GOLDEN APPLE
The central part of the festival is dedicated to the competition programme, showcasing ten films selected based on outstanding acting achievements.
The films in the competitive program are judged by a three-member international jury, which awards special acting prizes – the Golden Apples – on the last day of the festival.
The categories are:
- Golden Apple Grand Prix (one award),
- Golden Apple for Special Acting Achievement (up to three awards),
- Honorary Golden Apple (one award).
The Golden Apple Grand Prix is awarded to an actress, actor, or acting ensemble for an outstanding artistic achievement.
The Golden Apple for Special Acting Achievements is awarded, regardless of the role’s size, to an actress, actor, or acting ensemble that has given special attention to creating a visible, distinguished and skilfully executed acting performance.
The Honorary Golden Apple is awarded to an honorary guest of the festival, an actress, or an actor who, with their rich and diverse body of work and artistic achievements, has visibly shaped and influenced the global cultural film scene.
The festival awards are named after the Lilium carniolicum, known also as the golden apple of Carniolan lily, a flower widespread throughout Slovenia. It beautifully adorns the areas where it thrives, is listed on Slovenia’s Red List of endangered plants, and is protected in the country.
Grand Jury for the 2025 Golden Apple Awards
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Katarina Čas is a Slovenian actress with an impressive international career. After her breakthrough in the Irish hit The Guard, she went on to star in major productions including Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street, Danny Collins with Al Pacino, and Terminal with Margot Robbie. On TV, she has appeared in UK series such as New Tricks, Death in Paradise, and Love, Lies and Records (BBC), and was a series regular in Berlin Station (USA). In Slovenia, she has played leading roles in Awakenings, I Am Frenk, and the popular comedy series Ja, Chef. She won the Vesna Award for Best Supporting Actress at the Festival of Slovenian Film for Paradise – Una Nuova Vita. Most recently, she appeared in Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan (Amazon) and has been cast in the upcoming BBC series Wild Cherry.
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Primož Pirnat is a Slovenian theatre, film, and television actor with over two decades of professional experience. He has performed in all major Slovenian theatres, including MGL, SNG Nova Gorica, and Prešeren Theatre Kranj, collaborating with some of the country’s most renowned directors. His work has earned him numerous awards and recognitions, including the Borštnik Award, the Sever Award, the Dnevnik Award, and others. He gained wide recognition for his lead role in Slovenian Girl (Slovenka) by Damjan Kozole, which won him the Vesna Award for Best Actor. His film credits also include Rooster’s Breakfast (Petelinji zajtrk), Spare Parts (Rezervni deli), Awakenings (Prebujanja), Tango Abrazos (Vaje v objemu), Seduce Me (Zapelji me), Nika, and others. He has appeared in several Slovenian TV series, such as Trdoglavci, Čista desetka, and Življenje Tomaža Kajzerja.
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Maurilio Mangano is an Italian casting director, actor, and director. He has worked with acclaimed filmmakers such as Marco Bellocchio, Emma Dante, Michael Radford, Marco Bechis, and the directing duo Grassadonia and Piazza. His credits include The Macaluso Sisters, Kidnapped (Rapito), Misericordia, Adagio, Maria, and Queer. For his work on Misericordia, he was nominated for the Nastro d’Argento award for Best Casting, and for The Macaluso Sisters he received a Semiramis Award nomination. In 2024, he served on the Best Actor jury at the Venice Film Festival—the first time the panel was composed entirely of casting directors. He is a member of both the International Casting Directors Association (ICDA) and the Italian Union of Casting Directors (UICD). He was also the casting director of Stranizza d’Amuri (2023), which received Golden Apple for Special Acting Achievement award for the entire ensemble at the Krafft Festival 2024.