Lanthimos movie ‘Kinds of Kindness’ headed for Mediterrane Film Festival in June

Fresh out of its world premiere in competition at the Cannes Film Festival, Yorgos Lanthimos’s “Kinds of Kindness” is one of the titles headed to this year’s Mediterrane Film Festival, taking place in Malta between June 22-30. 

Other highlights in the festival’s first wave of programming include Jane Schoenbrun’s Sundance breakout “I Saw the TV Glow” and Meryam Joobeur’s Berlinale competition entry “Who Do I Belong To.” 

The festival’s sophomore edition marks the first under the curatorial guise of Artistic Director Teresa Cavina, appointed earlier in the year.

Cavina reorganised the festival’s programme into four strands: In Competition, featuring films from across the Mediterranean; Out of Competition, featuring films from the rest of the world; Mare Nostrum or Our Sea, showcasing films dedicated to sustainability and the environment; and Future Visions, focusing on experimental VR projects.

In a statement, Cavina said that this year’s programme “will demonstrate our commitment to fostering a programme that celebrates the best of cinema from the Mediterranean and beyond. We have some incredible directors and creatives in this line-up, across both established and emerging talent and the selection will offer something for all audiences – expansive international dramas, captivating psychological horrors and emotional human stories from around the world.”

Speaking with Variety earlier in the week, Cavina emphasised her vision for the festival to “put Malta and its people on the agenda,” helping showcase and foster Maltese local talent. “Mediterrane will aim to create a space for local communities to share their talents and stories with Mediterranean counterparts and to invigorate and initiate discussion, especially on incredible Maltese stories that have been untold.”

Malta’s Film Commissioner, Johann Grech, told members present at the gathering that, “At a time of unprecedented instability and division across the world, the Mediterrane Film Festival has a very special role to promote – as our festival tagline says loud and proud – ‘Unity Through Film.'”

This year’s Main Competition Jury includes Jon S. Baird, Margery Simkin, Mario Philip Azzopardi, Nathan Crowley, Pedro Luque, and Richie Mehta, with further participants to be announced. The inaugural Golden Bee Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cinema will be awarded to British filmmaker Mike Leigh.