This is the last of the #JujuAwards2025! And of course I save the best for last with #BookOfTheYear.

I read a fair bit this year, despite being busy exploring Australia, studying, hitting the gym again, etc. (Yeah, turns out it wasn't a sustainable lifestyle!) I decided to read more essays and also more short stories. When you like sci-fi, short stories are a very good choice as they bring plenty of ideas in a concentrate amount of pages.

Here are the nominees.

Free by Lea Ypi

In this memoir, the author revisits her childhood in Albania, from dictatorship to democracy, to civil war. There is a lot of humour, notably when the author, who was exposed to propaganda until her teens, discovers her parents used to be bourgeois.

The Man Who Ended History: A Documentary by Ken Liu

In this novella, a scientist invents a machine that allows to see the past. He gives access to descendants of victims of atrocities committed in Unit 731 during the Second World War, who witness the horror, which triggers important questions.

Clarkesworld Magazine 223, edited by Neil Clarke

My first edition of Clarkesworld, a magazine of short speculative fiction stories, and I wasn't disappointed. I especially liked Thomas Ha's story, In My Country, which is shortlisted by the serial for best story of the year.

The Persuaders by Anand Giridharadas

An essay from the US written before the 2024 election about how, for the progressive side, to win over the other side. Some interesting insights, notably the method of deep canvassing.

Cyberpunk by Asma Mhalla

A book written by a French essayist after the 2024 US election about the technological dystopia that we might already be living in. Of course it's highly topical but the writing is also witty.

There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm

A sci-fi horror novel from Britain in which agents fight an impossible battle against an enemy that cannot, or actually, must not be remembered.

And the winner is… Clarkesworld Magazine 223! Reminder to support short speculative fiction. And now back onto reviews :)

#JujuAwards #BestOf2025

I usually have six nominees instead of five for this category. It’s because movie posters are rectangular instead of square so to fit in an Instagram post, I needed six 😅 But screw that: the year in movies was just too good so I have seven entries! Melbourne International Film Festival was amazing, especially when it came to the movies coming from the Cannes selection.

And now, the nominees.

It's What's Inside by Greg Jardin

A sci-fi comedy in which a bunch of friends are given a machine that allows them to swap bodies. It’s funny at first but questions about attraction and social status show up and it becomes hilarious. A great first movie for Greg Jardin.

Red Rooms by Pascal Plante

A young woman is obsessed about a serial killer and attends the trial. This Canadian movie is highly confronting though no violence is shown, especially because it remains ambivalent all along about its main character. It takes you on a ride but finds a strange way to redeem itself at the end.

Mars Express by Jérémie Périn

In this French animated movie, set in the future on Mars, two agents investigate the disappearance of two students. It’s greatly animated, the world building is impressive and the story works really well. It’s such a shame that it bombed because it’s a real gem.

Sirāt by Oliver Laxe

In Morocco, a man and his son looking for his daughter in free parties decide to follow some partygoers deeper into the desert. This movie doesn’t really follow conventions and punches you right in the guts to remind you about some hard truths in life. Strong and beautiful.

It Was Just An Accident by Jafar Panahi

In Iran, a man kidnaps someone he thinks was his torturer in jail but before he kills him, he decides to check with other victims first. This year’s Palme d’Or is a drama, but it’s also got a strong dark sense of humour. Definitely worth a watch.

The Secret Agent by Kleber Mendonça Filho

During the Brazilian military dictatorship, a man tries to leave the country to escape a hit on his head. It’s impossible to describe the genre of this movie: is it a political thriller, magical realism or even a horny period drama?! It’s all at the same time.

A Useful Ghost by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke

In Thailand, a woman haunts a vacuum cleaner to reunite with her husband. This is the craziest movie I have seen this year, if not ever. I had high expectations and it did not disappoint, I laughed a lot. Let’s not forget the strong social and political commentary as well.

And the winner is… Well, I was unable to choose between those two very different movies so it’s a tie! The winners are Red Rooms by Pascal Plante and A Useful Ghost by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke!

#JujuAwards #MovieOfTheYear #JujuAwards2025 #BestOf2025

So far I was always a little contemptuous towards actors, because I thought screenwriting and directing were more important but without actors, you wouldn't have a movie, and an actor can save or sink a movie.

Here are the nominees.

Juliette Gariépy for Red Rooms

Red Rooms is a cold-blooded thriller centred on fashion model Kelly-Anne, obsessed with a series of atrocious murders. The character doesn't show many emotions during the movie but disturbance is simmering under the surface, only to explode in both shocking and redeeming ways. A confronting part perfectly executed by Juliette Gariépy.

Stephen Graham for Adolesence

Everyone has been talking about that TV show given its subject matter. Stephen Graham not only played a lead part in those real-time episodes, he also co-wrote the script. Stellar job.

Wagner Moura for The Secret Agent

What makes Wagner Moura's performance remarkable in this movie is that he plays the same character for the whole movie only to play another at the end, with a completely different personality. His versatily as an actor was displayed in just one movie and it was very convincing.

Andrew Garfield for After The Hunt

Saying I didn't get into After The Hunt would be an understatement. But I did get into Andrew Garfield's performance, thanks to the apartment scene. He plays an unpleasant character that you feel you're not even allowed to like?! And in one scene, even though nothing was clarified, he managed to make you feel for him.

Emma Stone for Bugonia

Emma Stone is fucking amazing and should just get the Oscar every year.

And the winner is Wagner Moura. Now I have to watch Narcos.

#JujuAwards #ActorOfTheYear #JujuAwards2025 #BestOf2025

Onto cinema! This year, I would like to introduce a new Juju Award: Actor of the Year.

I wasn't big on actors until recently, when I discovered I could be sensitive to their charisma, their presence or, well, their acting!

So as a result, I have decided to name my favourite actor for the past 5 years of the Juju Awards.

Actor of the Year 2020

Rebecca Ferguson for Doctor Sleep

Actor of the Year 2021

Rebecca Ferguson for Dune: Part One

Actor of the Year 2022

Eryn Jean Norvill for The Picture Of Dorian Gray

(That's actually a play, though some filming was involved!)

Actor of the Year 2023

Emma Stone for Poor Things

Actor of the Year 2024

Naomi Scott for Smile 2

Yes I gave Rebecca Ferguson two awards! What can I say, she killed both those parts and stole the show on both occasions!

I'll be doing a specific post for 2025.

#JujuAwards #ActorOfTheYear #JujuAwards2025 #BestOf2025

I didn't attend that many gigs this year, hence a small number of nominees, but I still had great moments!

Ryoji Ikeda at Melbourne Town Hall

Not only did Ryoji Ikeda made a killer album with Ultratonics, he also designed a killer show to go with it, using a huge, hyper-bright screen blasting intense geometric or data-related visuals he made himself to my understanding. A stunning assault on the senses.

K Mak at the Melbourne Planetarium

Australian singer K Mak came to play at the Melbourne Planetarium and immerse us in atmospheric visuals. Every gig should be like this, really.

Floating Points at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl

For the one-day Freeform festival, Floating Points to play live and he delivered an amazing gig in a packed Sidney Myer Music Bowl. That was beautiful.

And the winner is... Ryoji Ikeda! I had never seen anything like it and my brain was fried afterwards!

#JujuAwards2025 #GigOfTheYear #JujuAwards #BestOf2025

And now we are doing the opposite of ambient: dance tracks!

Here are the nominees.

El Internet by Matias Aguayo

The charming Matias Aguayo comes back with a pumpy, funny track. May he come to Australia some day.

Odyssée Maison by Laurent Garnier and Dan Diamond

Very efficient booty shaker. I can attest. Laurent Garnier has still got it and will always have got it.

Dopamine by Weval

The amazing Dutch guys of Weval decided to make a dance music album and they've blown us away again.

Catcall by Per Pleks

This German guy doesn't fuck around with beats. It is a high-paced, relentless track that will not let you out of it walking straight.

Eastern Timbres by Kohra & Monophonik

Indian DJs rock. So much good music coming out of the subcontinent.

And the winner is Catcall by Per Pleks. It drives me insane every time I hear it.

#JujuAwards2025 #DanceTrackOfTheYear #JujuAwards #BestOf2025

Ambient music is not super mainstream so I dedicate it an award every year because I love that genre. It’s a bit demanding, you need to sit down, be quiet and maybe focused in order to enjoy it but it’s a good way to slow down, kind of like a meditation.

Since I enjoy my ambient wordless, I will not give further comments on those tracks.

Here are the 5 nominees.

Stretching Spirit by Daniel Bachman

Caelum, No. I by Zakè

Du vindem (3minTankestrek) by Karl Seglem & Alfe Magne Hillestad

Chronicle #3 by Rhubiqs

The Ship by Arthur Mine

The winner is Caelum, No. I by Zakè.

#JujuAwards2025 #AmbientTrackOfTheYear #JujuAwards #BestOf2025

Well, again, I got into a lot of French musicians this year. Interestingly, I noticed the French acts were all singers-songwriters who were very good with lyrics. But I also liked other stuff! Let's see how many Frenchies made it to my top 5 this year.

Léonie Pernet

A fully accomplished musician who keeps putting out the good tunes and mixing all kinds of influences together. Definitely one of the most exciting acts France has produced recently.

Bonnie Banane

I've heard her stuff for a while but this year I properly explored Bonnie Banane's discography and I loved it. Plenty of good songs and this year, she has released an album of sexy songs with Joseph Schiano di Lombo. Really like her bold persona. Also saw a surreal interview of her. Instant gay icon. Love her.

Flavien Berger

Flavien Berger shot up to my top 5 artists in my Spotify Wrapped this year and with good reason. I dived into his discography and loved what I found. Also saw interviews of him and he was talking about his creative process, it was very interesting. I wish I was living in France again just to attend all of his gigs like a groupie, screaming his name and throwing my t-shirt to the stage wet with my tears.

Confidence Man

My friends and I spent a weekend in the countryside and they started playing songs from this Aussie band. It's just efficient, fun pop and the band is a bit crazy, composed of four members: two of them always masked and taking care of the beats while the other two, Janet Planet and Sugar Bones, sing and do the silliest choreographies on stage. I really like their video for Holiday, which was filmed in Australia with some scenic shots in gorgeous landscapes.

Ami Dang

A singer-songwriter of South Asian heritage who mixes sitar with electronic beats to produce soothing soundscapes. Great for timelapse Sunset stories on Instagram.

And the winner is... Flavien Berger! Every year I usually give the awards to different artists but it sometimes happens that an artist is so good they score two! OMG, what an honour!

#JujuAwards2025 #MusicActOfTheYear #JujuAwards #BestOf2025

The music section is the one with the most categories in the #JujuAwards! We did the Track of the Year, now we are doing the #AlbumOfTheYear, next we'll do the Act, the Ambient track, the Dance track and finally the Gig! (Apparently, this is some kind of teaser.)

Interestingly this year I listened to a lot of French musicians. Is nostalgia hitting me that hard? Is my midlife crisis reaching a new stage? Am I homesick?! I don't know but there is a lot of good stuff coming from my birth country.

Here are the 5 nominees.

Poèmes Pulvérisés by Léonie Pernet

I really liked Léonie Pernet's previous album, Le Cirque de Consolation. She is keeping the momentum, delivering the tunes and ever better lyrics – seriously good writing, actual poetry. She mixes electronic beats with African drums or classical instruments such as the piano and strings. She also diversifies the emotions between dance music, nostalgic ballads and chants from protests. A real trip. I especially enjoy the tracks Réparer Le Monde, L'Horizon Ose, Paris-Brazzaville and Nymphéas.

Contre-Temps by Flavien Berger

I'm so late with this, this album was released in 2018, I had briefly listened to it years ago but rediscovered it this year and it's full of good stuff, whether it's instrumental flights or lyrical puns, Flavien Berger shows his talents for a full hour on it. He also has duets with two other amazing French artists: the fiery Rebekah Warrior and the enticing Bonnie Banane. The tracks I would like to single out are: Brutalisme, Maddy La Nuit, and the title track, Contre-Temps.

Ultratonics by Ryoji Ikeda

Japanese multimedia artist Ryoji Ikeda came to Melbourne for the Now Or Never festival and graced us with his Ultratonics show which plays this album fully. It was a great experience in itself (I will talk about it further in the Gig of the Year section) but the music is just so amazingly well crafted. The level of detail, the experimentalism... A electronic masterpiece. My favourite tracks are the soberly named Ultratonics 01, Ultratonics 07 and Ultratonics 13.

Watt by Bertrand Belin

Don't you love a mononymous album title? Björk always names her albums with a single word. In fact, she even has an album called Volta, a name linked to electricity, like Watt. I barely knew Bertrand Belin before, I had heard a wee bit of his music ages ago but hadn't been charmed because I thought it lacked modernity, as in, it wasn't electronic enough to my taste. With Watt, he is definitely embracing the times while still keeping in character. He has aged since his big 2010 breakthrough, Hypernuit, and his voice is featuring something more vulnerable and it just makes it more raw and personal. I love being positively surprised by an artist's evolution. On this album, I especially enjoy the tracks Berger, L'Inconnu En Personne and Ni Bien Ni Mal.

Dance at Oscar's by C.A.R.

French and Canadian musician Chloé Raunet is back with a new album and is as good as ever. It's still her great electronic, almost brutalist self but she doesn't hesitate being downright funny or emotional this time. I'm very curious to see what she will do next. My faves are: The Pageant, Shyana and Anzu.

And the winner is... Poèmes Pulvérisés by Léonie Pernet! Wow! Woohoo! Aya! Yay! Etc.

#JujuAwards2025 #BestOf2025

I have this self-indulgent thing I do every year that I call the Juju Awards. I nominate my favourite artists and artworks in diverse categories over the past year and name a few winners. It's an occasion for me to share pieces I find interesting and give them a wee bit of publicity, at my humble level.

2025 was a horrible year geopolitically with democracy and international law at bay, and 2026 is not shaping up to be any better. But last year, one thing gave me hope: culture. I attended the Melbourne International Film Festival and saw so many good movies, honestly a strong highlight this year. I explored a lot of music and read a decent number of books, notably a few essays and scifi short stories. We tend to become cynical easily these days by saying art has become too formulaic or commercial but it's not true: people constantly put out original ideas, express new viewpoints and showcase different kinds of beauty. And a lot of it is available online.

I always start the Juju Awards with the Track of the Year category, which lists the songs I have enjoyed the most over the past year and elects the track that has marked my year the most. Because, what can bring you back to a time as easily as music?

Here are the 5 nominees for this year!

Summer Is Almost Over by Polo & Pan

The Frenchies Polo & Pan keep serving the good tunes with a track that is both feelgood and nostalgic. It strangely resonates with the current mood, bidding farewell to an era.

I Can’t Lose You by Confidence Man

Australia has many good music acts and Confidence Man, a crazy band from Queensland, is one of them, producing pure fun. The video reflects that with singers Janet Planet and Sugar Bones baring it all while flying over London.

Nymphéas by Léonie Pernet

The French electronic musician is back this year with a great album and this is the closer. It evokes nostalgia again with a melancholic piano but also a message about not worrying anymore.

Les Véliplanchistes by Flavien Berger

I knew French musician Flavien Berger, notably since he collaborated with Etienne Daho, but didn't know most of his work. This track is from one of his first ever EPs and is an invitation to come check out the windsurfers with him. It's not about love or anything like that, just about appreciating something as simple as the reflections of the Sunlight on the sea.

Looking At Your Pager by KH

I had no idea Four Tet had an alias and had released this beautiful track a couple of years ago. He even played it to close his set at the Sidney Myer Bowl in Melbourne this year.

And the winner is... (Suspense! Drumroll! Panic attack!) The winner is Les Véliplanchistes by Flavien Berger. What a soothing yet uplifting track.

Do hashtags work on Write.as?!

#JujuAwards #JujuAwards2025 #TrackOfTheYear #BestOf2025