The 32nd Montpellier International Festival of Mediterranean Film (Cinemed) ended on 30 October.

Two very different major events occurred during the Festival. First, serious social disputes markedly affected movements of the Festival guests because of partial transport strikes. This was followed by the sudden death of Georges Frêche, a leading figure in local and regional politics who initiated the development of an event that, thanks to his encouragement, has become a leading cinema festival. In spite of the resulting difficulties, the 2010 festival maintained its course until the end, fulfilling the promises made in the programme.

It sparkled right from the opening, with the privilege of the friendly presence of Carmen Maura who had agreed to be the patron of Cinemed. Pierre Salvadori, Audrey Tautou and Nathalie Baye also came, triumphantly accompanying the preview showing of De vrais mensonges, a magnificent sentimental comedy shot in Sète in summer 2009. Carmen Maura's latest French film, Les Femmes du 6e étage, a delicious comedy focused on the time of'Spanish maids', presented by the elegant Philippe Le Guay, was also screened.

A numerous, very attentive public met Judith Magre who came to talk about the memory of Jacques Davila's film La Campagne de Cicéron, now restored at the initiative of Natacha Laurent and Cinémathèque de Toulouse. Ronit Elkabetz and Hiam Abbass, present together for the first time for joint reflection on their involvement as Near Eastern artistes, left a strong imprint on this edition of the Festival-also marked by the presence of Bertrand Blier who celebrated the twentieth anniversary of Merci la vie…

Other preview showings of French films-Toi, moi et les autres by the young Audrey Estrougo and Dernier étage gauche gauche, Angelo Cianci's first film and, at the closing ceremony, Potiche, a retro comedy by François Ozon, confirmed the return of a social fibre in our national cinema…

Unanimously praised by the jury and the public, the quality and the variety of the tone and form of the films in competition demonstrated the vitality of Mediterranean production. Prizes go to two remarkable films, the thought-provoking The Mosquito Net by the Catalan Agustí Vila and the more classic The First Beautiful Thing by the Italian Paolo Virzì, respectively winners of the Antigone d'or and the Prix de la critique.

Finally, thanks go to Dario Argento for his warm presence acclaimed by a host of fans and filmlovers who had come to greet him on the occasion of the tribute and the 'night in hell' devoted to him… And thanks to all our guests, professionals and journalists, sponsors and partners not named individually here but who made the 32nd Cinemed a success.

We look forward to seeing you at the 33rd Cinemed from 21 to 29 October 2011!

Cinemed 2010 statistics
Drawing 85 000 spectators (including more than 8 000 schoolchildren hosted within the framework of the Festival jeune public preceding the opening and the 420 lycée pupils who came from all over France for the'Classes L C.A.V.' courses), daily Festival attendance for the nine days was similar to that of 2009. The 32nd Cinemed also welcomed 213 official guests, 226 professionals and 135 journalists. In addition to the 236 films on the programme, there were 2 exhibitions, 4 conferences and numerous round tables. Finally, 13 prizes were awarded for the feature film, short film and documentary sections, with a total value of over €50,000 in cash and services. The Development Grant Days on 28 and 29 October attracted 20 film projects and 5 grants and 1 writing residency were awarded ( total value €48,000 in cash and services).