Prayers For the Stolen, directed by Tatiana Huezo and Oscar-nominated, earned the FIPRESCI Prize for Best International Feature Film at the Palm Springs Film Festival, which announced its juried prizes on Wednesday despite having to cancel its 2022 edition due to budget cuts.

A must-see for International Feature Oscar hopefuls, the festival, which had been set for January 6-17 until being canceled due to the latest Covid spike, is expected to feature 36 of this year's 93 official submissions.

The FIPRESCI panel also gave two prizes to Asghar Farhadi's Iranian Oscar hopeful A Hero, one for Farhadi's screenplay and the other for Amir Jadidi's performance as Amir Jadidi. It took home three awards in all, as well as a MOZAIK Bridging the Borders Award.

FIPRESCI jury voted Agathe Roussell, the star of France's Palme d'Or winner Titane, best actress.

Three young girls in a mountain town who take over the houses of those who have fled, dress up as women when no one is watching and have a hiding place as their mothers train them to flee from those who turn them into slaves or ghosts are the focus of Huezo's prayer for the stolen, which was released by Netflix in theaters and on the streaming platform in November. Until one of the girls fails to make it to her hiding on time one day.

A "miraculously vivid portrayal of girlhood under siege told with visual exuberance and powerful intimacy from the ensemble cast," the jury said of the film, which also won the festival's top prize in the Ibero-American sidebar, which honors the best films from Latin America, Spain, and Portugal, among other countries.

Flee from Jonas Poher Rasmussen won Best Documentary, Audrey Diwan's Happening (France) won the New Voices New Visions award, and South Korea's Escape From Mogadishu won the Local Jury Award, among other awards given today.

The complete list of winners is as follows:

FIPRESCI Prize: Best International Feature Film

Prayers For the Stolen (Mexico)
Directed by Tatiana Huezo

FIPRESCI Prize: Best Actor in an International Feature Film

Amir Jadidi
A Hero (Iran)

FIPRESCI Prize: Best Actress in an International Feature Film

Agathe Rousselle
Titane (France/Belgium)

FIPRESCI Prize: International Screenplay

A Hero (Iran)
Screenplay by Asghar Farhadi

Best Documentary Award

Flee (Denmark)
Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen

Special Mention
The Caviar Connection (France)
Directed by Benoît Bringer

New Voices/New Visions Award

Happening (France)
Directed by Audrey Diwan

Special Mention
Wildhood (Canada/Germany)
Directed by Bretten Hannam

Ibero-American Award

Prayers For the Stolen (Mexico)
Directed by Tatiana Huezo

Special Mentions
Medusa (Brazil/USA)
Directed by Anita Rocha da Silveira

7 Lives, 7 Lakes (Spain)
Directed by Víctor Escribano

Local Jury Award

Escape from Mogadishu (South Korea)
Directed by Ryoo Seung-wan.

Special Mention
Mission: Joy – Finding Happiness in Troubled Times (USA)
Directed by Louie Psihoyos, Peggy Callahan

MOZAIK Bridging the Borders Award

A Hero (Iran)
Director Asghar Farhadi

Special Mentions
Fear (Bulgaria)
Directed by Ivaylo Hristov

Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America (USA)
Directed by Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler

Young Cineastes Award

Yuni (Indonesia)
Directed by Kamila Andini

Special Mention
Any Day Now (Finland)
Directed by Hamy Ramezan