01/07/2024 - The film by Italian director Enrico Maria Artale won the awards for Best Director, Actor and Music, while the Luna de Valencia Award went to Fly On, by Japanese director Takuya Katô

Last Saturday, the 39th Valencia International Film Festival - Cinema Jove awarded its Luna de Valencia Award in the official feature film section to Fly On, a film directed by the Japanese Takuya Katô, an intimate drama about a woman who has just lost her lover in a traffic accident. The jury, made up of filmmakers Zora Rux and Norika Sefa plus actress Gloria March, decided to award the Italian film El Paraíso [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Enrico Maria Artale
film profile] three special mentions: to Enrico Maria Artale for directing, to actor Edoardo Pesce for his leading performance, and to Emanuele de Raymondi for the soundtrack.

The award for Best Cinematography went to Katharina Schelling for her work in Of Living Without Illusion [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], while Jovana Filipovic was awarded Best Editing for 78 Days [+see also:
film review
interview: Emilija Gašić
film profile], a Serbian film that also won the Jury Award for Best Feature Film. Finally, the Audience Award for Best Feature Film went to Valenciana [+see also:
trailer
film profile], the second film by Jordi Núñez (What We Know [+see also:
interview: Jordi Núñez
film profile]).

Nights Gone By [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alberto Martín Menacho
film profile], an ethnographic docufiction with which Alberto Martín Menacho made his feature film debut (which had its world premiere at Visions du Réel and went on to San Sebastian Film Festival), has won the Luna de Valencia Award in the official Òrbites section, dedicated to new film languages. Jury members, Pau Berga, Sonia Martínez and Javier Moral, have chosen this film "for its original approach, both ethically and aesthetically, to the rural universe, displaying a profound knowledge of the reality and its specific problems". The documentary thriller My Sextortion Diary [+see also:
film review
film profile], by Catalan filmmaker Patricia Franquesa, received a special mention from the jury and was also chosen by the Youth Jury as the best entry in this section.

The Norwegian production Dates in Real Life [+see also:
series review
series profile], by Jakob Rørvik, won the Luna de Valencia Award in the official series section, coinciding in its decision with that of the Youth Jury. The jury highlighted the originality of this audiovisual project, whose plot revolves around love relationships in virtual environments. In the series section, the other winners were non-European productions: the New Zealand After the Party, the Canadian The Meteorites, and the Argentinian El sabor del silencio (which received the Audience Award).

Finally, in the official short film section, the Luna de Valencia Award went to 8 (Huit), directed by the French Anaïs-Tohé Commaret. There was also a special mention for A Kind of Testament, by Stephen Vuillemin, and Lemon Tree, by Rachel Walden, and the Audience Award went to A Peculiar Night, by Enzo Martínez, while the Young Jury chose Provocadora by Èlia Llorente Estopañan.

Alfonso Rivera

The list of winners:

Feature Films

Luna de Valencia Best Feature Film
Fly On – Takuya Katô (Japan)

Jury Mention for Best Cinematography
Katharina Schelling - Of Living Without Illusion [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Germany/Switzerland)

Jury Mention for Best Acting
Edoardo Pesce – El Paraíso [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Enrico Maria Artale
film profile] (Italy)

Jury Mention for Best Director
Enrico Maria Artale – El Paraíso

Jury Mention for Best Script
Jack Clarck, Jim Weir – Birdeater (Australia)

Jury Mention for Best Music
Emanuele de Raymondi – El Paraíso

Jury Mention for Best Editing
Jovana Filipovic - 78 Days [+see also:
film review
interview: Emilija Gašić
film profile] (Serbia)

Òrbites

Best Feature Film Award
Nights Gone By [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alberto Martín Menacho
film profile] - Alberto Martín Menacho (Switzerland/Spain)

Special Mention
My Sextortion Diary [+see also:
film review
film profile] - Patricia Franquesa (Spain)

Short Films

Luna de Valencia Best Short Film
8 (Huit) - Anaïs-Tohé Commaret (France)

Jury Mentions
A Kind of Testament - Stephen Vuillemin (France)
Lemon Tree - Rachel Walden (United States)

Series

Luna de Valencia Best Series
Dates in Real Life [+see also:
series review
series profile] - Jakob Rørvik (Norway)

Jury Mention for Best Script
Dianne Taylor, Sam Shore, Martha Hardy-Ward, Emily Perkins - After the Party (New Zealand)

Jury Mention for Best Actress
Robyn Malcolm - After the Party

Jury Mention for Best Director
Peter Salmon – After the Party

Special Mention for its Social Value
The Meteorites - Nadia Louis-Desmarchais (Canada)

Other Awards

Youth Jury Award for Best Feature Film
78 Days - Emilija Gašić

Youth Jury Award for Best Feature Film Órbites
My Sextortion Diary - Patricia Franquesa

Youth Jury Award for Best Short Film
Provocadora - Èlia Lorente Estopañan (Spain)

Youth Jury Award for Best Series
Dates in Real Life - Jakob Rørvik

Audience Award for Best Feature Film
Valenciana [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Jordi Núñez (Spain)

Audience Award for Best Short Film
A Peculiar Night - Enzo Martinez (France)

Audience Award for Best Series
El sabor del silencio - Pedro Levati (Argentina)

Movistar Plus+ Short Project Award
Premier feu - Blanca Camell (Spain)

Feroz Award for Best Short Film
Cura sana - Lucía G. Romero (Spain)

A Future of Cinema Award
Amaia Romero

Luna de Valencia Award
Alonso Ruizpalacios 

(Translated from Spanish by Vicky York)