The 35^th Mostra de València – Cinema del Mediterrani kicks off on 22 October with the Spanish docufiction The Mystery of the Pink Flamingo [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Javier Polo, and is due to wrap on 1 November. Between these two dates, audiences will get to enjoy a handpicked batch of films produced by countries perched on all shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The titles in the official section will be competing for the Golden, Silver and Bronze Palms at this year’s edition, for which the festival has beaten its own record in terms of the number of submissions, having been sent more than 750 titles.

One person will receive the gathering’s Honorary Palm without having to go through the motions of competing, and that’s Portuguese filmmaker María de Medeiros, who will pick up said trophy at the closing ceremony, after having given a master class and premiered Our Children [+leggi anche:
trailer
scheda film]. In addition, Serbian artist Marina Abramovic will host a conference on Tuesday 27 October, while a documentary dedicated to her, Homecoming. Marina Abramovic and her Children [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], will be screened and a selection of her audiovisual works will be exhibited. Plus, Mariano Barroso (the director of the series La línea invisible [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Mariano Barroso
scheda series] – see the review) and Félix Viscarret (Patria – see the review) will discuss the Basque conflict in a round-table set to take place on Saturday 24 October, part of a series of events dedicated to this topic.

But if it’s artists from the Valencian Community that we’re talking about, the Mostra is certainly not neglecting them; in fact, it is premiering ten of their titles this year. Standing out among them are the documentary The Recipe for Balance [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Óscar Bernàcer
scheda film], helmed by Óscar Bernácer and revolving around how chef Ricard Camarena and his team are adapting to the “COVID-19 era”; the historical thriller Un cercle en l’aigua by Vicent Monsonís, who has adapted the stage play La estancia, written by Chema Cardeña; the non-fiction film Camagroga [+leggi anche:
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Of particular note in the official section are the motherhood drama Zana [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Antoneta Kastrati
scheda film] (a co-production between Kosovo and Albania), helmed by Antoneta Kastrati; Tereza37 [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] by Canary Islander Miguel Mejías; the similarly personal portrait of a woman painted by Luxor [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Zeina Durra
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intervista: João Nunes Monteiro
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The Informativa section will also bring together a clutch of extremely interesting titles, such as Red Moon Tide [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Lois Patiño
scheda film], the second feature by Galicia’s Lois Patiño; Mare [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Andrea Staka
scheda film] (Croatia/Switzerland), the chronicle of a woman’s emotional awakening by Andrea Staka; Working Girls [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Anne Paulicevich e Frédéri…
scheda film] (France/Belgium) by Frédéric Fonteyne and Anne Paulicevich, about cross-border prostitution; My Morning Laughter [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (Serbia) by Marko Djordjevic, which looks at how complicated it can be to lose your virginity once you’re past the age of 30; and the troublesome family reunion portrayed in Happy Birthday [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] (France/Belgium) by Cédric Kahn, toplined by French star Catherine Deneuve.

The full programme of the 2020 edition of the Mostra de València can be found here.