The International Casting Directors Association honoured Tanja Grunwald and Karin Jagd at this year’s Thessaloniki International Film Festival.
The 2025 Semiramis Award for Excellence in Casting was presented at Thessaloniki
International Film Festival in Greece on 1 st November 2025. The Award went to Tanja Grunwald and Karin Jagd for Oscar-nominated and award-winning film The Girl
with the Needle by Magnus Von Horn.
ICDA President Lana Veenker and the festival’s General Director Elise Jalladeau presented the award as part of a collaboration between Thessaloniki International Film Festival and the International Casting Directors Association, with support from Filmmakers Europe and Spotlight.
“This year’s nominees represented some of the best casting directors in international cinema,” said Veenker. “With such a high bar, it wasn’t easy for the jury to come to a consensus, but our Danish colleagues prevailed and we are thrilled for them.”
The ICDA is an association of some of the world’s most high-profile casting directors with members hailing from over 35 different countries. The Semiramis Award for Excellence in Casting was established in 2016. Its purpose was to shine a light on the pivotal role that casting directors play in the creative process of filmmaking. Read more about our award here.
A jury of select ICDA members reviewed 23 contenders and selected six finalists for 2025. The final winner was then chosen by the general ICDA membership. The 2025 Semiramis Award nominees were:
DENMARK – Tanja Grunwald (DK); Co-casting: Karin Jagd (DK)
for THE GIRL WITH THE NEEDLE (2025) by Magnus Von Horn
ITALY – Maurilio Mangano (IT) and Stefania Rodà (IT)
for VERMIGLIO (2024) by Maura Delpero
ROMANIA – Viorica Capdefier (RO)
for THE NEW YEAR THAT NEVER CAME (2024) by Bogdan Muresanu
SWITZERLAND – Corinna Glaus (CH)
for DIE HELDIN / LATE SHIFT (2024) by Petra Volpe
USA – Simone Bär † (DE), Nancy Foy (US) and Lucinda Syson (UK);
Location Casting: Juliette Ménager (FR); Additional Casting: Anna-Lena Slater (DE) for SEPTEMBER 5 (2024) by Tim Fehlbaum
WILD CARD – Djamila Hansen (DK) and Hermina Fátyol (HU)
for STRANGER (2025) by Mads Hedegaard
History of the Award
The International Casting Directors Association proudly established the ICDA Award for Excellence in Casting in 2016, and has continued to recognise outstanding achievements in casting by our colleagues – members and non-members alike – every year since. Most recent winners:
– 2024: Francesco Vedovati (IT), Constance Demontoy (FR), Iman Djionne (SN), Amine Louadni (MA) – Io Capitano by Matteo Garrone
– 2023: Simone Bär (DE); Casting France: Constance Demontoy (FR) and Casting Czech Republic: Arwa Salmanowa (CZ) – All Quiet on the Western Front by Edward Berger
– 2022: Kjersti Paulsen (NO) – The Innocents by Eskil Vogt
A full list of past winners is available here.
