Pact for the Mediterranean: Awarding a Mediterranean film

Tonight, for the very first time, the European Commission will award a prize - “The European Olive Branch Film Award” - at the Euro-mediterranean film festival Cinemamed, taking place in Brussels from 27 November to 5 December. The award of this prize finds its roots in the Pact for the Mediterranean launched on 28 November in Barcelona and in the crucial importance it attaches to culture. 

The winning film is Life After Siham / La Vie après Siham by Namir Abdel Messeeh (FR/EG, 2025). Selected by a jury consisting of representatives of the European Union, Halaqat/Goethe-Institut, Bozar Centre for Fine Arts and an external expert, it rewards a recent film focussing on gender equality and active citizenship. The film was recognised for its artistic quality, for its innovative narrative on gender equality and for the new perspective it offers on the role of women in society and culture. 

This is the very first initiative that the new Pact for the Mediterranean is delivering on. Support to culture, and to cinema in particular, features amongst its main priorities, in line with its aim to promote mutual understanding, diversity, inclusion, and socio-economic development between the EU and its Southern Mediterranean partners. This EU award is implemented jointly with the Halaqat programme of the Goethe-Institut, funded by the EU, and Cinemamed.