Two productions from Malta feature among the top five winners of this year’s edition of the Golden Knight Malta International Film Festival. These are Morning Star by Zara Balfour and We Three Kings by Bruce Micallef Eynaud.
“This is indeed good news and is proof that Maltese film-makers have reached the high level required to compete internationally, even if presently in the short film category,” said Vincent Lungaro-Mifsud, chair of the Malta Cine Circle, organisers of the festival.
The festival has been running for 63 years, making it one of the longest-running festivals of its kind worldwide. Over the years, it has grown in stature and is today one of the most prestigious international short film festivals, Lungaro-Mifsud noted.
Over 300 submissions
More than 300 productions (322) were submitted for this year’s festival. There were 209 entries from Europe, 40 from North America, six from South America, 40 from Asia, 14 from the Middle East, nine from Africa and four from Australia/New Zealand.
A team of assessors went through a pre-selection process in the past months, with a final selection of 18 films presented to a jury made up of five judges. Five films were awarded the Golden Knight award, while another four received a ‘Highly Commended Certificate’.
The awards ceremony, which will include the screening of the winning films, will be held on December 6 at 7pm at the Malta Experience Theatre, in Valletta.
Admission to the event is free of charge. Bookings may be placed either on bookings@goldenknightmalta.com or by calling on 9946 0866.
Official results
THE GOLDEN KNIGHT AWARDS
Morning Star by Zara Balfour – Malta/UK
Majini by Joshua Neubert, Victor Muhagachi – Germany
We Three Kings by Bruce Micallef Eynaud – Malta
Ya Hanouni by Lyna Tadount and Sofian Chouaib – France
A Las 9 Es La Cita by Carlos Ospina – Colombia
HIGHLY COMMENDED CERTIFICATE
The Reach by Luca Caserta – Italy
Signature by Nick Zerafa – UK
Cats Have no Roots by Anthoniy Hristov – Bulgaria
ReRooted by Delphine Coudray – Ireland