18/10/2023 - The 38th Mostra de València - Cinema del Mediterrani opens with Marina, unplugged, by Alfonso Amador, and awards Paolo Sorrentino with the Honorary Palm

The 38th Mostra de València – Cinema del Mediterrani, to be held from 19 to 29 October at the Babel cinemas and the Filmoteca de València, has listed the films that will compete for the Golden Palm this year. This year's Official Selection is a plural and Mediterranean section with an equal number of female directors and films with varied forms and subject matter. This year's Mostra will also pay tribute to Italian director Paolo Sorrentino, who will receive the Honorary Palm - the festival's highest award - for his ability to analyse society using images.

Coming from such diverse locations as Syria, Morocco, Palestine, France and Italy, and with the backing of major international film festivals (Cannes, Berlin, Rotterdam, Karlovy Vary, etc.), 12 films make up this year’s Official Selection. Among them, Marina, unplugged [+see also:
film review
film profile], by Alfonso Amador, a film about the rhetoric of the extreme right which opens the festival; Fireworks [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], the directorial debut of actor Giuseppe Fiorello, premiered in Karlovy Vary; Deserts [+see also:
film review
interview: Faouzi Bensaïdi
film profile], directed by actor Faouzi Bensaïdi and featured at the last edition of the Cannes Filmmakers’ Fortnight; the Kurdish The Wedding Parade, another surprising directorial debut by Sevinaz Evdike, a film highly critical of the Erdogan government; Toni [+see also:
trailer
film profile], the return to the festival for Nathan Ambrosioni, who at the age of 19 won the Bronze Palm for Paper Flags; A House in Jerusalem [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], by the Palestinian filmmaker Muayad Alayan, premiered at the Rotterdam Festival; and also in the Official Section out of competition, the Spanish premiere of one of the great documentaries of the season, Massimo Troisi: Somebody Down There Likes Me [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mario Martone
film profile], the film by Mario Martone premiered at the Berlinale on the legacy of the Italian actor and director Massimo Troisi.

These titles are joined by six new releases in Spain: Lost Country [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Vladimir Perišić
film profile], the second feature film by Serbian director Vladimir Perišić, premiered at the Cannes Critics’ Week, where actor Jovan Ginić won the Rising Star Award; Afloat, by the Turkish director Aslihan Unaldi, premiered at the Adana Altin Koza Film Festival; Riverbed, by Lebanese Bassem Breche, winner of the Best Actress Award and the Special Jury Prize at the Cairo Festival; Cidade Rabat [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], by Portuguese director Susana Nobre, premiered in the Forum section of the Berlinale; Animalia [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sofia Alaoui
film profile], by the Moroccan director Sofia Alaoui, winner of the Special Jury Prize at this year’s Sundance; and three sparks [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], by the prestigious experimental filmmaker Naomi Uman, presented in the Tiger Competition in Rotterdam.

Les vacances de Marta, the debut film for Elena Escura (nominated for her work at this year's Berlanga Awards for Valencian Audiovisuals), will close the Mostra, and the festival's Special Sessions will include the world premiere of the documentary Paco Roca, dibujando la vida, directed by Batiste Miguel, with testimonies from Alejandro Amenábar, Elvira Lindo, Joaquín Reyes and Carlos Areces, among others.

(Translated from Spanish by Vicky York)