Palestinian refugee drama wins top prize at Romania’s Transilvania International Film Festival

A powerful story of survival and displacement took center stage at the 23rd edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival (TIFF) in Romania, as To a Land Unknown (UK) claimed the coveted Transilvania Trophy. The EUR 10,000 award was presented during the festival’s Closing Gala at the National Theatre in Cluj-Napoca on Saturday evening, June 21.

Directed by Mahdi Fleifel, the film follows two Palestinian refugees navigating life on the margins in Athens, where they juggle petty scams and cling to the hope of reaching Germany. One of them descends into manipulation and exploitation, painting a grim portrait of desperation in exile.

In a video message played at the Gala, Fleifel reflected on the film’s difficult production process: “It was more about survival than storytelling. We struggled for nearly ten years to make it.” He also called for peace in Palestine, stating, “The problem in Palestine is not the Palestinians, it’s the occupation - and that must end.”

Other top honors also highlighted stories of identity, exile, and historical memory.

German director Noaz Deshe received the Best Directing Award, worth EUR 3,500 and offered by the Romanian Cultural Institute, for Xoftex, another film centered on the refugee experience. The Special Jury Prize (EUR 1,500), also supported by the Romanian Cultural Institute, went to Debut (or, Objects of the Field of Debris as Currently Catalogued) by American filmmaker Julian Castronovo, a debut feature exploring the human tendency to fabricate and mythologize.

Corsican coming-of-age drama The Kingdom earned Ghjuvanna Benedetti the Best Performance Award (EUR 1,000), offered by Conceptual Lab by Theo Nissim. Directed by Julien Colonna, the film casts Benedetti as a teenager confronting her mafia family's violent legacy in 1990s Corsica.

Romanian cinema was also in the spotlight. In the Romanian Days Competition, The New Year That Never Came, a tragicomedy by Bogdan Mureșanu set during the 1989 Revolution, won Best Feature (EUR 2,000 from DACIN SARA) and received an additional EUR 10,000 in post-production services from CINELAB Romania. The Romanian Days Debut Award (EUR 1,500, offered by Banca Transilvania) went to Bright Future by Andra MacMasters, a documentary-style look at a 1989 youth festival in North Korea.

The What’s Up, Doc? section honored Saturn, directed by Daniel Tornero, with a EUR 2,000 prize from Tenaris Silcotub. The jury praised the documentary for its "delicate visual choreography.”