively combines classic hairstyles with something we're not so used to see, matching the story perfectly."

The jury: "The difficult life and psychological drama of young Karoline in post-WWI Copenhagen is expertly illustrated by an excellent, interesting, visually strong, and striking production design. Through skillfully designed interiors, along with carefully chosen exteriors, production designer Jagna Dobesz strongly and powerfully contributes to the visual quality and atmosphere of the movie."

The jury: "A perfectly modulated masterpiece of sonic realism. Rather than relying on score, the film utilises dialogue, diegetic music, sound effects and atmospheres to dramatise a despairing journey through the cacophony of Parisian traffic, shops, offices, restaurants and Metro stations. The result is a brave, dynamic work of extreme emotional precision and subtlety. A sublime example of dramaturgical collaboration from script to sound design."

The jury: "Combining organic SFX and VFX in a surprising way, THE SUBSTANCE shows high-level visual effects in good combination with prosthetics. Stepping back where necessary, there is a lot of excellent VFX which you don't even notice."

"The film deconstructs the mechanisms of ostracism, a worldwide problem penetrating societal and institutional structures. With the effective use of resources, the director brilliantly utilised the Romanian landscape to portray the devastating impact of homophobia. Despite decades of activism and political action, queer communities continue to be marginalised by normative society. The film invites the broader European audiences to look beyond their urban horizons and to reflect on the neglected peripheries, where bigotry transcends legislations, and humanity transcends bigotry."