02/07/2024 - Besides Zeki Demirkubuz’s feature, other winners at the Maltese gathering included To a Land Unknown, Out of Season and The Damned

The director of To a Land Unknown, Mahdi Fleifel, accepting his Jury’s Choice Award (© Mediterrane Film Festival)

Malta’s Mediterrane Film Festival has wrapped its sophomore edition with the Golden Bee Awards ceremony, held at the historic Fort Manoel, Gżira. The event was hosted by British actor David Walliams, and the main competition jury, comprising Jon S Baird, Margery Simkin, Mario Philip Azzopardi, Nathan Crowley, Pedro Luque, Richie Mehta and Tim Miller, saw a selection of 15 films in competition, awarding prizes across six categories: Best Feature Film, Acting Performance, Screenwriting, Production Design, Creative Technical Performance, and the Special Jury Award.

In the Main Competition, the Turkish film Life, an epic tale of fate and human frailty set in Constantinople, exploring a young woman's defiance and a man's relentless pursuit, directed by Zeki Demirkubuz, clinched the Golden Bee for Best Feature Film. Mahdi Fleifel's Directors' Fortnight title To a Land Unknown [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mahdi Fleifel
film profile], a gripping story of survival in Athens, where desperation leads two friends to pose as smugglers and take hostages in a bid to escape their dire circumstances, received the Jury’s Choice gong. The Strangers’ Case, a drama about a Syrian surgeon and her daughter’s struggles amid the civil war, also emerged as a standout, earning Best Director for Brandt Andersen and Best Acting for Yasmine Al-Massri.

Later on, BAFTA-winning British writer-director Mike Leigh was recognised via the Career Achievement Award. Additionally, veteran Maltese production coordinator Rita Galea (World War Z [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) was celebrated with a Lifetime Achievement Award for her outstanding contributions to the industry. The festival also honoured remarkable works in its Out of Competition, Mare Nostrum and immersive Future Visions sections.

The President of the Republic of Malta, Myriam Spiteri Debono, emphasised the crucial role of the film industry in bolstering Malta’s economy and international image. Indeed, Malta has become a hot spot for international shoots, including those for Ridley Scott’s Napoleon, Gladiator 2, Assassin’s Creed and The Last Voyage of Demeter, among others. A new Jurassic World starts shooting at the Malta Film Studios in Kalkara in early July, and the previous movie Jurassic World Dominion was also partly shot on the island. The country's major draw for international productions is the 40% cash rebate, in addition to indoor and outdoor water tanks with natural horizons.

The artistic director of the Mediterrane Film Festival, Teresa Cavina, said, “Over the last nine days, it has been a privilege to welcome the international film community to the beautiful island of Malta and celebrate the power of film together – while also creating opportunities for inspiration, international collaboration and partnerships.” Over nine days, the festival showcased more than 45 films from 35 countries, coupled with a parallel industry programme (see the news). Johann Grech, Malta Film Commissioner, reiterated his commitment to building a world-class film industry on the island. He unveiled an ambitious goal to double the film industry’s economic contribution to Malta, creating quality jobs and attracting more film productions to the country. “Now is the time to keep moving forward for Malta,” he affirmed.

Here is the full list of award winners:

Main Competition

Best Feature Film
Life - Zeki Demirkubuz (Turkey)

Jury’s Choice Award
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 Screenplay
Stéphane Brizé, Marie Drucker - Out of Season [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stéphane Brizé
film profile] (France)

Best Production Design
Myrte Beltman - Sweet Dreams [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ena Sendijarević
film profile] (Netherlands/Sweden/Indonesia/France)

Best Cinematography
Carlos Alfonso Corral - The Damned [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (Italy/USA/Belgium)

Best Acting
Yasmine Al-Massri - The Strangers’ Case (Jordan)

Best Director
Brandt Andersen - The Strangers’ Case

Mare Nostrum

Best Narrative Story
Nocturnes - Anirban Dutta, Anupama Srinivasan (India/USA)

Out of Competition

People’s Choice Award
The Count of Monte Cristo [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] - Alexandre De La Patellière, Matthieu Delaporte (France/Belgium)

Future Visions

Best Virtual Reality Work
Tales from Soda Island - Simone Fougnier (UK)

Honourable Mentions
Over the Rainbow - Craig Quintero (Taiwan)
Eggscape - German Heller (Argentina)

Additional awards

Career Achievement
Mike Leigh

Lifetime Achievement
Rita Galea