6th Edition – 2024

Expansion and international recognition

Introduction

The 6th edition of the Moinho Cine Fest presented 38 films from 18 countries, with screening sessions held on April 5, 6, 13 and 20 across the Union of the Parishes of Custóias, Leça do Balio and Guifões. The films were selected from 656 submissions representing 50 countries, reinforcing the festival’s international scope and artistic diversity.

The competitive categories included nano‑film, micro‑film, short film and medium‑length film, the latter introduced for the first time, expanding the festival’s commitment to showcasing short‑duration cinema in all its forms.

Award Winners

Best Film: ISTINA (Truth) — Tamara Denić (Germany and Serbia)
Best Portuguese Film: Applause — Guilherme Daniel (Portugal)
Best International Film: ISTINA (Truth) — Tamara Denić (Germany and Serbia)
Best Mobile Film: Gosto de te ver dormir — Hugo Pinto (Portugal)
Best Mid‑length Film: Deluge — Eduardo Cruz (Portugal)
Best Short Film: ISTINA (Truth) — Tamara Denić (Germany and Serbia)
Best Micro Film: Tanganhom — Vítor Covelo (Portugal)
Best Nano Film: To Be — Pascal Jousse (Morocco and France)
Best Animation: Two One Two — Shira Avni (Canada)
Best Documentary: A Life at Sea — Elisa Mand and Bente Rohde (Germany)
Best Experimental Film: Dva — Alexandra Karelina (Russia)
Best Fiction: Middle Eastern Stories: Father — Reza Daghagh (Iran)
Honorable Mention: Mulberryhood — Pedro Augusto Almeida (Portugal)
Honorable Mention: I Was Born in 1988 — Yasaman Baghban (Iran)
Honorable Mention: Motus — Nelson Fernandes (Portugal)

Official Selection

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

Mid‑length Films

A Life at Sea — Elisa Mand and Bente Rohde (Germany)
Deluge — Eduardo Cruz (Portugal)
Dva — Alexandra Karelina (Russia)
Our Camino — Pedro Gil Vasconcelos (Portugal)

Short Films

Akathisia — Carina Rabaça (Portugal)
Applause — Guilherme Daniel (Portugal)
Bonjour Douala — José Ramon Bas (Spain and Cameroon)
Edmundo — William Vitória (Portugal)
Ervilha — Teresa Mendonça (Portugal)
I Was Born in 1988 — Yasaman Baghban (Iran)
ISTINA (Truth) — Tamara Denić (Germany and Serbia)
Kafka’s Doll — Bruno Simões (Portugal and Spain)
Melting — Susana Miguel António and Filipa Gomes da Costa (Portugal)
Middle Eastern Stories: Father — Reza Daghagh (Iran)
Mulberryhood — Pedro Augusto Almeida (Portugal)
OVO — Stiv Spasojevic (France)
Tufo — Victoria Musci (Italy)
Why Are You Image Plus? — Diogo Baldaia (Portugal)

Micro Films

463 West Street, New York — Jasmim Bettencourt (Portugal)
A Symphony — Fabian Krebs (Czechia)
Atmós 2 — Bruno Gonçalves (Portugal and United States of America)
Gosto de te ver a dormir — Hugo Pinto (Portugal)
Motus — Nelson Fernandes (Portugal)
Plastic — Tiago Soares (Portugal)
Rescue — AO NORTE and 8.º E of Escola EB 2,3 da Abelheira (Portugal)
Seeds — Toni Bestard (Spain)
Tanganhom — Vítor Covelo (Portugal)
The Invisible — Guga Lemes, Wagner Almeida, Marcelo Nobre and André Abujamra (Brazil)
The Peace Girl — CENA EDUCAmedia and 4.ºA of EB1/PE da Ladeira (Portugal)
Two One Two — Shira Avni (Canada)

Nano Films

Ex Mop — Carlos Andres Reyes (Colombia)
I Am Eighty Years Old — Roman Sinitsyn (Russia)
Las Notas de Juan — Julián Cáneva (Argentina)
Nalubale — Nickson Kamau (Uganda)
The Silos – Until the Sun Goes Down — Samer Ghorayeb (Lebanon)
To Be — Pascal Jousse (France and Morocco)

Out of Competition

Missing Footsteps — Daniel Sousa (Portugal)
Return to the Childhood Home Before the Last Farewell — André Almeida Rodrigues (Portugal)

Jury

António Costa Valente

Filmmaker and producer whose works have been awarded at festivals across five continents. He produced and co-directed Até ao Tecto do Mundo, the first Portuguese animated feature film, awarded in the USA and Canada. With more than 150 films produced and over 500 distinctions, he has contributed to strengthening Portuguese cinema beyond major urban centres. He holds a PhD in animation cinema, teaches at the University of Algarve and is a CIAC researcher. He has directed the AVANCA Film Festival since 1997 and the AVANCA|CINEMA conference since 2010.

Mário Branquinho

With a degree in Social Sciences and a master’s in Artistic Animation, he is the founder and former director of CineEco – the Serra da Estrela International Environmental Film Festival. An honorary member and founder of the Green Film Network, he has served on juries at numerous national and international festivals. He coordinated the International Forum of Environmental Film Festivals and organised thematic screenings at the World Water Forums in Brasília and Dakar. He is the author of Cinema Ambiental em Portugal and, since 2022, General and Programming Director of the Cultural and Congress Centre of Caldas da Rainha.

Tiago Afonso

Filmmaker and visual artist who studied direct cinema, documentary, photography and contemporary art. His films have screened at festivals such as Doclisboa, Porto/Post/Doc, IndieLisboa and Curtas Vila do Conde, as well as events in Brazil, Italy, France, Croatia, Slovenia and Spain. His documentary Distopia won awards at DocLisboa and Porto/Post/Doc. He has taught filmmaking at Universidade Lusófona do Porto and led workshops in diverse social and cultural contexts. He has exhibited video work in galleries in Portugal and abroad. He lives and works in Porto.