Malta’s Mediterrane Film Festival has unveiled the first wave of programming for its upcoming second edition of the festival, taking place June 22-30, 2024 in the capital, Valletta, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These titles span the Main Competition, Out of Competition and Mare Nostrum programming strands and sit under the Mediterrane Film Festival’s theme for 2024: ‘Unity through Film’.
Speaking at a networking event to promote this year’s second Mediterrane Film Festival, Malta’s Film Commissioner, Johann Grech, told an exclusive invited international audience of filmmakers, producers and press at the Festival du Cannes (Cannes Film Festival): “I am delighted to be here at one of the world’s oldest film festivals to showcase the world’s newest: Mediterrane Film Festival hosted by Malta. At a time of unprecedented instability and division across the world, the Mediterrane Film Festival has a very special role to promote, as our festival tagline says loud and proud, ‘Unity Through Film’. Now, more than ever, it is crucial to promote dialogue and understanding between Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. That’s why I am delighted that in competing for this year’s Golden Bee awards will be films from countries new to the Festival – Morocco, Turkey, Greece, Tunisia, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Jordan. They will compete alongside returning nations including Italy and Croatia.”
The upcoming edition of the Mediterrane Film Festival includes four programing strands overall: Main Competition – featuring films from across the Mediterranean, Out of Competition – featuring films from the rest of the world, Mare Nostrum, ‘Our Sea’, showcasing narrative and documentary films dedicated to sustainability and the environment, and Future Visions – a selection of immersive VR projects which will be announced at a later date. Alongside screenings, the festival will include an industry strand with a series of panels and masterclasses from notable industry figures.
The Main Competition Jury– which includes Jon S. Baird, Margery Simkin, Mario Philip Azzopardi, Nathan Crowley, Pedro Luque, and Richie Mehta, with further participants to be announced – will judge the Main Competition strand of twelve films and award prizes for: Best Feature Film, Acting Performance, Screenwriting, Production Design, Creative Technical Performance and the special Jury Award – with the winners being crowned at the festival’s Golden Bee Awards closing ceremony on June 30, 2024. Additionally, the Out of Competition strand will have a People’s Choice Award, and the Mare Nostrum Feature award will be judged by a separate jury made up of festival directors and programmers.
Teresa Cavina, Artistic Director of Mediterrane Film Festival, said: “This year’s selection of films will demonstrate our commitment to fostering a program that celebrates the best of cinema from the Mediterranean and beyond. We have some incredible directors and creatives in this line-up already, across both established and emerging talent, and the selection will offer something for all audiences – from expansive international dramas, captivating psychological horrors and emotional human stories from around the world.”
Tickets for screenings at the Mediterrane Film Festival will go on sale in late May.
