From 16th to 22nd October, the 17th edition of the Week of Italian Language in the World was celebrated throughout the world, under the High Patronage of the President of the Republic, with the theme: "Italian in cinema, Italians at the cinema". Giffoni Experience was invited to China by the Consulate General of Italy in Canton to present its history to students, teachers and institutions. "Representing Giffoni Experience in Canton honored me - explains Andrea Filardi, 25 - the impact was immediately positive: a city with over 12 million inhabitants, where development moves fast and the old palaces are  substituted with  modern skyscrapers, an example of fatastic contemporary architecture. In this setting is the campus of the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, which has about 35.000 students, of whom are also the students of the degree program in Italian Language and Culture, distributed in 5 classes".

Filardi, a graduate of Science and Media Production, was selected by the Giffoni Film Festival to be part of the team since 2014 with Vice-Editor Antonia Grimaldi, and since last year he has also been a talent handler for Italian artists.

"I remember when I phoned him to tell him about the upcoming trip - said Director Claudio Gubitosi - for a minute he was silent, it was the first time we asked him to represent Giffoni abroad. For me, however, it was the evidence I needed that I could trust this young talent. I am proud of Andrea's result and personal success, and he well represented in such an important context, Giffoni within the official relations bewteen between Italy and China".

The opening ceremony of the 17th edition of the Week of Italian Language in the World was held on 16 October at the Guangdong University of Foreign Studies in Canton, with the participation of General Consul Laura Egoli, Yang Xiaomin's Vice President of Western Languages ​​Department , deputy director of the International Office Wu Junfeng and teachers and students of the Italian language faculty. The opening ceremony followed the first theme conference "From Literature to Screenplay", which saw Filardi as the absolute protagonist of the meeting. During his presentation, Andrea explained the difference between the book and the adaptation for cinema. Taking as an example a piece of the film "The Godfather", he compared the script and novel from which the work was taken. In subsequent meetings at the University, he demonstrated, with the support of the 2017 video / diary produced by Luca Apolito, the many activities carried out by the Giffoni Film Festival.

"The youth’s response was amazing and passionate - says Filardi - the debate that followed with the young people was filled with acute questions and a lot of curiosity about the subject. The formula of the Festival and a summary of the films of the past edition created  a lot of enthusiasm for the event that for  has been illuminating young people from all over the world for 47 years".

On Tuesday, October 17, it was the turn of the meeting at Guangzhou University: "I immediately opened with the presentation of the Giffoni Film Festival, the ways to participate and the various sections present – he continued - many Chinese cinema enthusiasts attended the presentation. many people came up to me and  asked me questions personally, while others are sending emails with requests for information, which I'm sending to the Jury's Office right now".

Thursday 19 and Friday October 20 were dedicated to the Chinese giffoner who took part in the Festival in past editions. The meeting was very useful to have their feedback, which was extremely positive for each of the three former juries in Canton.

"I am convinced that the best promoters of Giffoni are the kids themselves - clarifies Filardi - I asked the students to make short videos in which they share their experience. The idea is to share them on social networks and Chinese communication channels. It will be another way to promote the magic and the wonder of the Festival and to encourage greater participation by this country in the coming years. " He concluded: "The one in Canton has been a real journey, and has given me the opportunity to get to know a  very different country from ours a lot better, but at the same time it has given me the measure of Giffoni's strength, able to astonish and amaze thousands of young people always in the same way, regardless of their culture and geographical origin".