"In this film's energetic storytelling style, a young woman goes through several epic transformations. Marieme charges forward through snares and dead-ends, not knowing where to go, but determined to survive. Girlhood fills a gap in the stories that get told about Paris. As Marieme relates to the diverse characters in her world, the acting and directing strike complex notes. Ultimately, we see this young woman as a whole person, and we wonder and care about what will happen to her next."

"In addition to this, 3 other films, 'These Are the Rules (2014)', 'Melbourne (2014)', and 'Name Me (2014)' used the starkness of quiet and ambient sounds to push us into a deeper involvement, forcing us to ask, "What would I do in this situation?". We were excited because, instead of music filling up that space of contemplation, we were implicated. In a time when all of us are afforded very little quiet, this was an audacious choice."

"This year's winner has demonstrated the ability to capture the present in less than 15 minutes. The director refuses to give easy answers and displays a willingness to challenge her audience. In her next film she aims to visualize issues such as the creation of identity, the need to be recognized and our uneasy longing to meet societal norms."

"The jury would like to acknowledge a director who depicts something we rarely get to see on the big screen; love and desire that gets very little attention in Sweden today. A director who depicts what we might do when our repressed emotions have to be released and how we break away when our lives keep us prisoners."

"With a liberating sense of fearlessness this year's Rising Star winner has delivered two completely different performances in two features this year. With intelligence and a palpable sense of pleasure for her work she turns the expected unexpected."

"For its use of unexpected imagery to tell a compelling arc of paranoia and helplessness in a modern world. Thanks to excellent performances and writing, this film is a devastating and fascinating dissection of mutating basic human instincts and self-preservation."

"In a time of technological bells and whistles, we are impressed with the elegance of two films in which photography responds to and enhances the story. The jury was torn between vivid depictions of teenage women in Paris and the profundity of a stoic older couple in Croatia. Amazingly, both films were the work of the same brilliant cinematographer."

"The prize for music in film goes to a film that used music coming from the culture in which it was set. It managed to use diverse music in a way that respects us as viewers-- giving us space to think our own thoughts and feel our own feelings."

"When a character makes choices that are hard to understand, the challenge is to put ourselves in that character's place. This film compels us to reflect, reminding us to dwell on the ramifications of our own actions. It is an affirmation of how complicated it is to be a responsible human being."

"A film that manages to make the audience experience the complex reality of war through the eyes of a 6-year old girl. The sensitive direction gives space for the young actors to shine. A birthday, a chicken, a window, a girl's hands and face, sometimes the smallest details says more than any grand explanation."