1st Edition – 2019

The origin of Moinho Cine Fest

Introduction

The 1st edition of the festival, held in 2019 and organised by Orfeão de Matosinhos, marked the beginning of what was then the M Film Festival, dedicated exclusively to nano films and integrated into the Senhor de Matosinhos programme. This inaugural edition laid the foundations for what would later evolve into the Moinho Cine Fest.

It received 570 submissions from 70 countries, from which 63 films representing 38 countries were selected and screened at Orfeão de Matosinhos, revealing from the outset the international scope and artistic diversity that would accompany the festival’s growth.

Awarded Films

Best Film: One — Roman Sinitsyn (Russia)
Best Portuguese Film: Stones on the Path — Diogo Pessoa Andrade (Portugal)
Best Fiction: Leo Never Gives Up — Balint Klopfstein‑Laszlo (Hungary)
Best Documentary: The Confession — Esteban Font Rojo (Chile)
Best Animation: Teddy Bear — Hermes Mangialardo (Italy)
Best Experimental Film: Film Loop 31: Shisendo — Michael Lyons (Japan)
Best Director: Aftermatch — Simón Franco (Paraguay)
Best Young Director: Connection Error — Ashesh Luitel (Nepal)
Best Script: Homecoming — Arkus (United Arab Emirates)
Best Actor: A Normal Day — Christian Deckerbach (Argentina)
Best Actress: Bite and Smile — Leah Doz (Canada)

Official Selection

The Official Selection brought together films from multiple genres and origins, reflecting the diversity that defined this first edition.

A Foreign Body — Cristian Gómez Aguilar (Argentina)
A Normal Day — Juan Ferrero (Argentina)
Aftermatch — Simon Franco (Paraguay)
Article 1 — Pascal Jousse (Morocco)
Athena, Setayesh and Others — Mohammad Ali Wahaj (Iran)
Australia Day #2 — Darryl Rogers (Australia)
Awry — Tevin Kimathi (Kenya)
Behind the Wall — Werner Schnater (France)
Bird Bird Bird — Zahra Rostampour (Iran)
Bite and Smile — Elise Bauman (Canada)
Children — Giorgi Tkemaladze (Georgia)
Coisas que Brilham no Escuro — Patrícia De Sousa (Portugal)
Connection Error — Ashesh Luitel (Nepal)
Cruelty Free — Tiago Xavier (Portugal)
Dani — Leonardo Ferreira (Portugal)
Derived — Samir Radwan (Egypt)
Don’t Feed the Ducks — Ria van Montfort (Netherlands)
Eden in Spring — Hee Ko (South Korea)
Encounter — Camila Ausente (Mexico)
Film Loop 31: Shisendo — Michael Lyons (Japan)
Finnish Summer — Hanna‑Mari Ojala (Finland)
Hiaku (2) — Telmo Ribeiro (Portugal)
Homecoming — Arkus (United Arab Emirates)
Homo Celularis Metro — Joaquín González (Uruguay)
I Won’t Come — Mustapha Benghernaout (Algeria)
Invasion! — André Moreira (Portugal)
Kyra: Her Story — María Camila Hoyos (Colombia)
Leo Never Gives Up — Balint Klopfstein‑Laszlo (Hungary)
Life Drop — Abhishek Swain (India)
Lucky Vulnerable 02 — Sayed Ahmadzia Ebrahimi (Afghanistan)
Magritte’s Train — Yali Herbet (Israel)
Migrant Dilemma — Roger Horn (South Africa)
mirARTE NO mirARTE (V) — Hernando Urrutia (Portugal)
Monsters Walking — Marta Salvador Tato (Spain)
My Name Was — Robert David Duncan (Canada)
My Soul — Müge Yildiz (Turkey)
My Story: Paul — Jamillah van der Hulst (Netherlands)
O Protesto dos Peixes — Paulo Delgado (Portugal)
O Som do Calor Humano — Calebe Lopes (Brazil)
Observador — José Paulo Santos (Portugal)
Oceans — Elle Ralph (United Kingdom)
One — Roman Sinitsyn (Russia)
Quantum Love — Matic Grgic (Slovenia)
Real Life — Ramon Faria (United States of America)
Redress — Chioma Paul‑Dike (Nigeria)
ROTI — Kiki Febriyanti (Indonesia)
Sea — Hristina Belousova (Uzbekistan)
Slice of Mutation — Jackson Abacatu (Brazil)
Soul Mate — Mahdi Borjian (Germany)
State of Stillness — Camiel Zwart (Netherlands)
Stones on the Path — Diogo Pessoa de Andrade (Portugal)
Symmetry — Nazareno Guerra (Argentina)
Teddy Bear — Hermes Mangialardo (Italy)
Tentação — Gonçalo Romão (Portugal)
The Click — Sachin Ramdas (United Arab Emirates)
The Confession — Esteban Font Rojo (Chile)
The Enlightened Lady — Ashraf Shishir (Bangladesh)
The Opposite of This — Caroline Rumley (United States of America)
Um Segundo — Pedro Caldeira (Portugal)
Vasco — Rute Simões (Portugal)
Ventresca [Conversation in the Fish Market] — Lisi Prada (Spain)
We Are Resistance — Luna Gherscovici (Argentina)
Yes, No — Matteo Tibiletti (Italy)

Jury

Rui Oliveira

Professional actor since 1986, founder of ACARO and Espaço Contagiarte. He appeared in films by Manoel de Oliveira and received several international acting awards. His career spans theatre, film and television.

João Antunes

Film critic for over 30 years and contributor to Jornal de Notícias. He has served on juries at festivals such as Cannes, Berlin and Cinanima, and is a respected figure in Portuguese film criticism.

António Venda Lopes

Technician at the Photographic Archive of Matosinhos City Council. He has contributed to several publications on photography and heritage, helping preserve the visual memory of the region.

Azedin El Ouafi

Director of the Cap Spartel Film Festival, filmmaker and screenwriter. He has served on juries in Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and the Netherlands, with recognised work in Arab and international cinema.

Dawn Westlake

President of Ron de Cana Productions in Los Angeles. Director of 20 internationally awarded films and jury member at festivals in Italy, France and the United States, with a strong presence in independent cinema.

Credits

Festival Direction: André Almeida Rodrigues
Organization: Orfeão de Matosinhos
Year: 2019

Gallery

Visual record of the single screening of the 1st edition, held at Orfeão de Matosinhos.