Best Short Film Award For Movie About Jean Paul Sofia & His Mother

“Martyrion Storia di Isabelle,” directed by Teresa Antignani and Luca Ciriello, has won the award for best short film on environmental themes at the 22nd edition of the film festival Accordi@Disaccordi.

The festival, now in its 22nd year, showcases independent short films across fiction, documentary, animation and experimental categories.

The jury praised the film for transforming an individual tragedy into a powerful collective testimony.

They highlighted how it combines art and activism to weave together pain, courage and justice, giving dignity to victims and a voice to those who refuse to give up.

The film addresses deaths on the job and the broader abuses affecting the land and human life, urging viewers not to remain indifferent.

Antignani said she and co-director Luca Ciriello are thrilled to continue sharing the story of Jean Paul Sofia and Isabelle Bonnici with as wide an audience as possible. “For the sake of justice. For the dead killed on the job. Because it doesn’t happen anymore,” she said.

The film follows Bonnici’s fight for justice after the death of her son at a construction site in December 2022 and documents the subsequent public inquiry.

It features Bonnici herself, alongside activist Andre Callus, Joseph Debono, photographer Sara Terracciano, and Antignani.

First screened in Italy at the Sanita’ Film Festival, Martyrion Storia di Isabelle has already received a special mention at the 35mm Milan Film Festival and continues to receive recognition and selections at other international festivals.

#MaltaDaily