Kajastus Prize 2025 to Candace Hui

The second Kajastus Prize was awarded to a promising young scriptwriter and animator.

Image: Director Lasse Saarinen with Candace Hui at the Finnish Film Foundation on December 12, 2025. The artwork in the background is by Alina Sinivaara.

Finnish Film Foundation has named Candace Hui as the recipient of the 2025 Kajastus Prize. The prize is worth 8000 euros and it is given annually to a young scriptwriter picked from the Foundation’s Scriptwriting Grant applicants.

Candace Hui (b. 1998) is an emerging animation scriptwriter and animator. In animation, scriptwriting and visual composition are possibly the most seamlessly connected in the cinematic arts. Hui combines her profound, touching, and humorous stories with a distinctive animation style that makes full use of the possibilities of the medium. Having studied at Aalto University’s MA programme in Animation, Hui is part of the remarkable international rise of Finnish animation, and her works have toured film festivals around the world. Her MA film Tape won the Next Nordic Generation Award at Haugesund in 2024.

The Kajastus Prize is named after the last Finnish silent film, directed by Carl von Haartman in 1930. It is donated by Keele Foundation, founded in 2022 by Mika and Anu Anttonen to promote wellbeing and equality in society. The inaugural winner of the award was Mikko Peltotupa in 2024.