The 38th Mostra de València – Cinema del Mediterrani, to be held from 19 to 29 October at the Babel cinemas and the Filmoteca de València, has listed the films that will compete for the Golden Palm this year. This year's Official Selection is a plural and Mediterranean section with an equal number of female directors and films with varied forms and subject matter. This year's Mostra will also pay tribute to Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, who will receive the Honorary Palm - the festival's highest award - for his ability to analyse society using images.

Coming from such diverse locations as Syria, Morocco, Palestine, France and Italy, and with the backing of major international film festivals (Cannes, Berlin, Rotterdam, Karlovy Vary, etc.), 12 films make up this year’s Official Selection. Among them, Marina, unplugged [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], by Alfonso Amador, a film about the rhetoric of the extreme right which opens the festival; Fireworks [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], the directorial debut of actor Giuseppe Fiorello, premiered in Karlovy Vary; Deserts [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Faouzi Bensaïdi
scheda film], directed by actor Faouzi Bensaïdi and featured at the last edition of the Cannes Filmmakers’ Fortnight; the Kurdish The Wedding Parade, another surprising directorial debut by Sevinaz Evdike, a film highly critical of the Erdogan government; Toni [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], the return to the festival for Nathan Ambrosioni, who at the age of 19 won the Bronze Palm for Paper Flags; A House in Jerusalem [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], by the Palestinian filmmaker Muayad Alayan, premiered at the Rotterdam Festival; and also in the Official Section out of competition, the Spanish premiere of one of the great documentaries of the season, Massimo Troisi: Somebody Down There Likes Me [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mario Martone
scheda film], the film by Mario Martone premiered at the Berlinale on the legacy of the Italian actor and director Massimo Troisi.

These titles are joined by six new releases in Spain: Lost Country [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Vladimir Perišić
scheda film], the second feature film by Serbian director Vladimir Perišić, premiered at the Cannes Critics’ Week, where actor Jovan Ginić won the Rising Star Award; Afloat, by the Turkish director Aslihan Unaldi, premiered at the Adana Altin Koza Film Festival; Riverbed, by Lebanese Bassem Breche, winner of the Best Actress Award and the Special Jury Prize at the Cairo Festival; Cidade Rabat [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], by Portuguese director Susana Nobre, premiered in the Forum section of the Berlinale; Animalia [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Sofia Alaoui
scheda film], by the Moroccan director Sofia Alaoui, winner of the Special Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance; and three sparks [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], by the prestigious experimental filmmaker Naomi Uman, presented in the Tiger Competition in Rotterdam.

Les vacances de Marta, the debut film for Elena Escura (nominated for her work at this year's Berlanga Awards for Valencian Audiovisuals), will close the Mostra, and the festival's Special Sessions will include the world premiere of the documentary Paco Roca, dibujando la vida, directed by Batiste Miguel, with testimonies from Alejandro Amenábar, Elvira Lindo, Joaquín Reyes and Carlos Areces, among others.