Director Jiří Mádl‘s political thriller Waves (Vlny) has won the Satellite Award for Best International Film, beating out stiff competition that included Oscar nominees The Seed of the Sacred Fig, I’m Still Here, and The Girl with the Needle. The award, presented annually by the International Press Academy (IPA), recognizes outstanding achievements in cinema and television as chosen by entertainment journalists from around the world.
The win comes after Waves became the most-watched film in Czech cinemas last year and made it to the shortlist for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, though it ultimately did not receive a nomination. The film, inspired by the true story of Czechoslovak Radio journalists in the 1960s, highlights the fight for independent journalism during a period of political oppression.
“While the Academy Awards are the most prestigious, there is a strong business influence behind them,” Mádl told local journalists after the win. “The Satellite Award for Best International Film was created as a counterbalance to that.”
This year’s Satellite Awards ceremony was canceled due to ongoing wildfires in California, prompting organizers to announce winners remotely.
“We knew since December that we were nominated and had planned to attend the ceremony, but due to the fires, all film events are on hold indefinitely,” Mádl said. “Announcing the winners now ensures the films receive the attention they deserve.”
Waves producer Monika Kristlová also welcomed the award, calling it “perfectly timed” as the film seeks a wider international audience; of the 15 films shortlisted for Best International Film at this year’s Academy Awards, it was the only one without a U.S. distributor.
“This recognition, combined with our Oscar shortlist placement, could help us secure a major U.S. distributor,” she said. The film has already been sold to Japan and Taiwan, among multiple European markets, and Kristlová hopes the award will boost interest at the upcoming Berlinale film market.
The International Press Academy, founded in 1996, is one of the most diverse associations of professional entertainment journalists, with members across print, television, radio, and digital media. The Satellite Awards were first presented in 1997 and have since expanded to honor achievements in film, television, and interactive media. In 2011, the IPA partnered with Fedeora, a federation of European and Mediterranean film critics, further increasing its international reach.
Waves debuted last summer at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where Mádl won a special award for outstanding artistic achievement. With its latest win at the Satellite Awards, the film continues to build momentum on the global stage.
Winners and nominees at the 2024 Satellite Awards:
Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
- WINNER: Fernanda Torres – I’m Still Here
- Angelina Jolie – Maria
- Lily-Rose Depp – Nosferatu
- Nicole Kidman – Babygirl
- Saoirse Ronan – The Outrun
- Tilda Swinton – The Room Next Door
Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama
- WINNER: Colman Domingo – Sing Sing
- Adrien Brody – The Brutalist
- Daniel Craig – Queer
- Hugh Grant – Heretic
- Ralph Fiennes – Conclave
- Timothée Chalamet – A Complete Unknown
Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
- WINNER: Demi Moore – The Substance
- Cynthia Erivo – Wicked
- June Squibb – Thelma
- Karla Sofía Gascón – Emilia Pérez
- Mikey Madison – Anora
- Winona Ryder – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
- WINNER: Keith Kupferer – Ghostlight
- Glen Powell – Hit Man
- Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
- John Magaro – LaRoy, Texas
- Michael Keaton – Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
- Ryan Gosling – The Fall Guy
Actress in a Supporting Role
- WINNER: Ariana Grande – Wicked
- Danielle Deadwyler – The Piano Lesson
- Felicity Jones – The Brutalist
- Isabella Rossellini – Conclave
- Margaret Qualley – The Substance
- Zoe Saldana – Emilia Pérez
Actor in a Supporting Role
- WINNER: Guy Pearce – The Brutalist
- Clarence Maclin – Sing Sing
- Denzel Washington – Gladiator II
- Edward Norton – A Complete Unknown
- Kieran Culkin – A Real Pain
- Yura Borisov – Anora
Motion Picture, Drama
- WINNER: The Brutalist
- Cabrini
- Conclave
- Dune: Part Two
- Nickel Boys
- Sing Sing
- The Order
- Young Woman and the Sea
Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
- WINNER: Anora
- A Real Pain
- Ghostlight
- Hit Man
- LaRoy, Texas
- The Substance
- Thelma
- Wicked
Motion Picture, International
- WINNER: Waves – Czech Republic
- I’m Still Here – Brazil
- Queens – Switzerland / Peru
- The Girl with the Needle – Denmark
- The Seed of the Sacred Fig – Germany
- The Wait – Spain
Motion Picture, Animated or Mixed Media
- WINNER: Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
- Flow
- Inside Out 2
- Memoir of a Snail
- Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom
- The Wild Robot
Motion Picture, Documentary
- WINNER: Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story
- Dahomey
- Elizabeth Taylor: The Lost Tapes
- I Am: Celine Dion
- No Other Land
- Porcelain War
- Sugarcane
- The Bloody Hundredth
Director
- WINNER: Brady Corbet – The Brutalist
- Denis Villeneuve – Dune Part II
- Edward Berger – Conclave
- Greg Kwedar – Sing Sing
- RaMell Ross – Nickel Boys
- Sean Baker – Anora
Screenplay, Original
- WINNER: Jesse Eisenberg – A Real Pain
- Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold – The Brutalist
- Coralie Fargeat – The Substance
- Mike Leigh – Hard Truths
- Mohammad Rasoulof – The Seed of the Sacred Fig
- Sean Baker – Anora
Screenplay, Adapted
- WINNER: RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes – Nickel Boys
- Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John “Divine G” Whitfield – Sing Sing
- Jacques Audiard – Emilia Pérez
- Pedro Almodóvar – The Room Next Door
- Peter Straughan – Conclave
- Vuk Draskovic, Miroslav Lekic – Russian Consul
Original Score
- WINNER: Clément Ducol, Camille – Emilia Pérez
- Alberto Iglesias – The Room Next Door
- Daniel Blumberg – The Brutalist
- Hans Zimmer – Dune: Part II
- Kris Bowers – The Wild Robot
- Volker Bertelmann – Conclave
Original Song
- WINNER: “Mi Camino” – Emilia Pérez
- “El Mal” – Emilia Pérez
- “The Journey” – The Six Triple Eight
- “Kiss the Sky” – The Wild Robot
- “Never Too Late” – Elton John: Never Too Late
- “Winter Coat” – Blitz
Cinematography
- WINNER: Greig Fraser – Dune: Part Two
- Edward Lachman – Maria
- Jarin Blaschke – Nosferatu
- Jomo Fray – Nickel Boys
- John Mathieson – Gladiator II
- Lol Crawley – The Brutalist
