Edward Berger and Matthew Libatique will be honored at the Evolution Mallorca Film Fest, the Spanish festival announced, adding two of the most acclaimed craftsmen of the current awards cycle to its tribute roster. Berger, the director behind the Vatican thriller "Conclave," and Libatique, the cinematographer whose recent credits include "Maestro" and "Don't Worry Darling," will each receive career recognition during the festival's upcoming edition.
The honors arrive as "Conclave" remains a fixture in the awards conversation, following Ralph Fiennes's turn as Cardinal Lawrence, the cleric charged with running the ancient, sealed-off ritual of choosing a new pope. The film, released in October 2024, runs 120 minutes and holds a 7.189/10 rating on TMDb, a strong figure for a talky, chamber-piece drama that unfolds largely behind Vatican walls.
A Vatican Thriller That Became a Career Marker
"Conclave" adapts Robert Harris's novel of the same name, following the sudden death of a pope and the ensuing power struggle among the Catholic Church's most senior figures. Fiennes leads a cast that includes Stanley Tucci as Bellini, John Lithgow as Tremblay, Isabella Rossellini as Sister Agnes, Lucian Msamati as Adeyemi, Carlos Diehz as Benitez, Sergio Castellitto as Tedesco, and BrÃan F. O'Byrne as O'Malley. The ensemble has been a central talking point since the film's release, with critics repeatedly singling out the actors' controlled, quietly devastating exchanges.
For Berger, the film capped a remarkable stretch that began with the German-language war epic "All Quiet on the Western Front," which won him international prominence and a shelf of Academy Awards. "Conclave" marked a shift in scale - smaller, more interior, driven by dialogue and suspicion rather than battlefield spectacle - but it preserved his interest in institutions under pressure and men whose authority depends on rituals they no longer fully control. The movie's genre positioning as both drama and thriller reflects that tension: there are no car chases in the Vatican, only locked doors, whispered alliances, and the slow realization that the election itself may be compromised.
Libatique's tribute carries its own weight. A longtime collaborator of Darren Aronofsky, he shot "Black Swan," "Requiem for a Dream," and "Mother!," and more recently served as cinematographer on Bradley Cooper's "Maestro" and Olivia Wilde's "Don't Worry Darling." His work tends toward the tactile and the restless - handheld intimacy in one film, stately composition in another - and the Mallorca honor recognizes a range that few working cinematographers match.
Mallorca's Growing Profile
The Evolution Mallorca Film Fest has positioned itself as a bridge between international industry talent and the Balearic Islands, using its tribute slots to draw established names to the Mediterranean. Honoring a director and a cinematographer in the same edition sends a clear signal about the festival's priorities: it wants craftspeople, not just stars. Berger's and Libatique's attendance will likely anchor panel discussions and masterclass-style events alongside the screenings that typically accompany such tributes.
The timing is not accidental. "Conclave" remains in circulation on the awards and festival circuit, and Berger's involvement gives Mallorca a direct line to one of the season's most discussed directors. Libatique, meanwhile, brings the perspective of a cinematographer whose résumé spans independent cinema and studio prestige pictures, a combination that suits a festival courting both local filmmaking talent and international attention.
Neither honoree has publicly commented on the tributes in the festival's announcement. The Evolution Mallorca Film Fest has not yet confirmed the full schedule of events surrounding the honors, including whether either filmmaker will present a film in conjunction with the recognition.
For "Conclave," the Mallorca tribute extends a promotional life that began well before its October 2024 release and has continued through a long, slow-burn run in the cultural conversation. Films about papal elections do not usually become fixtures of the awards season, but this one has, largely on the strength of its performances, its screenplay, and Berger's refusal to treat the material as pure spectacle. The Vatican setting provides the claustrophobia; the actors provide the danger.
Whether the Mallorca honors translate into further momentum for the film's cast and crew remains to be seen. What is clear is that the festival has secured two names whose current standing - one at the helm of a widely praised literary adaptation, the other behind the camera on some of the decade's most visually ambitious films - gives its tribute slate an unusual degree of relevance to the ongoing awards conversation.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
