The 39th Mostra de València – Cinema del Mediterrani, which will be held from 24 October to 3 November, has announced the titles of this year's Official Selection. Endorsed by major international film festivals (Cannes, Berlin, Locarno, etc.), the films once again have equal representation of male and female directors and diversity both formally and thematically. This new edition of La Mostra will also pay tribute to filmmaker Isaki Lacuesta (whose latest feature film, Saturn Return [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Isaki Lacuesta
scheda film], has just been selected to represent Spain at the Oscars), who will receive the Honorary Palm; the first Spanish director to receive the award after the festival's revival in 2018.

From Lebanon, Tunisia, France, Serbia, Turkey, Italy, Montenegro, Algeria, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Spain, twelve films in the Official Selection explore current social and military conflicts, addressing themes such as identity, mourning, gentrification, family conflicts, corruption, forced migration and radicalisation. Among them, A Bathroom of One's Own [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Lucía Casañ Rodríguez
scheda film], the debut feature by the young Valencian director Lucía Casañ, which will open the festival; Moondove, the fourth feature film by renowned Lebanese filmmaker Karim Kassem which the festival is screening as a world premiere; Who Do I Belong to [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Meryam Joobeur
scheda film], the debut of Tunisian director Meryam Joobeur, which competed at the Berlinale; after its special mention in the Cineasti del presente section at Locarno, When the Phone Rang [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Iva Radivojević
scheda film], in which Serbian director Iva Radivojević explores the recent history of the Balkans; That’s It for Today [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], by another Serbian director Marko Djordjevic; Faruk [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Asli Özge
scheda film], a mockumentary for which Turkish filmmaker Asli Özge was awarded the FIPRESCI prize in the Panorama section of the Berlinale.

These titles are joined by The Life Apart [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Marco Tullio Giordana
scheda film], by veteran Italian director Marco Tullio Giordana, co-written with Marco Bellocchio and also featured at Locarno; Fotogenico [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], by French directors Benoît Sabatier and Marcia Romano, after its world premiere in the ACID section at Cannes; Algiers, the first feature film by Algerian director Chakib Taleb-Bendiab, an investigative thriller that has just been selected to represent Algeria at the Oscars; It All Ends Here [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], the latest film by veteran Croatian filmmaker Rajko Grlić, who won the Golden Palm at this event back in 1985 for Tres son multitud;  and completing the section Backstage [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Afef Ben Mahmoud, Khalil B…
scheda film], the first feature film by the duo formed by Tunisian actress Afef Ben Mahmoud and Khalil Benkirane, which stars the Palestinian actor Saleh Bakri, presented at last year's Giornate degli Autori in Venice.

The festival's Special Sessions include the new work by filmmaker Elena López Riera, the medium-length film Las novias del sur, which, after winning the Queer Palm at Cannes (within the Critics' Week), formed part of the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section at San Sebastian; La guitarra flamenca de Yerai Cortés [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Antón Álvarez
scheda film], the debut feature by Antón Ávarez (better known as the artist C. Tangana), special mention in the New Directors section at San Sebastian; the latest film by Paolo Sorrentino, Parthenope [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], screened in competition at Cannes and at Perlak in San Sebastian; and the Italian trilogy dedicated to the famous comic book character Diabolik (Diabolik [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], Diabolik - Ginko all'attacco! [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] and Diabolik — Who Are You?) in a marathon.