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GIFFONI EXPERIENCE 2009 - 12.25 July

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2009 is a year marked by great changes.
The names of the sections change as well as the juries, the length of the Festival, the organization and the schedule. For the first time the Festival is divided into two different parts: From 12 to 17 July ELEMENTS (3-12 years), while from 17 to 25 July GENERATOR (13-18 years), GIFFONI MASTERCLASS and TROUBLED GAZE, the section for adults.

Over 2400 jurors from 39 Countries: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, Egypt, England, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Palestine, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, USA, Uzbekistan.

 

   1st PART (Elements) 12-17 July

Elements +3 (ex Little Rascals) is a non competive section for nursery school children (3-6 year olds). They can see European and International animated short films.

Elements +6 (ex Kidz) is the competition section for jurors from 6 to 9 years. Feature films and short films are chosen according to the sensitivity and tastes of the youngest jurors, like Spanish winner "Carlitos and the Chance of a Lifetime", and two films distributed in Italy in 2009/2010: "Niko and the Way to the Stars" and "Lily the Witch - The Dragon and the Magic Book" are amongst the highlight of the section.

Elements +10 (ex First Screens, for jurors from 10 to 12 years) welcomes the triumph of Iranian film "A Time to Love", heart breaking story of a child with different abilities who has to fight hard to show his amazing intelligence.

 

   2nd PART (Generator, Troubled Gaze, Masterclass) 17- 25 July

Generator +13 (ex Free to Fly) is completely re-styled, in fact the changes do not involve the name only but also the age range of the jurors. 13-15 years (from 12-14 the previous year) which means acknowledging the huge social and cultural changes that have taken place in recent years. The films chosen are the more and more intense and articulated: from the winner – American "Broken Hill" in which a young musician develops as a person when he goes off to teach in a prison – the extraordinary Australian flick "Accidents Happen", and the delicate and elegant French flick "No Hard Feelings" without forgetting the intense Northern European stories: the Dutch film "How to Survive... Myself?", Norwegian "Through a Glass, Darkly" and last but not least Swedish flick "Glowing Stars".

Generator +16 (ex Y Gen)
This competition section is the ideal place for films dealing with issues and styles which strike the deepest and most emotional chords of the adolescents (16-18 years) of this international jury, kids on the verge to hit adulthood facing different ways of thinking, new responsabilities new ideas of life and art. The main goal here is to lead kids through a journey inside the pictures searching for a critic vision of the world, its complexities and to top that also the search of new ways of narrating through images. To confirm the sensitivity of new generations when it comes to cinema and open experimentation the Gryphon was awarded to a film which gave way to a lively discussion i.e. "My Suicide". The section tackled several strong issues like suicide, kids forced to become cruel soldiers in "Johnny Mad Dog" and juvenile criminality in "Once Upon a Time in Rio".

Troubled Gaze
A jury made up of 18 year olds and lots of adults, especially teachers (from nursery schools to secondary ones) found itself observing, commenting and judging disturbing, strong stories capable of raising questions and a few eyebrows on the relationship between kids and adults. This is a new way the GFF has decided to take within the troubled land of youth. It is a sort of guide to try and help, perhaps, parents, decode via new tools the question marks when dealing with their own children. Italian film "Bisesto" was the winner. It is the story of a strong family bond between two brothers, one of them, born on 29 February ages one year every four years.

Masterclass
This new project is especially for those who would like their own films to be seen by others. Director, writer, actors wannabes are indeed the protagonists of this special section who for the first time in 2009 had the chance to attend interesting lectures held by amazing national and international talent in the San Francesco Monastery: DAVID WARREN, YARI GUGLIUCCI, DIEGO DE SILVA, VINCENZO CERAMI, LUIGI LO CASCIO, DAVIDE FERRARIO, FILIPPO TIMI, LORENZO BALDUCCI, MILO MANARA, CLAUDIO CURCIO (director and founder of Napoli Comicon), VALERIO CAPRARA, SERGIO CASTELLITTO. The Masterclass workshops are a great opportunity for the young participants to improve their knowledge and get some useful advice for their own creative process.

Beside competition sections there are also non competition sections:
Taboo in Shorts
, for brief animations for grown ups, in which it was screened "French Roast" Academy Award nominee (2009/2010) for best short animation was amongst the titles selected; Italian Taboo Nites (with the support of Cineteca Nazionale – Italian films dealing with taboos); Tributes, for talent at the Festival; Reload, the best movies for kids released in 2008/2009.

In 2009 we also presented amazing premieres, starting from "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" – whose premiere was accompanied by live music from the Music Conservatory of Salerno – and with: "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" in 3D, "G-Force" in3D, "S. Darko", "Imagine That", "Planet 51" (teaser), plus TV series premiere of "Pipì Pipù and Rosmarina".

Special Events: "Il soffio dell'Anima", "Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert", "The Thin Match Man", "Opposite Day", "Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience", "L'Ultima Estate", "Earth", "Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut".

152 films were presented during the festival chosen by the artistic direction amongst over 1.900 films.

 

   GUESTS

The long list of amazing talent included: LORENZO BALDUCCI ("Black Sun", "Three Steps Over Heaven"), EMANUELE BOSI ("Remember Me, My Love", "The Son's Room"), GUIDO CAPRINO ("Il Commissario Manara", "I Vicerè", "Crimini"), PAOLO CONTICINI ("Vacanze di Natale '95", "Natale sul Nilo", "Natale in India"), CAROLINA CRESCENTINI ("The Last Kiss"), GIULIA ELETTRA GORIETTI ("Caterina in the Big City", "Three Steps over Heaven", "Ti amo in tutte le lingue del mondo"), DIANE FLERI ("But Forever in My Mind", "My Brother Is an Only Child"), VINICIO MARCHIONI ("Romanzo Criminale – la serie"), SARA MOLLAIOLI and NUNZIO GIULIANO ("Vita Smeralda"), MARY PETRUOLO ("Questo Piccolo Grande Amore"), MICHELA QUATTROCIOCCHE ("Scusa ma ti Chiamo Amore"), ALBA ROHRWACKER (Il Papà di Giovanna, Due Partite, Riprendimi), ALESSANDRO ROJA (Romanzo Criminale – la serie), ANNA SAFRONCIK (La Matassa, C’era un Cinese in Coma), FRANCESCO SALVI, KASIA SMUTNIAK (Tutta Colpa di Giuda, Nelle Tue Mani, Caos Calmo), BENEDETTA VALANZANO, FILIPPO VITTE (I Cesaroni).

Great artists and talent from the world of cinema, theatre and literature such as PAOLO VILLAGGIO and MAURIZIO SCAPARRO, SERGIO CASTELLITTO, LUIGI LO CASCIO, ENZO D’ALÒ, ELEONORA GIORGI, RAOUL BOVA, FEDERICO MOCCIA, DAVIDE FERRARIO, CLAUDIO BISIO, LAURA MORANTE, FILIPPO TIMI.

And from the U.S.A. amazing Hollywood A-listers: BAZ LUHRMANN, EVA MENDES, NAOMI WATTS, LIEV SCHREIBER, CHRISTINA RICCI, WINONA RYDER.

Great Italian actress GIOVANNA MEZZOGIORNO came to grace the memory of her father and give the Vittorio Mezzogiorno Award. The prestigious award was given to Arturo Cirillo and La Compagnia Civica, Borgogni, Feliziani, De Suma, Romagnoli, while the Premio Special Prize went to Raffaele La Capria.

 

   KIDS IN WONDERLAND

At Kids in Wonderland there are fantastic shows for children to see like the ones presented by artists Laura Kibel and Oreste Castagna, as well as readings by authors such as Luigi Dal Cin.

 

MUSIC CONCEPT

The music shows are organized in collaboration with MN agency from Rome Dolcevita for the disco nights and Salerno Creativa as well as the music conservatory from Salerno.
Amongst the music talent: ALLA BUA, MALIKA AYANE, BANDABARDÒ, MATTEO BECUCCI, CLUB DOGO, GIUSY FERRERI, CESARE CREMONINI, IL POZZO DI SAN PATRIZIO, LOST, MUNICIPALE BALCANICA, TAMBURI DI GORÉE.