19/11/2020 - Brussels’ Mediterranean Film Festival, scheduled to take place 26 November – 5 December, will now unfold online on account of Covid-19

Having hoped that this year’s edition might still unspool in person, in the vein of the Namur International Francophone Film Festival (read our news) and Film Fest Gent (news), not least because this 20th edition marks a change in the event’s identity, in name but also in logo, the Brussels Mediterranean Film Festival - Cinémamed has had to make peace with moving part of its programme online, which will be accessible between the original dates of 26 November - 5 December. Twenty-six features films, both works of fiction and documentaries, and thirteen shorts are set to punctuate this unprecedented edition, whisking viewers on a journey through Spain to Turkey, travelling via Palestine and Serbia.

In this utterly unique year, where solidarity is undeniably of the essence, the festival has chosen to showcase works which explore "the ties which bind us together" and which highlight the importance of human relationships, whether familial, romantic or developed during chance encounters. 

Once again, the festival will spotlight Mediterranean films which have dazzled in international festivals, such as Italian director Nicolangelo Gelormini’s very recent Fortuna – The Girl and The Giants [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nicolangelo Gelormini
film profile], which was presented at Rome Film Fest, Father [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Srdan Golubović
film profile] by Serbia’s Srdan Golubović, which won trophies at the Berlinale and in Montpellier’s Cinémed Festival, the Turkish film Ghosts [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Azra Deniz Okyay, which scooped an award in Venice’s International Critics’ Week, the Palestine-Jordan-Europe co-production 200 Meters [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Ameen Nayfeh
film profile] by Ameen Nayfeh, which triumphed at Venice’s Giornate degli Autori, and Sonia Liza Kenterman’s Greek film Tailor [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sonia Liza Kenterman
film profile], which was co-produced by Belgium and Germany, was unveiled this weekend in Tallinn and which has seen itself entrusted with the opening slot in the present Brussels-based festival. Various other works will round off the fiction selection, notably, from Spain, Rosa’s Wedding [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Icíar Bollaín and Advantages of Travelling by Train [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Aritz Moreno; from the Balkans, Mare [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrea Staka
film profile] by Andrea Staka, Mater [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jure Pavlović
film profile] by Jure Pavlovic and My Lake by Gjergj Xhuvani; the Italian title Una promessa [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gianluca and Massimiliano D…
film profile] by Gianluca & Massimiliano De Serio, the Greek offering Pari [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Siamak Etemadi
film profile] by Siamak Etemadi and animated film The Tower [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mats Grorud
film profile] by Mats Grorud.

A selection of documentaries are also gracing the showcase, not least Punta Sacra [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Francesca Mazzoleni
film profile] by Italy’s Francesca Mazzoleni, which triumphed at the recent Visions du Réel Festival, the Swiss-French title À la recherche de l’homme à la caméra by Boutheyna Bouslama, which won out at the Solothurn Film Festival, and Inland [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Spain’s Juan Palacios.

All of the selected titles will be broadcast on the Belgian VOD platform Sooner, at an eminently affordable cost of €6 per feature film and €2 for the opening film. The event will also host live debates with several of the filmmakers selected for this year’s edition, as well as offering two family screenings. And whilst there might not be a feature film competition to look forward to this year, there will definitely be a contest – the first ever, as far as Cinémamed is concerned - for the 13 short films gracing the showcase. They’ll be battling it out for the Audience Award, as well as the Young Jury Award.

(Translated from French)