The MedFilm Festival was founded in 1995 and is the oldest international film festival in Rome. It is sponsored by the president of Italy and the European Commission and European Parliament, and is dedicated to promoting Mediterranean, as well as, European cinematography in general.

Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović’s film Into the Blue won the Methexis Award for Best Short Film, while the feature film Men Don’t Cry by Alen Drljević, a minority Croatian co-production (Croatian co-producer – Produkcija Živa), won the Amore e Psiche Award for Best Film. The film also celebrated other wins this weekend: the Golden Pram for Best Film at the 15th Zagreb Film Festival, and the FIPRESCI Prize from the jury of the International Federation of Film Critics at the 28th LIFFe – Ljubljana International Film Festival.

This year, the MedFilm Festival was held at the Cinema Savoy and at the MACO Museum of Contemporary Art in Rome, and was accompanied by numerous other events geared toward the industry, as well as a range of focus programmes. The Italian Ministry of Culture and Heritage proclaimed the festival an event of national interest, and it is supported by embassies and cultural institutions from more than 40 countries.

For more on the MedFilm Festival please visit their official website.

Cover photos: scenes from Into the Blue; Men Don’t Cry