Medezfest – International Youth & Children Film Festival will be happening for the first-time on the 5th of July 2024. It forms part of a wider event: MEDEZFEST which will include performances of poetry, literature, drama and music. The film festival is meant to focus on works created by students attending compulsory schooling. It is also open to students aged 14 – 16 years old. Works will be accepted in separate categories from educators, professional film makers (freelance) or film companies. Out-of-competition submissions may also be included.

Winners of Best Short Film will be handed MEDEZFEST’s official statuette called the “Il-Bumerin Dehbi” during the awarding ceremony. For translation’s sake, the Maltese words: Il-Bumerin Dehbi may be translated in English to: The Golden Monk Seal. The statuette is the creative work of Mr. John Agius and his team at Jacap Ltd.

The Mediterranean monk seal (Monachus monachus) is a monk seal belonging to the family Phocidae. It is the only seal to inhabit the Mediterranean basin and is a critically endangered species. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (2012), the Mediterranean monk seal is on the verge of extinction, currently amounting to approximately 700 individuals. The Mediterranean monk seal sightings have been historically recorded in the surrounding Maltese waters, however, nowadays are near to none.

For its inaugural edition this festival received over 2,300 film entries from more than 90 countries / states and regions across the globe. This first edition of MEDEZ Fest included more than 250 films created by teachers and students in compulsory schooling and more than 600 films created by students from universities and film schools.