The Romanian Film Fest Comes to a Close
This year’s Transilvania International Film Festival has come to an end. Having started on June 13, 2025, and continuing for 10 days, the festival featured 200 films being screened twice for viewing. With the end of this festival also comes a list of the festival’s top winners.
The Top 0.01%
Starting with the festival’s trophy winner, Mahdi Fleifel’s To a Land Unknown took home the trophy. Along with the trophy, Fleifel’s film also won a €10,000 prize. The film follows two Palestinian refugees dreaming of a better life in Germany while scraping off petty crime in Athens. Despite initially starting production ten years ago, the film’s topic is more relevant than ever with the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, which has grown more and more intense over the past several years. The runner-ups include Noaz Deshe’s Xoftex and Julian Castronovo’s Debut (or, Objects of the Field of Debris as Currently Catalogued) (2025). The former is similar to To a Land Unknown in that it focuses on a group of refugees, although this time they are trying to pass time awaiting their interviews at an immigration office by preparing for a zombie flick.
The latter, on the other hand, follows a young filmmaker who is investigating the disappearance of a notorious art forger.
Not Just About Winning
Aside from those top three, there were a number of other awards handed out to other films screened at the festival. Ghjuvanna Benedetti received the Best Performance Award for his role in The Kingdom, directed by Julien Colonna. Benedetti plays a teenager who reunites with her father, who has become a fugitive. Eva Libertad García López’s Deaf (2025) received the festival’s Audience Award. This film is actually a continuation of a previous short film by Lopez, which follows a deaf woman preparing for motherhood. In total, 37 awards were handed out at the end of the festival, with the full list available on Deadline.
Now Showing…in Your Imagination
As of now, only a handful of the films on the list are available to view, with Xoftex currently streaming on Mubi. To a Land Unknown is currently showing in select theaters. Unfortunately, many of these films may never be available on a streaming platform.
Stay tuned to Dead Talk News for potential release dates.
To A Land Unknown (2025) Official Watermelon Pictures Trailer
Source: Dead Talk Live
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| A lover of gore and over the top violence, no movie can make my stomach squirm. The only thing better than a bloody death scene is a well choreographed stunt. Whether it be action or horror, if it has blood in it, then I've likely already seen it. |
Elke Simmons' writing portfolio includes contributions to The Laredo Morning Times, Walt Disney World Eyes and Ears, Extinction Rebellion (XR) News/Blog, and Dead Talk News.