22-06-2025

Transilvania IFF.24 Winners: Stories of Survival and the Past Claim the Festival’s Top Honors

    Mahdi Fleifel, the director of To a Land Unknown, the winner of the Transilvania Trophy. Mahdi Fleifel, the director of To a Land Unknown, the winner of the Transilvania Trophy. credit: TIFF

    The winners of the 23rd edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival were announced Saturday evening during the Closing Gala at the National Theatre in Cluj-Napoca. The Transilvania Trophy, worth €10,000, was awarded to To a Land Unknown (UK), an intense drama about two Palestinian refugees living in Athens, caught between petty scams and the hope of a better life in Germany. Amid a climate of despair and moral compromise, one of them spirals deeper into a cycle of manipulation and exploitation of those around him.

    In a video message shown during the Gala, director Mahdi Fleifel—returning to Transilvania IFF after his 2013 debut—emphasized the difficulty of making the film: “It was more about survival than storytelling. We struggled for nearly ten years to make it.” He also shared a plea for peace: “The problem in Palestine is not the Palestinians, it’s the occupation—and that must end.”

    The refugee experience is also central to Xoftex (Germany), for which Noaz Deshe won the Best Directing Award, worth €3,500 and offered by the Romanian Cultural Institute. Meanwhile, the Special Jury Prize (€1,500, also offered by the Romanian Cultural Institute) went to Debut (or, Objects of the Field of Debris as Currently Catalogued) (USA), the first film by Julian Castronovo, which humorously explores the fragile boundary between truth and fabrication, as well as the human need to construct narratives.

    The Best Performance Award (€1,000, offered by Conceptual Lab by Theo Nissim) was presented to Ghjuvanna Benedetti for her role in The Kingdom (dir. Julien Colonna, France), in which she portrays a teenager growing up in the violent shadow of her mafia father in 1990s Corsica.

    Béla Tarr. Photo by Chris Nemeș

    In the Romanian Days Competition, The New Year That Never Came (dir. Bogdan Mureșanu), a tragicomedy set on the eve of the 1989 Revolution, won the Best Feature Award, worth €2,000 (offered by DACIN SARA), along with €10,000 in post-production services offered by CINELAB Romania. The Romanian Days Debut Award (€1,500, offered by Banca Transilvania) went to Bright Future (dir. Andra MacMasters), a fascinating archival journey through a 1989 youth festival held in North Korea.

    In the What’s Up, Doc? competition, the €2,000 prize offered by Tenaris Silcotub was awarded to a film the jury described as creating “a delicate visual choreography.” The film, Saturn (dir. Daniel Tornero), received the most praise in the documentary and hybrid film section.

    The Audience Award (€2,000, offered by Mastercard) for a film in the Official Competition went to Deaf (dir. Eva Libertad García López, Spain), while The New Year That Never Came was named Most Popular Romanian Film at the festival. The Vodafone Hearts’ Award, worth €2,500, was offered by Vodafone.

    The Gala closed with moving words from director Béla Tarr, recipient of Transilvania IFF’s Lifetime Achievement Award:

    “When you make a film, you don’t expect someone from the other side of the world to see it. 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.”

    The full list of awards from the 23rd edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival is available at tiff.ro.

    The Transilvania International Film Festival is organized by the Romanian Film Promotion Association and the Transilvania Film Festival Association.

    With the support of:
    The Ministry of Culture, The National Film Center (CNC), Cluj-Napoca City Hall and Local Council, Romanian Cultural Institute, Dacin Sara, UCIN, Department for Interethnic Relations (DRI), Florești City Hall, Creative Europe – MEDIA

    Under the auspices of: UNESCO City of Film

    Presented by: Banca Transilvania

    Sponsors:
    Mastercard, Vodafone, LIDL Romania, Ursus, Regina Maria, Audi & Autoworld, IQOS, MOL Romania, Tenaris Silcotub, JTI, Pepsi, DeLonghi, Nova Power & Gas, Help Net, Voxa, Betfair Romania Development, McDonald’s, Foundever, Transgaz, Farmec, Energobit, Jidvei, Aqua Carpatica, Domeniile Sâmburești, Radisson Blu, Caii de la Letea, Rivus, E.ON, Compania de Apă Someș, Conceptual Lab by Theo Nissim, Teilor, Cotnari Wine House, CSI, ECCO, Chio, MSG

    Official coffee: NESPRESSO
    Official beauty partner: Armani Beauty
    Official insurer: Groupama
    Official airline: Animawings
    Wardrobe partner: Tudor Tailor
    Technology partner: Reea
    Hospitality partner: Eximtur

    Partners: Lufthansa, Bolt, PMA, Promelek, Intend, Lecom, Luna Cleaning, Cărturești, Trend PR

    Main media partner: PRO TV
    Recommended by: Rock FM
    Media monitoring partner: MediaTRUST

    National media partners: Radio România Cultural, Observator Cultural, Libertatea, Elle, Films in Frame, Revista FILM
    Local media partners: Monitorul de Cluj, Ziua de Cluj, Radio Cluj, Kolozsvári Rádió Románia, afaceri.news, Maszol, Iulius Mall
    International media partner: Screen Daily

    Published in Festivals
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