Mahdi Fleifel’s To a Land Unknown snags the Transilvania Trophy
- The New Year That Never Came and Bright Future have shone bright in the Romanian Days strand, while Saturn won the What’s Up, Doc? Competition
Mahdi Fleifel’s To a Land Unknown [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mahdi Fleifel
film profile] has emerged as the standout title at the 24th Transilvania International Film Festival (13-22 June), winning the Transilvania Trophy, which comes with a €10,000 cash prize. Set in Athens, the film follows two Palestinian refugees navigating a bleak cycle of scams and shattered hopes as they dream of a better life in Germany. In a pre-recorded message, shown during the ceremony at the "Lucian Blaga" National Theatre in Cluj-Napoca, Fleifel reflected on the long and gruelling process of bringing the project to life: “We struggled for nearly ten years to make it. It was more about survival than storytelling.”
The international jury recognised Noaz Deshe’s work on Xoftex [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Noaz Deshe
film profile] with the Best Director Award, worth €3,500. The visually arresting German drama explores the psychological aftermath of displacement. Meanwhile, the Special Jury Prize, accompanied by €1,500, went to Debut (or, Objects of the Field of Debris as Currently Catalogued) by Julian Castronovo, a first feature that playfully probes the boundaries between fiction and documentary, blending absurdist humour with poignant existential questions. The Best Performance Award, along with €1,000, went to Ghjuvanna Benedetti for her quietly riveting turn in The Kingdom [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Julien Colonna
film profile], Julien Colonna’s Corsican family saga set against the backdrop of 1990s organised crime.
Furthermore, Bogdan Mureșanu’s The New Year That Never Came [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bogdan Mureşanu
film profile] – the most celebrated local title over the last year – won Best Feature in the Romanian Days competition, receiving a €2,000 award as well as €10,000 in post-production services. It also proved a crowd favourite, picking up the Vodafone Hearts’ Award for most popular Romanian movie at the festival, worth €2,500. The Debut Award in the section, worth €1,500, went to Andra MacMasters’ archival essay Bright Future [+see also:
film review
film profile], revolving around a Romanian youth delegation’s participation in a mass festival staged in North Korea in 1989. Another found-footage film, based on home movies from the communist period, scooped the FIPRESCI Award: Merman by Ana Lungu.
In the What’s Up, Doc? section, the €2,000 Award for Best Documentary went to Saturn, a poetic hybrid work by Daniel Tornero praised for its “delicate visual choreography” and lyrical exploration of memory.
The Official Competition’s Audience Award, which comes with a €2,000 prize, was claimed by Deaf [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Eva Libertad
film profile] by Spanish filmmaker Eva Libertad García López. The film’s understated sensitivity and humanism clearly struck a chord with festivalgoers.
The gala concluded with a tribute to legendary Hungarian director Béla Tarr, who was honoured with the festival’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In his speech, Tarr reminded the audience of cinema’s fundamental role in bearing witness: “We make films for people, for the less fortunate, for those who need a story to be told. Because in the end, that’s what we all are: human beings.”
Here is the full list of award winners:
Main Competition
Transilvania Trophy
To a Land Unknown [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mahdi Fleifel
film profile] – Mahdi Fleifel (UK/France/Germany/Greece/Netherlands/Qatar/Saudi Arabia/Palestine)
Best Director
Noaz Deshe – Xoftex [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Noaz Deshe
film profile] (Germany/France)
Special Jury Prize
Debut (or, Objects of the Field of Debris as Currently Catalogued) – Julian Castronovo (USA)
Best Performance
Ghjuvanna Benedetti – The Kingdom [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Julien Colonna
film profile] (France)
Audience Award – Official Competition
Deaf [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Eva Libertad
film profile] – Eva Libertad García López (Spain)
Romanian Days Competition
Best Feature
The New Year That Never Came [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Bogdan Mureşanu
film profile] – Bogdan Mureșanu (Romania/Serbia)
Debut Award
Bright Future [+see also:
film review
film profile] – Andra MacMasters (Romania)
Vodafone Hearts’ Award
The New Year That Never Came – Bogdan Mureșanu
FIPRESCI Award for Best Romanian Film
Merman – Ana Lungu (Romania)
What’s Up, Doc? Competition
Best Documentary
Saturn – Daniel Tornero (Spain)
Lifetime Achievement Award
Béla Tarr (Hungary)
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