Mahdi Fleifel’s To a Land Unknown [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mahdi Fleifel
scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Noaz Deshe
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intervista: Julien Colonna
scheda film], Julien Colonna’s Corsican family saga set against the backdrop of 1990s organised crime.

Furthermore, Bogdan Mureșanu’s The New Year That Never Came [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Bogdan Mureşanu
scheda film] – 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 [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Eva Libertad
scheda film] 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 [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mahdi Fleifel
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Best Director
Noaz Deshe – Xoftex [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Noaz Deshe
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Special Jury Prize
Debut (or, Objects of the Field of Debris as Currently Catalogued) – Julian Castronovo (USA)

Best Performance
Ghjuvanna Benedetti – The Kingdom [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Julien Colonna
scheda film] (France)

Audience Award – Official Competition
Deaf [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Eva Libertad
scheda film] – Eva Libertad García López (Spain)

Romanian Days Competition

Best Feature
The New Year That Never Came [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Bogdan Mureşanu
scheda film] – Bogdan Mureșanu (Romania/Serbia)

Debut Award
Bright Future [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] – 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)