Myrsini Aristidou’s Hold Onto Me dominated the Cypriot competition at the 24th Cyprus Film Days International Festival, winning both the Best Cypriot Film and Best Director awards, as the festival concluded on Saturday evening at the Rialto Theatre in Limassol.
The French film Nino, the debut feature of director Pauline Loquès, took the Best Film Award in the international Glocal Images competition, carrying a prize of €6,000. The international jury, chaired by Matthijs Wouter Knol, described the film as combining “emotional strength and cinematic elegance,” with actor Théodore Pellerin delivering a standout leading role.
Aristidou’s Hold Onto Me also claimed the Audience Award, voted by the public through electronic balloting and accompanied by a €2,000 prize sponsored by Breaking Wave Productions. The Best Cypriot Film award carries a €4,000 prize for the producer and director, along with studio services offered by the CYENS Centre of Excellence, while the Best Director prize includes post-production services valued at €7,000, offered by AUTHORWAVE.
The Best Performance Award in the Cypriot competition, accompanied by a €2,000 prize offered by the Municipality of Limassol, went to Dinos Lyras and Lenia Sorokkou for their roles in Maricel, directed by Elias Demetriou.
In the international competition, the Special Jury Award (€3,000) went to Aisha Can’t Fly Away by Morad Mostafa, while Mehmet Akif Büyükatalay won the Best Director Award (€1,000) for Hysteria. The Best Cinematography Award (€1,000, offered by Caretta Films) went to Agnès Piqué Corbera for Forastera. A Jury Distinction was awarded to Beautiful Evening, Beautiful Day by Ivona Juka.
The closing ceremony took place in the presence of the Deputy Minister of Culture and the Mayor of Limassol. Artistic direction of the ceremony was undertaken by Evita Ioannou, with Elena Antoniou hosting the evening.
Danae Stylianou, head of the Dot.on.the.Map Industry Days co-production platform, said more than 150 film professionals from Cyprus, Europe, the Middle East and North Africa gathered in Limassol to present projects, explore collaborations and develop prospects for co-production, financing and distribution.
In the Dot.on.the.Map pitching forum, the Cyprus Film Commission – Invest Cyprus Award (€2,000) went to Your Turn 203, directed by Cynthia Sawma and produced by Georges Schoucair of Lebanon. The jury said the project “combined clarity, energy, and a distinct directorial voice.” The EKKOMΕD Award (€2,000, offered by the Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Center) went to Horses, directed by Jernej Kastelec and produced by Ida Weiss of Slovenia. The P.S. Movies & Stories Award, comprising lighting and grip equipment rental worth up to €4,000, went to Until We Find Your Name, directed by Vaggelio Soumeli and produced by Janine Teerling and Marios Piperides of Cyprus. The Thessaloniki International Film Festival Agora Networking Award went to Of Heart and Lung, directed by Walid Mattar and produced by Ikbel Tlili of Tunisia.
Festival artistic directors Argyro Nicolaou and Petros Charalambous thanked filmmakers, partners, volunteers and audiences, saying the festival continues to function as a meeting point for contemporary cinema. The festival renewed its appointment with audiences for next year.
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