Five international short films from the UK, Russia, Italy, Andorra and Austria are the winners of the 59th edition of the Golden Knight Malta International Short Film Festival. The films are being screened on Saturday, November 27, during an awards ceremony being held in Valletta.

The Golden Knight award

The festival, which has grown in scale and importance since it was launched in 1962, this year saw 350 entries from 60 countries, ranging from established film-producing nations such as the US, the UK, Italy and France to emerging countries from Asia, Africa and South America. These were judged by a panel of experts made up of Edgar Ciancio, Winston Azzopardi, Joshua Cassar Gaspar, Vanessa Vella  and Christian Cotey.

“The festival jury awards a Golden Knight statuette to the best five participating productions. ‘Highly Commended’ certificates are also awarded to a very limited number of productions which, although being of a very high standard, just fell short of making it to the Knight awards,” Vincent Lungaro, chairperson of the Malta Cine Circle, explains.

A New Perspective

The winning films include Reavey Brothers (the UK), a gripping Irish family drama based on true events by Jamie Tarr. In a trouble-ridden Northern Ireland, football and writing prospect Anthony’s relationship with his brothers  is in danger. Exploring religious divides and the importance of family, he will come face-to-face with the one thing he is trying to fight.

Ink Ocean (Russia), directed by Ivan Sosnin, is about a young sailor who travels around the world and sends letters to his father from every port. However, all his letters remain unanswered.

Ink Ocean

Emanuela Ponzano’s A New Perspective (Italy) is set in a forest where a group of friends are playing. Here, a young boy comes across a lost and crying child of foreign ethnicity, bodies piled up in rows, military policemen with their dogs and a high wall of barbed wire. The boy tries to find out where he really is.

Under the Ice

The short horror drama Under the Ice (Andorra) by Alvaro Rodriguez Areny, follows Edur, who has just lost his father in an accident. He wakes up in the middle of a nightmare and a presence starts to haunt him with his worst memories.

Henning Backhaus’s entry The Best Orchestra in the World (Austria) is about a sock named Ingbert, who applies for a position as double bass player in the Vienna State Orchestra. It turns out to be a bad idea.

The judges gave the Highly Commended certificates to four other films: Al-Sit (Sudan), Sherman (the US), Co Cotton (Hong Kong) and Incident at School (Denmark).

The Best Orchestra in the World

The awards ceremony is being held tomorrow, November 27, at the Malta Experience theatre, Valletta, at 7.30pm. Entrance is free. For reservations, e-mail: bookings @goldenknightmalta.org or call 9946 0866.