Thessalus & Medea wins at the 22nd Terra di Siena Film Festival

‘Thessalus & Medea’ had its Italian premiere at the 22nd Terra di Siena Film Festival, on Saturday 29 September 2018. The film was screened at the Cinema Nuovo Pendola and formed part of an exclusive programme of international films curated by artistic director Antonio Flamini. This included new releases by director  Spike Lee (BlacKkKlansman) and actress Juliet Binoche (Non Fiction). Earlier in the month, the festival had celebrated the 50th anniversary of Franco Zeffirelli’s ‘Romeo & Juliet’ starring Olivia Hussey and John McEnery, with a special re-mastered screening in HD.

Founded by Maria Pia Corbelli, this year’s committee  awarded ‘Thessalus & Medea’ the award for the Best International Short Film (the Pinocchio Prize). Director Jan Hendrik Verstraten and producer Massimo Barbato were present to receive the award. The film also won Best Actress in a short film, which went to Emanuela Ponzano who plays Medea. “We are  truly honoured to have won these awards. They are a credit to our talented team who worked hard to make Thessalus & Medea a unique and beautiful film.” Massimo Barbato, Producer

Several Italian stars of the stage and screen attended the awards ceremony which took place inside the beautiful Accademia Musicale Chigiana. Football legend Paolo Rossi who scored a hat trick in the 1982 World Cup  that took Italy to victory, was also a guest of honour. A new documentary that he is producing which highlights the plight of Romanian orphans will be released next year.

Watch ‘Thessalus & Medea’ on Vimeo on Demand.