Magic Memory by Wilson Burbano del Hierro is the winner of the seventh edition of FLIGHT – Genoa International Film Festival (Oct.11th-17th). The awards ceremony took place Saturday 17 October, at Teatro TIQU in Genoa. The international jury, made up of experimental filmmakers Henry Hills (USA) and Jill Daniels (UK), distributor and festival organiser Iris Peralta (Spain) and Luca Malavasi (University of Genoa), awarded the film the Eadweard Muybridge Grand Prix (€2.500). “Set in Ecuador, the director’s native country, Wilson Burbano del Hierro’s film exudes authenticity, taking us on an autobiographical journey through time in search of his extended Indigenous family,” reads the jury’s statement.

The international jury’s other awards went to Parade(s) by Erasme Rouxel in the feature film category, while Numb+Naive by Maureen Muse won in the short film category. The animation award went to Compost by Erik Semashkin, and the video art award to Practice for Flying by Hiroshi Atobe. All the winning films will be offered free placement on Streeen, a streaming platform dedicated to experimental, independent and “invisible” cinema.

The seventh edition of FLIGHT confirms the Genoa festival as a leading venue in Italy for experimental, independent and research-driven cinema, with more than 80 works screened and 49 filmmakers attending from around the world. The programme included a major retrospective of the films of Straub-Huillet, as well as tributes to cinematographer Renato Berta and American experimental filmmaker Henry Hills.