Transilvania IFF.24 Winners: Stories of Survival and the Past Claim the Festival’s Top Honors
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.
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.” That 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.
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The Transilvania International Film Festival is organized by the Romanian Film Promotion Association and the Transilvania Film Festival Association.
With the support of: Ministry of Culture, Romanian Film Centre (CNC), Cluj-Napoca City Hall and Local Council, Romanian Cultural Institute, Dacin Sara, UCIN, Department for Interethnic Relations – DRI, Florești Town Hall, Creative Europe – MEDIA
Under the patronage 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, Casa de vinuri Cotnari, CSI, ECCO, Chio, MSG
Official coffee: NESPRESSO
Official beauty partner: Armani Beauty
Official insurer: Groupama
Official transporter: Animawings
Official fashion 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
