The Artistic Direction's guidelines for the film selection of the official sections in 9 points - Youth Films  is not a cinema genre, it is rather a sort of trans-genre that embraces all the other ones. There are comic films, dramas, thrillers, westerns (and so on) "suitable" for  youth. - A youth film is not a film suitable "solely" for youth. On the contrary a good film that speaks to young people is also recommended for adults as it unveils the psychological and socio-anthropological mechanisms of  the adolescent world that are not always easily attainable in everyday life.-Giffoni Experience chooses films not necessarily made for youth, but that according to the Artistic Direction "must" be seen by youth. Therefore the selection criteria is audience oriented and  does not  follow  what we might define as the producers' intention.- Films selected by Giffoni Experience follow the criterion of homogeneity. i.e. we are very careful  selecting films according to the age of the people the film is addressed to. To better support this  fundamental criterion, over the years we have created a growing number of  film sections suitable for different age  groups.- Along with the "homogeneity" criterion we have adopted other criteria strictly connected to it such as:  “Same age rule”. i.e.: In each film section the protagonist or protagonists of the films are usually the same age of the audience. E.g. the leading player of a  GENERATOR +13 film will be 13 or 15 years old. The origin of this idea is that youth usually identify better with the point of you of their peers and are more capable of easily deciphering (as they usually share them): signs, meanings, values, situations feelings language codes and the trends of the story. This interpretation process helps the young spectator to shed light on never experienced before and new aspects of their personalities and of the surrounding world. - The  "same age rule" is not so strict and there are indeed a large number of exceptions to the rule as sometimes the protagonist's age is for an older audience's story or more culturally complex. So at times a 9 year old leading player might find himself involved in a narrative context more suitable for an older audience than for young people who are as old as him/her.- A GFF film must never upset or trouble the audience's sensitivity to whom it is aimed at, though it might be a film full of  issues and provocative  in the sense it becomes source for debates and discussions about delicate issues and provocation the opportunity to question one's beliefs and or prejudices. In this sense a GFF film must stimulate thought and discussions without forgetting the emotional and spectacular side of it all.- As for its film themes Giffoni Experince has always dared. Over the years the GFF has always had the audacity to dare and question the uncertain borders of youth films territory, going past cultural ones suggesting new view points about what a teen ager may, or better, must see. Euthanasia, sexual discovery, family drama, coming to terms with death, the unbearable weight of diversity are only some amongst the issues of the films that have marked various editions of the festival and that have been given way rather than complacent and easier stories. GFF youth films are films for aware youth. -The GFF does not worry about making a geo-politically correct film list. Though it goes through, practically the whole world youth film production it does not worry about geo-diversity but is more concerned about quality. The focus is on films with a high aesthetic and theme value for its audience. The fact that audience might be over exposed to films from one continent rather than from another one highlights this idea as well as representing an important way to better understand how the various national productions consider their own youth.

The Giffoni Film Festival (GFF) was born in 1971 from a Claudio Gubitosi's idea: i.e. promoting and developing cinema for young people elevating it from the marginal position it had back in those days, and leading it where it belongs, e.g. a high quality genre capable of “penetrating” the market. Over the years two things have turned out to be essential and are still the unreplaceable pillars of the Giffoni Film festival Concept 1. A jury exclusively made up of young people 2. Setting the festival in the original small provincial town of Giffoni Valle Piana Over the years the number of jurors has by far out grown 3000 and they come from over 50 different countries embracing all the world’s continents.  The age of jurors ranges from 6 to 18 and they are placed into four official competitive sections according to their age group. Two further sections have been added for children aged 3-5 (Elements+3) and for over 18s (Generator +18). The jurors view, assess, discuss about and vote for films in the sections. “Of all festivals Giffoni’s the most necessary”.  This is the final statement of a letter that François Truffaut left after coming to Giffoni in 1982. The Maestro gave way to a number of “visits” that turned, what had started as a little Film festival, into a huge world’s event of infinite proportions: Robert De Niro,Oliver Stone, Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, John Travolta, Wim Wenders, Ben Kingsley, Kathy Bates, Krzystof Kieslowsky, Roman Polansky, Danny De Vito, Meg Ryan, Naomi Watts are amongst the great film stars we have hosted in Giffoni in the past 39 years. The complete list includes all the most important Italian authors and actors of the last four decades. Sensitivity in film selection is one of the main pillars to characterize the GFF and is only the final act of an assessment and analysis process of the world of cinema for young people. We have films made by great affirmed directors or by new talented ones, internationally relevant film productions. Important themes and issues are always discussed after the films.  A film viewed in Giffoni has a trademark that certifies for its quality and appropriateness regarding an audience made up principally of teenagers and families. Find more about selection criteria→. In the past 15 years Giffoni Experience has not only established itself as a festival recognized for its quality but especially as a “Cultural Company” a company that produces culture and employs full time tens of young people organizing events throughout the year.  Giffoni Experience is not only a festival. 250 days of activity all year round. e.g. over 350.000 students have come to Giffoni in 15 years for the Movie Days project. Since 2001 Giffoni has also created a festival network in the world - Giffoni Voyager - indeed by using the Giffoni's format it is capable of spreading on a planetary scale quality films for young people.

Three days will be dedicated to the film festival for young people with workshops, films, and they’ll have the chance to talk with international film stars