The 24th edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival has wrapped up in Romania.
During Saturday Night’s closing gala at the National Theatre in Cluj-Napoca, British director Mahdi Fleifel’s To a Land Unknown took home the Transilvania Trophy, the festival’s 10,000-euro top prize.
The film is described as 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 spirals deeper into a cycle of manipulation and exploitation of those around him.
“It was more about survival than storytelling. We struggled for nearly ten years to make it,” said Fleifel, adding of the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict: “The problem in Palestine is not the Palestinians, it’s the occupation—and that must end.”
German director Noaz Deshe’s Xoftex won the €3,500 Best Directing Award, sponsored by the Romanian Cultural Institute. The €1,500 Special Jury Prize went to US director Julian Castronovo’s Debut (or, Objects of the Field of Debris as Currently Catalogued).
Here are all the winners of the 24th Transilvania International Film Festival.
Transilvania Trophy (amount of 10,000 euros)
To a Land Unknown (dir. Mahdi Fleifel, United Kingdom)
Best Directing Award (amount of 3500 euros, offered by ICR)
Noaz Deshe — Xoftex (Germany)
Special Jury Award (amount of 1,500 euros, offered by ICR)
Debut, or, Objects of the Field of Debris as Currently Catalogued (dir. Julian Castronovo, United States)
Best Performance Award (amount of 1,000 euros, offered by Conceptual Lab by Theo Nissim)
Ghjuvanna Benedetti — The Kingdom (dir. Julien Colonna, France)
‘What’s up, Doc?’ Award (amount of 2,000 Euros, offered by Tenaris Silcotub)
Saturn (dir. Daniel Tornero, Spain)
Special Mention of the ‘What’s Up, Doc?’ Jury
The Return of the Projectionist (dir. Orkhan Aghazadeh, France)
Special Mention of the ‘What’s Up, Doc?’ Jury
Letters from Wolf Street (dir. Arjun Talwar, Poland)
Romanian Days: Best Feature Film (amount of 1500 Euro, offered by DACIN SARA and grip and equipment services worth 10,000 Euro, offered by CINELAB România)
The New Year That Never Came (dir. Bogdan Mureșanu, Romania)
Romanian Days Award for Best Debut (amount of 1,500 de euro, offered by Banca Transilvania)
Bright Future (dir. Andra MacMasters, Romania)
Romanian Days Award for Best Short Film (amount of 1,500 and 5,000 euro [camera & electric & grip equipment services], offered by CutareFilm)
Aid (dir. Valentin-Rareș Fogoroș, Romania)
The Audience Award (amount of 2,000 euros, offered by MasterCard)
Deaf (dir. Eva Libertad García López, Spain)
Most Popular Romanian Film in the Festival (Vodafone Hearts’ Award) (amount of 2.500 euros, offered by Vodafone)
The New Year That Never Came (dir. Bogdan Mureșanu, Romania)
Excellency Award: Director (offered by Nova Power & Gas)
Andrei Ujica
Excellency Award: Actor
Florin Piersic
Lifetime Achievement Award: Director
Béla Tarr
Lifetime Achievement Award: Actress
Emila Dobrin
Lifetime Achievement Award: Film Critic
Valerian Sava
Transilvania Trophy for Special Contribution to World Cinema: Actress
Maria de Medeiros
FIPRESCI Award (offered by the Jury of the International Federation of Film Critics for a film from the Romanian Film Days section)
Merman (dir. Ana Lungu, Romania)
Youth Award (TEEN Spirit) (amount of 1,500 euros, offered by McDonalds)
Little Trouble Girls (dir. Urška Djukić, Slovenia)
Special Mention of the Teen Spirit Jury
The Girls at the Station (dir. Juana Macías, Spain)
Ecumenical Jury Award (amount of 1,000 euros, offered by SIGNIS and INTERFILM, for a film from the Festival Competition)
Peacock (dir. Bernhard Wenger, Germany)
Special Mention of the Ecumenical Jury
Rains over Babel (dir. Gala del Sol, Colombia)
SIGNIS Award (amount 500 euros, offered by SIGNIS Romania, to a short film from the Romanian Days Section)
Grandpa Is Sleeping (dir. Matei Branea, Romania)
TRANSILVANIA PITCH STOP
Chainsaw Europe Award (25,000 euros in post-production services)
Kazimir (dir. Dorian Boguță)
The TPS Development Award (amount of 5000 euros, offered by Avanpost)
Horseshoe (dir. Lucia Chicoș)
National Center of Cinematography of the Republic of Moldova Award (amount of 1,500 euros)
Desire (dir. Nuray Kayacan Sünbül, Turkey)
Connecting Cottbus cocoLAB Award – East-West Emerging Producers Award (selection of a producer from Romania or the Republic of Moldova to participate in the new cocoLAB 2024 program dedicated to emerging producers)
Grandparents’ Paradise (dir. Alex Țibu, Șerban Racovițeanu)
DRAMA ROOM
Best Series Project Award (consisting of a development deal with PRO TV)
The Accountant (screenwriter: Bogdan Drumea, Romania)
Creative Residency at Bethlen-Haller Castle (for a project from the Drama Room, offered by Jidvei)
ReGYM (screenwriters Alex Pintică, Alberto Nicolae, Romania)
LOCAL COMPETITION
Local Competition Award (amount of 1,000 euros, offered by Banca Transilvania and post-production services worth 10,000 euros for the director’s next film project, offered by Numa Film)
Concluzia (dir. Bîrza Vlad)
The Unusual Award (offered by Komiti, consisting of consultancy and production services, including support during the pre-production phase [planning, organization, call sheet] and 3 days of filming with a technical crew and professional equipment])
Posibilitățile unei evadări (dir. Lehel Fazakas și Antal Bence)
Special Mention of the Jury (scholarship offered by the Film School, ensuring participation in one of the introductory courses in screenwriting or directing, depending on the winner’s place of residence at the time of claiming the prize, as well as color grading services in amount of 5,000 euros for the director’s next film project, offered by Numa Film)
Apele în care ne scăldăm (dir. Răzvan Dima)
Făclia Award (diploma and sculpture made by Ovidiu Guleș)
Ole (dir. Ambrozie Pură)
OTHER AWARDS
Young Francophone Jury Award (offered by TV5 Monde and the French Institute, consisting of the acquisition of the film’s distribution rights in Romanian cinemas)
Block Pass (dir. Antoine Chevrollier, France)
Alex. Leo Șerban Scholarship (amount of 2,500 euros, offered in partnership with Conceptual Lab by Theo Nissim)
Milionarul gunoaielor (dir. Radu Stroie)
Special Mention within the Alex. Leo Șerban Scholarship (amount of 1,000 euros, offered in partnership with Conceptual Lab by Theo Nissim for a young Romanian actor who has made a notable success in a short film or feature film premiered in 2024 or 2025)
Ștefan Mihai
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