31/10/2022 - The exciting co-production between Iran and France wins the Golden Palm for Best Film at the festival, as well as the awards for Best Director and Best Female Performance

The two most awarded directors, Idan Haguel and Ali Asgari, with three awards each for Concerned Citizen and Until Tomorrow, respectively

One film in particular stands out in the list of winners at the 37th Mostra de València-Cinema del Mediterrani, announced last Friday 28 October: the French-Iranian film Until Tomorrow [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (France/Iran), by Ali Asgari, which has won three major awards, such as the Golden Palm for Best Film, Best Director and Best Actress for Sadaf Asgari, the filmmaker’s niece.

(The article continues below - Commercial information)

The winner, who receives 30,000 euros plus 15,000 euros for its Spanish distributor,  centres around the difficulties of a young single woman living in Tehran, who tries for a few frantic hours to hide her baby for one night so that her parents, who turn up for a surprise visit, don't discover him. Its director, Ali Asgari, was ecstatic to receive his well-deserved awards: "I’m so happy to receive this recognition from the Mostra, it’s a great honour for me; but, above all, it is very important for the film as it will be distributed in Spain in these difficult times for Iran, where women and many people are protesting and fighting for basic rights. My film precisely addresses this theme of change, and it is a wonderful coincidence. I think this award comes at a very special time and I hope it will be a sign for freedom and light to come to my country.” 

Coming a close second was the Israeli Concerned Citizen, by Idan Haguel, who received the Silver Palm (20,000 euros), the award for Best Script and Best Actor, for Shlomi Bertonov. The film is a satire on the lifestyle of many white, bourgeois homosexuals embodied in a gay couple in Tel Aviv, with the gentrification of certain neighbourhoods and surrogacy as major topics of debate.

The award for Best Photography went to Paolo Carnera for his work on Nostalgia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mario Martone
interview: Pierfrancesco Favino
film profile] (Italy/France), by Mario Martone, and Best Music to Amin Bouhafa, composer of Under the Fig Trees [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Erige Sehiri
film profile], directed by Erige Sehiri (Tunisia/France/Switzerland/Qatar/Germany).

The jury was made up of Greek composer Evanthia Reboutsika, Palestinian cinematographer Ehab Assal, Spanish screenwriter María Mínguez, French critic and editor Pierre-Simon Gutman and Croatian actress, screenwriter and director Lana Baric.

Outside the Official Section in the Informative section, the main award is the À Punt Audience Award, which includes the purchase of the broadcasting rights of the feature film by the public channel in Eastern Spain. The award went to No Dogs or Italians Allowed [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alain Ughetto
film profile] (France/Switzerland/Italy), by Alain Ughetto, a film made using stop motion, where the director pays tribute to his family of emigrants and recalls the journey from a village in Northern Italy to France in search of a better future at the beginning of the 20th century.

The awards:

Golden Palm
Until Tomorrow [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Ali Asgari (France/Iran)

Silver Palm
Concerned Citizen - Idan Haguel (Israel)

Best Director
Ali Asgari - Until Tomorrow

Best Actress
Sadaf Asgari – Until Tomorrow

Best Script
Idan Haguel - Concerned Citizen

Best Actor
Shlomi Bertonov - Concerned Citizen

Best Photography
Paolo Carnera - Nostalgia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mario Martone
interview: Pierfrancesco Favino
film profile] (Italy/France)

Best Music
Amin Bouhafa – Under the Fig Trees [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Erige Sehiri
film profile] (Tunisia/France/Switzerland/Qatar/Germany)

À Punt Audience Award
No Dogs or Italians Allowed [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alain Ughetto
film profile] - Alain Ughetto (France/Switzerland/Italy)

(Translated from Spanish)