Valencia fest honors 'Harragas'

Drama wins the Golden Palm Tree BARCELONA -- "Harragas," an immigration drama helmed by Algeria's Merzak Allouache, won the Golden Palm Tree and E40,000 ($60,000) at the 30th Valencia Mostra, which wrapped Saturday. Migration or displacement dramas took all the main awards at the nine-day fest. The Silver Palm Tree and a $30,000 cash prize went to Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani's "Ajami." The German-Israeli production intertwines three human dramas: a Palestinian from the Occupied Territories working illegally in Jaffa; a wealthy Palestinian pursuing a love dream; and a Jewish cop obsessed with finding his missing brother. Copti and Shani also scooped the director trophy. Valencia's special jury award went to Costa-Gavras' "Eden Is West," a contempo and sometimes comedic... [read full story]                    

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