The 14^th edition of Sole Luna Doc Film Festival is now open for submission. The international documentary film festival will be held in Palermo from July 1^st to 7^th 2019, in the suggestive setting of the monumental complex of Santa Maria dello Spasimo. The documentaries will be selected among the films from all over the world that will be submitted filling in the entry form online from November 1^st 2018. Submission is free of charge and will close on March 1st 2019.

HOW TO ENTER YOUR FILM  By visiting our site you can find the rules, the entry form and all the information you need to participate in our festival. Read the rules carefully and enter your film! Click here for further information and to fill in the entry form.

SOLE LUNA AWARDS / GIURIA INTERNAZIONALE Best Documentary Strike a Rock, Aliki Saragas STRIKE A ROCK is the extraordinary example of a “revolution” that can start not only from young people but from two grand-mothers. A powerful and inspiring fight for Justice with every means they have. They are persistent and they still keep trying, even if their life has been a series of disappointments. They don’t give up Strike A Rock - Official Trailer 2017 from Elafos Productions/Aliki Saragas on Vimeo.

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Mention for best direction Boli Bana, Simon Coulibaly Gillard For the director’s ability of narrating in a dream like way, an inner territory that mixes human nature, animals, rituals and traditions. BOLI BANA - Trailer/Bande annonce from Grenade on Vimeo.

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Mention for best photography MA'OHI NUI, in the heart of the ocean my country lies, Annick Ghijzelings For the fascinating landscape and the strong contrast between the beautiful images and the fluid camera movement and the dramatic content, which is the manipulation that the local population received from the French authorities that wanted to experiment the atomic bomb in that part of the Pacific Ocean. MA'OHI NUI, in the heart of the ocean my country lies - TRAILER from Centre de l'Audiovisuel à Bxl on Vimeo.

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Mention for best editing (ex aequo) Sea of Sorrow - Sea of hope, Estephan Wagner, Marianne Hougen-Moraga For the ability to editing not only the images but most importantly the feelings of the characters presented in the story.   Los Ofendidos, Marcela Zamora Because it manages to use historical material in a way that brings the audience close to the events of those days. Trailer documental "Los Ofendidos" de Marcela Zamora from Kino Glaz on Vimeo.

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Mention for most innovative documentary Solo for one Hand, Pavel Jurda For the variety of different cinematic elements and the original way in which the story is narrated.

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Mention for best short doc Terraform, Sil Van Der Woerd, Jorik Dozy For the very simple, direct yet extremely powerful way to convey the story and emotionally connect the audience to the events that are presented. Particularly striking is the choice of a very unique perspective that widens the perception and the capacity to say so much in such a small amount of time.

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A BRIDGE BETWEEN CULTURES AWARD Salto, Maryam Haddadi The award for SALTO is a tribute to everyone who has had the strength and the determination to make an important and courageous complaint. – as Lucia Gotti Vetnurato motivates the award – Zahra Hosseinzadeh could have been the Pellegrini of the occidental world, but the destiny of birth has criminalized her, put her in the shadows. With this award, Sole Luna wants to build a virtual bridge of solidarity and wants to give an emphasis to the imprisonment that provokes fundamentalism of any kind.   Middle Eastern Dramatic Shorts 7:00pm Wed Mar 28 FilmFest52 At The Bethel Cinema from Thomas Carruthers on Vimeo.

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SPECIAL JURY NEW ITALIANS The special Jury “New italians” for the section Short Docs of the Sole Luna Doc Film Festival 13th edition awards: One minute, Dina Naser One minute, is set in Gaza during a military operation launched by Israel as a counter action after the launch of some rockets by Hamas. The video, with the power of images and dialogues, provokes strong emotions and is able to represent the fear of the little protagonist of the uncertain and perhaps dramatic future that awaits her, making the viewer experience it. Most of the film is shot in the dark. This darkness provokes panic and disorientation with repeated intervals of silence that are broken by the shootings. Particularly important is the contrast between the external dramatic reality and the calmness with which the mother reassures her daughter and tries to protect her from the world that could upset the child's life. This is a real practice in many situations of war and conflict in which music and play are of fundamental importance to continue living and above all to prevent children from being overwhelmed by anguish and panic. Trailer - One Minute from Dina Naser on Vimeo. Terraform, Van Der Woerd, Jorik Dozy Terraform, for the strength of the images which represents the terrible work in the sulfur mines and the sacrifices of parents who try to prevent their children from the same future. Unlike the other films, the emotion and the message emerge not due to the sounds and the words but everything is left to the force of the images. This make us experience the material poverty that pushes the human being to sacrifice themselves, by putting their health at risk every day by breathing sulfur and highly toxic air, in order to make the people they care for survive. The tears and sweat of the protagonists remain attached for days together with the final scene of the protagonist's family flying in the air.   Menzione speciale della giuria "Nuovi Italiani" Thr european dream: Serbia, Jaime Alekos For its capacity to tell the experience of those who have left their land out of necessity, the unjustifiable violence of men in uniform who consider other men as animals, the desperation of not being able to go neither forward or backwards, blocked in a country of Eastern Europe and see the European dream, that has led them to face unspeakable suffering and deprivation, perhaps definitively shattered. THE EUROPEAN DREAM: SERBIA (Trailer) from Jaime Alekos on Vimeo.

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SPECIAL JURY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS I membri della Giuria speciale, composta da studentesse e dagli studenti del Liceo Scientifico Statale Albert Einstein di Palermo e dell’Istituto di Istruzione Superiore Santoni-Gambacorti di Pisa, decretano quale miglior documentario della sezione Human Rights della XIII edizione del Sole Luna Doc Film Festival: Sea of Sorrow, Sea of Hope, Marianne Hougen Moraga, Estephan Wagner • Because it shows clearly the complex and dramatic phenomenon of today’s migration. • For the directors’ superb ability to tell and witness the story of the protagonist, emphasizing both the socio-anthropological and political aspect of a forced migration of people seeking safety for themselves and their children, as well as the intimate, existential aspect characterized by the pain and hope of the mother-child relationship. • For the wonderful script and for the effective and clear editing through which the directors managed to create a strong empathy between the film's protagonist and the audience. • For the ability to tell the phenomenon of migration in a capturing way and with different cultural perspectives, underlining the implications for those who choose to leave and for those who welcome. The film also forces the viewers to question their role as a citizen of the global world. • For the overwhelming firmness with which the struggle of Manal to save herself and her children is presented. • For the narrative power of the message which tells the audience the risks, fears, hopes, and pain associated with the migratory phenomenon through a documentary that is as brief as it is intense. The special Jury members award the special mention to: Shootball, Fèlix Colomer • For the original narrative of the entire documentary, able to engage the viewer in a real story of investigative journalism. • For the complexity of the issues addressed, presented with a strong condemnation and respect for the stories of the victims involved. • For the director's ability to become a subject in the documentary, thereby underlining the importance of participating actively and of siding morally and politically with respect to the events of one’s own community. • For the social complaint that was brought forward in the documentary in a precise and analytical way. For the ability to give voice to all the protagonists, allowing the viewer to enter the world of those who have suffered unjustifiable sexual violence, and on the other hand the contradictory and sometimes incomprehensible world of the rapists. This makes the representation complex and chaotic as it is in reality. • For the moral strength of the director and of the father which is expressed in the choice to fight in a non-violent but determined way for the rights of the victims of pedophilia. It stresses how the past, especially in its dark areas, must be faced individually and collectively without revisionism and silence.

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AUDIENCE AWARD Singing with angry birds, Hyewon Jee

Sole Luna Doc Film Festival 13. edizione / edition 2 luglio /July 2018 Santa Maria dello Spasimo Palermo Ingresso gratuito/free entrance

SANTA MARIA DELLO SPASIMO 19.00 inaugurazione / opening with Banda alle Ciance Drinks offered by Assovini, food offered by NaturaSì Opening mostre / exhibitions Il sacro degli altri. Culti e pratiche rituali dei migranti in Sicilia fotografie di / photos by Attilio Russo, Giuseppe Muccio inaugurazione / opening Crossfade spazio sonoro Davide Cairo, Francesco Novara inaugurazione / opening Spotlight on Martina Melilli. The Fourth Day of School 2015, 5′ 03′′ Italian-African Rhyzome.A Choreography for Camera 2017, 4′ 13′′ L(h)ost 2018, 2′ 30′′   SPASIMO / NAVATA — 20.00 saluti istituzionali / institutional greetings — 21.00 concorso / competition In the name of, Erlynee Kardany Norvegia, 2017, 54′, v.o. con sottotitoli in inglese e italiano / o.v. English and Italian subtitles Regista in sala| Meet the author In a time when belief no longer has a true face and outrage and war threatens to take centerstage, this documentary searches for the secret of peace and compromise. This is a stirring story of one cross-cultural family in conflict over religion. Over the course of 5 years, the filmmaker turns the camera on herself and her nearest to shed light on the challenges of living with Islam as a modern day woman. In the Name of... trailer (PREVIOUS TITLE IS : Love & Sacrifice) from Novemberfilm on Vimeo.   — 22.30 concorso / competition Untitled, Michael Glawogger, Monika Willi Germania e Austria, 2017, 107′, v.o. con voce narrante in italiano / o.v. with Italian voice over After the sudden death of Michael Glawogger in April 2014, his longstanding collaborator and editor Monika Willi realizes a film out of the footage Glawogger shot over the course of 4 months and 19 days in the Balkans, Italy, North and West Africa. A journey out into the world with open eyes and open mind - observing, listening, experiencing. Serendipity is the concept and the only rule to apply - in editing and creating the film just as it was in shooting. Narrated by Nada Malanima. SPASIMO / GIARDINO — 21.00 concorso / competition Sea of sorrow – Sea of hope, Estephan Wagner, Marianne Hougen-Moraga Danimarca, 2018, 29′, v.o. con sottotitoli in inglese e italiano / o.v. English and Italian subtitles Manal lives in Syria with her three children. A run-in with ISIS leading to death threats forces Manal to flee the country. She leaves her children behind, thinking they will be able to reunite, once she has reached Europe. However, after 10 long months in Denmark, she learns that she cannot apply for family reunification for another three years. Manal decides to save her children. Raghu Rai. An unframed portrait, Avani Rai Finlandia, India e Norvegia, 2017, 55′, v.o. con sottotitoli in inglese e italiano / o.v. English and Italian subtitles An unframed portrait of Magnum photographer Raghu Rai and his 50 year long journey capturing the stories of India. Raghu Rai’s stories told through the eyes of his own rebel daughter. Together they embark on a journey to Kashmir, the most militarized land on earth. — 22.30 concorso / competition Before my feet touch the ground, Daphni Leef Israele, 2017, 78′, v.o. con sottotitoli in inglese e italiano / o.v. English and Italian subtitles July 2011, a young Israeli video editor named Daphni Leef decides to protest against rent prices by pitching a tent in the city center. Within a few days, a whole boulevard is full of tents because a modest protest against housing policy grew into a national protest movement for social justice. Daphni at first is combative and exuding an attractive idealism, she gradually becomes exhausted. As director, Daphni looks back on this turbulent period when she was transformed from a naive young woman into a celebrated and controversial national icon.

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Press conference Sole Luna Doc Film Festival 13. edition The press conference for the 13th edition of the Sole Luna Doc Film Festival was held on Tuesday July 21th in Palermo at Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia to present the program of the Festival,  which will be held in Santa Maria dello SPasimo in Palermo. The conference was attended by all the major media, together with those who follow the local Palermo scene. The program of the Festival was presented by its president, Lucia Venturato, scientific director Gabriella D'Agostino and artistic directors Chiara Andrich and Andrea Mura. They presented the programme with 28 documentaries in competition between short films and feature films, divided into the Human Rights, The Journey and Short docs sections. The topics of the films chosen are those that have always characterized Sole Luna Doc Film Festival, an intercultural journey that stimulates the knowledge of near and distant realities. Concerning the Out of competition, they have chosen numerous feature and short films on issues related to human rights and the environment, presented in collaboration with other festivals such as the Festival international du film insulaire de Groix and the Animaphix International Animation Festival, as well as with associations and foreign cultural institutes in Palermo, with the aim of "networking" and "establish ties". Since the happy contingency of the choice of Palermo as Italian Capital of Culture 2018, this year the Sole Luna goes beyond documentary cinema and include other forms of art with the Arts in festival, which includes a series of events and hosts international artists. Sole Luna Doc Film Festival this year, with its multifaceted programming, wants to be more and more a place of discovery and meeting in a frontier space open to the world where cinema can become a compass to orient oneself in the complicated present.   Here the programme qui.