Alex Camilleri’s Żejtune wins screenplay prize in Tribeca film festival

Maltese film director Alex Camilleri won best screenplay award at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival in New York for his film Żejtune.

The award was presented during the Tribeca Festival Awards ceremony on Thursday evening and was selected for the festival’s International Competition, a section dedicated to contemporary world cinema.

The prize was awarded by the International Narrative Competition jury, made up of film executive Amanda Trokan, producer and Marrakech International Film Festival director Mélita Toscan du Plantier, and acclaimed actor Benedict Wong.

Wong described Żejtune as “a film about reclaiming, reconnection, and preserving history as well as music."

"Not only did the writing manage to pull us into a world we, on the jury, hadn’t been before, but it supported the brilliant performances and their leads and allowed them to shine," Wong said.

  Alex Camilleri accepting the Best Screenplay Award for Żejtune at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival on Thursday 11 June 2026.

Receiving the award, Camilleri said it was an honour to tell stories from Malta and thanked the festival for allowing the film to share a part of Maltese culture with audiences at the important international festival. Camilleri also thanked the cast, producers and crew who made the film possible. 

Żejtune is Camilleri's second feature film. It follows Mar, a young Maltese woman determined to leave the country behind after inheriting three parcels of land following her estranged mother’s death. During this process, she meets Nenu, an għannej who helps her see the island through her eyes.

Camilleri is currently in New York for the festival, together with producers Oliver Mallia and Ramin Bahrani, and actors Nenu Borg and Michela Farrugia.

Premiere Screening of Żejtune at Tribeca Film Festival 2026. Credit: Ryan Struck

The film had its North American premiere on June 6 and was screened twice more during its New York run. The film's US debut follows its world premiere at the Göteborg Film Festival earlier this year.

The annual festival in New York was co-founded by legendary actor Robert De Niro in the aftermath of the September 2001 attacks on the World Trade Centre, to provide a boost to New York’s cultural scene. 

The film will continue its international festival journey with screenings at the Festival du Film de Cabourg in France, Cinema Jove in Valencia, Spain and the Mediterranean Film Festival in Split, Croatia.

Żejtune premiered in Malta back in March and is in its tenth week of release in Malta, and continues to screen daily at Embassy Cinemas in Valletta.