The ninth edition of the International Archaeological Film Festival (MFAF) concluded on Wednesday, 28 October, at the Zlatna vrata Kinoteka in Split with the awarding of prizes to the best films of this year's edition.
Over the three festival days, 25 films from 16 countries were screened, selected from 1,961 submitted works. The first prize from the professional jury was awarded to the film "Answer from Greenland" by director Alice Watterson, which takes viewers to southern Greenland, where rising global temperatures are rapidly threatening archaeological sites. The film follows archaeologists attempting to document and preserve the remains of Norse settlements from the 10th to 14th centuries.
The second prize from the professional jury went to the film "Army of Lovers – the Sacred Band of Ancient Greece" by Greek director Lefteris Charitos, while the third prize was awarded to "Alexander's Face" by Italian director Vanni Gandolf. The professional jury also granted special mentions to the film "Skull C" by director Laura Sinovčić and to "Nechir" by Iranian director Keyvan Shamshirbeigi.
The student jury prize and the audience prize were won by the film "Artemis – the Lost Temple" by director Sébastien Reichenbach, a Swiss-French production. The festival's professional jury comprised film critic Stipe Radić as chair, senior curator Branka Milošević Zakić from the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments, director and screenwriter Nicolò Bongiorno, Dr Goran Bilogrivić from the Department of History at the Faculty of Philosophy, University of Rijeka, and retired journalist Jasenka Leskur of Slobodna Dalmacija. The student jury, chaired by Ana Knez, included Luna Jovana Stamenković, Lukas Librić, Antea Ivišić and Stjepana Jurčević.
The audience watched the film "Replica of the Mosaic of the Early Christian Basilica in Novalja" by Marijo Dragičević and the film "Voltaire – the Search for the Lost Body" by Dominique Adt, whose directors personally presented the works to the public as festival guests. The films "Mary Lefkowitz and the Women of Ancient Greece" by Nikos Dayandas and "Lux in vitro" by Vedrana Jović Gazić and Berislav Štefanec were also screened.
As part of the accompanying programme, Professor Silvia Bekavac gave a lecture titled "Archaeology of Ice", after which Rade Popadić's film "Secrets of the Biokovo Tumuli and Ice Houses" was shown. The Zlatna vrata Kinoteka hall was full on the final day of the festival, and standing room was sought during the accompanying programme.
Following the award ceremony, MFAF director Lada Laura closed the ninth edition of the festival and invited the audience to its next, jubilee tenth edition.
