Archive for category: News 2021

The 22nd edition of ShorTS International Film Festival ended on Saturday 10 July with the award ceremony live at the Cinema Ariston in Trieste and on the Facebook page. The Trieste-based event announced the winners of the 2021 edition of the various competitive sections, confirming its commitment to the search for new cinematic viewpoints.

This is the statement from the director Chiara Valenti Omero and the co-director Maurizio di Rienzo: “This was a very special edition, which on the one hand saw the return of the public and on the other the confirmation of online consumption at international level. Personally, we are satisfied, even if we realise that the entire sector will have to make huge efforts to ensure that people return to the cinema. In any case, despite the health uncertainties and turbulent nature of the current times, there was a good turnout and a higher-than-expected level of guest participation. This bodes well for the future, towards which we are already working.”

There was also large participation on the virtual side of the Festival. The streaming platform of MYmovies, technical partner of ShorTS 2021, has seen an extraordinary success of online audience, with around 100 thousand views from more than 30 different countries. After Italy (from which 84% of the online audience came), the largest number of hits on the ShorTS 2021 streaming platform came from Israel, the United States and China. Out of the virtual participation in Italy, a large part came from Lombardy (30%), which, like last year, confirmed itself as the Italian region that followed the festival online the most. Friuli Venezia Giulia (12%) was in second place, Veneto (11%) in third place, followed by Lazio (8%) and Liguria (7%). These are significant figures, as they make it clear that the online edition does not impinge on the live one, but rather complements and brings the two aspects of the event together, expanding its audience through new channels.

The winners of the 22nd edition of the ShorTS International Film Festival

MAREMETRAGGIO SECTION
(Jury composed of director and screenwriter Ella Cieslinski, actress Nadia Kibout and director and producer Amos Geva)

Premio EstEnergy – Hera Group
Best Short Film – €5,000

I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face by Sameh Alaa
(Egypt/France/Belgium/Qatar, 2020)

Reason:
“For confronting traditions, norms and gender roles, and treating the topics with a deep, yet universal emotion. For the unique camerawork, which amazes while remaining simple, touching a political nerve from an unexpective perspective and for wanting to see the face of a loved one for the last time. The emotions stayed with us long after watching the film.”

Special mention to

Välguga löödud (Struck by Lightning) by Raul Esko e Romet Esko
(Estonia, 2020)

Reason:
“This film is a brave, personal and unconventional tribute by the filmmakers to their friend Brandon who, as they say, was too special for this world. As they mourn his death, they embark on a journey through time and memories, celebrating their friendship with what held them together: humour, fun, and music. Exploring the boundaries of storytelling, the filmmakers have created an eclectic and playful collage that reveals an unexpected power. Just like their friend Brandon, the film doesn’t tuck away neatly in a drawer but expands the possibilities of modern cinema.”

Premio AcegasApsAmga
(Jury composed of employees of AcegasApsAmga and the Hera Group)
Best Italian Short – €3,000

Ape Regina by Nicola Sorcinelli
(Italy, 2019)

Reason:
“For the second year in a row and with an even greater sense of responsibility, given the €3,000 prize introduced this year, as the Hera Group jury we had the arduous task of choosing the winner of the best Italian short film. This was not an easy choice due to the consistently high level of the shorts selected by ShorTS, as well as the presence of several animated films that created a debate among the jurors on the variety of languages and styles that characterised this selection. Nevertheless, it was evident from the outset that the jury was united in a clear preference for one short film, which in the end did not require any discussion. Both the vividness of the images and the ability to narrate very topical issues, but with a new language and a different point of view, convinced everyone almost immediately. For having managed to expose the meeting of cultures in a few delicate frames, elevating differences to an element of union and solitude to a perspective of community.”

Premio del pubblico
Best Short voted for by the audience.

Solitaire by Edoardo Natoli
(Italy, 2020)

Premio AMC
Best editing in an Italian Short

Ape Regina by Nicola Sorcinelli
(Italy, 2019)

Reason:
“Direct in stating its intent, it deals with sensitive and topical issues through an impressive parallelism with insects. This is a symphony about life, help, sharing, friendship and survival of the whole planet. The editing as well as the direction are well constructed and elegant. It offers linear editing which always remains faithful to the story, without smears or mannerisms of any kind. We have rewarded the simplicity and fluidity of this editing.”

First Special Mention to

La Grande Onda by Francesco Tortorella
(Italy, 2020)

Reason:
“The story, in its harshness and simplicity, is fluid and captivating, and the editing follows suit, with impeccable filmic timing. It is visually convincing, everything is well calibrated and has an artistic coherence with a well-constructed and well-developed plot. It also tells a complex and articulated story in a clear, convincing and interesting way. This is a story with dense and pungent content.”

Second Special Mention to

Gas Station by Olga Torrico
(Italy, 2020)

Reason:
“There was a great effort in the making and editing especially of the parts on film, resulting in a creative use of repertoire that reinforces the language chosen and “completes” the discourse of the film. The acting is slight, sometimes forced and not very believable. We acknowledge the young age of the director and the creative effort made in using the repertoire, which is undoubtedly very interesting”.

NUOVE IMPRONTE SECTION
(Jury composed of film journalist Marta Balaga, director and producer Ilir Butka, Lithuanian actress Aisté Diržiūtė and director Giuseppe M. Gaudino)

MYmovies Award
Best Feature Film

Mighty Flash (Destello Bravio) by Ainhoa Rodríguez
(Spain, 2021)

Reason:
“For its particular and original approach to taking on the themes of patriarchy, feminism and liberation, going one step further than their usual representation. Thanks to its innovative cinematography, the roles of characters and places interchange and add an intriguing grandeur to the scene of independent cinema.”

First Special Mention to

Pebbles (Koozhangal) by P.S. Vinothraj
(India,2021)

Reason:
“Because of its authenticity, the director has enabled us to learn about a human condition that seems distant to us, and to be surprised by what we see. Thank you for this good film which is able to enrich us and speak to the heart.”

Second Special Mention to

Radiograph of a Family by Firouzeh Khosrovani
(Norway/Iran/Switzerland, 2020)

Reason:
“In this film, the director analyses the history of her divided country through her family’s complicated heritage. From scanning old letters and photos in search of answers she never received as a child, the director finds a new way to show that sometimes, in order to understand the present, you need to look back to the past.”

Premio del pubblico
Best feature film voted by the public

Longing Souls (El Alma Quiere Volar) di Diana Montenegro García
(Colombia/Brazil, 2020)

Premio SNCCI – Sindacato Nazionale Critici Cinematografici Italiani
(Jury composed of critics Adriano De Grandis, Gemma Lanzo and Raffaele Meale)
Best feature film voted by the SNCCI jury

Pebbles (Koozhangal) by P.S. Vinothraj
(India, 2021)

Reason:
“For its ability to seamlessly blend a vivid representation of reality and a metaphor for the human condition, through the aridity of its natural and mental landscapes. Following in the footsteps of neo-realism and Iranian cinema, this dualistic film manages to put us into a child’s shoes and to portray inequality in a society where those at the bottom, the poor, children and women (the only ones who might still know how to find water) must pay the highest price.”

SHORTER KIDS’N’TEENS SECTION 

Premio Shorter Kids
Best Kids Short Film

Tobi and the Turbobus by Verena Fels and Marc Angele
(Germany, 2020)

Premio Shorter Teens
Best Teens Short Film

Tikkun Olam by Bob Ahmed
(USA, 2021)

SEZIONE SHORTS VIRTUAL REALITY

Premio Rai Cinema Channel VR
Best Virtual Reality Short Film – €3,000

Black Bag by Shao Qing
(China, 2019)

Premio ShorTS Virtual Reality
Best Virtual Reality Short Film voted by the public – €2,000

Om Devi: Sheroes Revolution by Claudio Casale
(India/Italy, 2020)

Premio Cinema del Presente 2021

Alice Rohrwacher

Premio Prospettiva 2021

Luka Zunic

This morning the press conference for the 22nd edition of ShorTS International Film Festival took place both on zoom and live-streamed on Facebook. Those present included Councillor Tiziana Gibelli for the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region, Dr. Albino Belli and Dr. Roberta Bait for EstEnergy – Hera Group, Dr. Valeria Rosati for AcegasApsAmga – Hera Group for the institutional greetings. The co-directors and all the curators of the festival explained the very rich programme that distinguishes this new multifaceted edition of ShorTS. Thanks again to all those who took part and to all the festival’s supporters.
We look forward to seeing you from 1 to 10 July!

ShorTS IFF announces a tribute to Campania filmmaker Giuseppe M. Gaudino,
who on Thursday 8th July will lead a meeting with the audience at the Ariston Cinema and an online masterclass.

The programme includes a special screening of his film “Giro di lune tra terra e mare”
(Around the moons between land and sea), which finally returns to cinemas 24 years after its initial release on 35mm film,
and “Per questi stretti morire (Cartografia di una passione)”
(For these narrow passages to die (Cartography of a passion)), shot with Isabella Sandri,
the screenwriter and producer of the film and a filmmaker from Campania, who will be present at the screening.

ShorTS International Film Festival, the film festival taking place in Trieste both in person and online from 1st to 10th July, announces “Rewind!”, a selection curated by Luigi Abiusi. This year it includes a tribute to the director Giuseppe M. Gaudino, made in collaboration with the Cineteca Nazionale.

On Thursday 8th July, the filmmaker from Pozzuoli, Naples, and director of some very mysterious and hypnotic films, will take part in an online masterclass conducted by journalist Luigi Abiusi, which will be broadcasted on the Festival’s Facebook page. He will also partake in a meeting with the public at 8.00 p.m. at the Cinema Ariston in Trieste, which he will host with director and producer Isabella Sandri.

Also scheduled for Thursday 8th July is the special screening of his film “Giro di lune tra terra e mare” (1997), of which he is also producer and co-writer with Isabella Sandri. The film finally returns to the cinema and will be screened at the ShorTS Festival in Trieste in 35mm film, twenty-four years after its participation in the Competition at the Venice Film Festival and its first theatrical release. The setting of the narrative is Pozzuoli, the director’s hometown and a place steeped in ancient history and mystery. Here, a family attempts to survive as they move from home to home in an area devastated by earthquakes. The film has won numerous awards (including the Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival, the Golden Grolla for Directing at Saint-Vincent and the Best Director Award at the Semana dos Realizadores at Fantasporto) and has been selected at some of the world’s major festivals.

The evening of Thursday 8th July will continue with the screening of “Per questi stretti morire (Cartografia di una passione)” (2010), shot by Gaudino together with Isabella Sandri, who is also its screenwriter and producer. This is a powerful and evocative documentary film on the Italian explorer Alberto Maria De Agostini, who left as a missionary for Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego in 1910. The work was awarded the City of Imola Prize for Best Italian Film at the 2011 Trento Film Festival, as well as the Special Jury Prize at the 18th Premio Libero Bizzarri. Also scheduled for 8th July is the screening of one of the many short films shot by Gaudino, “Aldis, amore 101, 102, 103”.

Born in Pozzuoli in 1957, Giuseppe M. Gaudino graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, and attended DAMS, specialising in Performing Arts, in Bologna. He went on to study at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome and graduated with a diploma in Scenography, subsequently specialising in Film and Television Direction.

He made his debut in 1985 with “Aldis”, which was selected at numerous festivals. In 1988, with the film “00580 Annotazioni per un Documentario su Pozzuoli”, Gaudino began a creative narrative on the Campi Flegrei, which he would develop into further new film, documentary and radio works: “Per il Rione Terra”, “L’Assunta”, “Verso Baia”, “Giro di Lune: video-trailer per un progetto di film”, “Là dove Bocca, Sguardo e Cuore s’incontrano”. At the XIV Mostra Internazionale del Nuovo Cinema di Pesaro in 2000 he received the CinemAvvenire Award as Emerging Author of 90s Italian Cinema. His later works have a global focus (Afghanistan, Middle East, Latin America, Tierra del Fuego), always oriented towards experimentation with new languages and production models.