Eritrean Filmmaker Nahom Abraham Wins Berlinale NEFTI Award For His Short Film ‘Home’

Nahom Abraham

Nahom Abraham of Eritrea has won the top prize for best picture, as well as $5,000, in the 2023 NEFTI Awards at the Berlinale for his film Home, a drama about a couple wishing to be reunited.

At the celebration, other contenders created a name for themselves. Mihk Vergara and Miko Livelo from the Philippines won the NEFTI Audience Viewers Choice Award and a $2,000 prize for their film You Are Gathered Here Today, about a man who returns home to the Philippines to bury his father and reconcile with his best friends. Algerian Zoulikha Tahar was the third in consideration for her film Leila's Night of Joy, about a girl who, on her 25th birthday, stands up for herself and takes charge of her life.

The NEFTI winners were chosen by a team of judges that included actress Vivica A. Fox, Oscar-winning producer Bruce Cohen (American Beauty), and Fox/Disney VP of film post-production Ted Gagliano, as well as previous year's competition winner Minenhle Luthuli.

The NEFTI Awards, sponsored by Austria's NEFT Vodka and supported by the Berlinale's European Film Market, the Durban Film Mart, and the International Emerging Film Talent Association (IEFTA), celebrate and challenge filmmakers from emerging economic regions to showcase their creative skills and expand their reach into regions that would otherwise be unavailable to them. While the short films were not required to be about NEFT, they all had to involve the vodka brand in some way other than product promotion. The only other requirement was that all films be non-violent and non-political.

The next NEFTI competition, NEFTI Africa, is solely accessible to applicants from Africa or African territories. Submissions may apply on May 1, 2023. A NEFTI All-Stars competition is also in the works, in which the winners of all NEFTI events will develop new films to compete for a NEFTI All-Stars reward.