Maia International Film Festival: winners

The Maia International Film Festival concluded its 2nd edition on May 3, after 4 days, and the big winner of the competition was the film Ma-Cry of Silence, by Burmese director The Maw Naing.

The film tells the story of a young woman in Yangon, in 2022, who is in the midst of a civil war after the military coup of February 1, 2021. Mi-Thet, the young Burmese woman, works in a garment factory in the city, far from her home village. Her wages have not been paid for two months, and a group of workers has organised a strike. But the strikers are attacked by men from the military regime, leaving Mi-Thet terrified due to her past traumas.

In second place was the film The Hyperboreans, by Chilean directors Cristobal León and Joaquín Cociña. In third place was the film Moon by Austrian director Kurdwin Ayub. The film Kino by German director Pourya Pour received an honourable mention.

This year’s edition was attended by Lithuanian director Algimantas Puipa, who premiered the film “The Night Screening”, starring Margarida Cardoso, an award-winning Portuguese director who became known for the film A Costa dos Murmúrios, and several guests from the worlds of cinema, television and theatre.

The films in competition were evaluated by some important names, such as filmmaker João Nuno Pinto, actress and director Linda Rodrigues, actor, director and playwright Mário Moutinho, visual artist Manuela Pimentel, and Galician director Eloy Domínguez Serén.

The Festival, an initiative of the Maia City Hall, aims to present a diverse selection of cinematographic works by filmmakers from all over the world and intends to showcase various categories such as fiction feature films, documentaries and animations. It will be back in 2026 with more news.

Promoter: Department of Culture of the Maia City Council
Production: DAS – Development of the Arts Association

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