Glee star to be honored on July 20 Multi-talented star of stage, screen and television, Lea Michele will visit the Cittadella del Cinema on July 20 to kick-off the Giffoni Experience 2014 (July 18-27). Lea recently debuted her first solo album Louder on Columbia Records which includes 11 songs co-written by her, including the debut single “Cannonball”. The album debuted at #1 on itunes worldwide. In addition, Michele is now a New York Times bestselling author penning her first book published this past May, "Brunette Ambition". Known to teens the world over for her role as Rachel Berry in the television series Glee, Ms. Michele has won a Satellite Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Teen Choice Award as well as two Golden Globe nods and an Emmy nomination for her portrayal of the popular McKinley High School teen. At the age of 8, Ms. Michele made her stage debut on Broadway as Young Cosette in Les Miserables.  She’s also appeared on stage in Ragtime, Fiddler on the Roof, and Spring Awakening.  On-screen, she has appeared in the romantic comedy New Year’s Eve and voiced Dorothy Gale in the animated feature Dorothy of Oz.

The inaugural Ajyal Youth Film Festival, presented by the Doha Film Institute, concluded on Saturday night with the winners of the Doha Film Experience in-competition segments, chosen by hundreds of young jurors from ages 8 to 21, honoured at a closing ceremony. Abdulaziz Al-Khater, Chief Executive Officer of the Doha Film Institute, and Fatma Al Remaihi, Director of Ajyal Youth Film Festival, joined the jurors in presenting the prizes to the winners of the three categories in the Doha Film Experience.    Addressing the audience, Mr. Al-Khater said: “In our first edition, we hope that we have instilled and reinforced the love of cinema in many of you – young and young at heart. We also hope that we have ignited many interesting conversations, exchanges of ideas and point of views – amongst children, teens, and across generations. I congratulate the young jurors for their dedication and enthusiasm over the last five days in watching your films, discussing them and working hard to decide the winners.”   Al Remaihi added: “Ajyal has addressed a clear need in this part of the world in creating a platform for young audiences to discover new facets of cinema, engage in new types of conversations and expand their imagination. We will continue to build on the bonds that have been formed through the festival and support our youth and talent to pursue their dreams.”   Very glad also the artistic director of the Giffoni Experience, Claudio Gubitosi, and the President Pietro Rinaldi who followed the event throughout its duration. Enthusiastic also the Councillor for Culture of the Campania Region, Caterina Miraglia asked by the DFI to attend the event. ''It 's the first time that we export our know-how, an exclusive idea "- said Caterina Miraglia -." An extraordinary achievement, the result of a great job that ended with huge satisfaction for the region and for the Giffoni Experience''. The model of the film festival for young people, said Miraglia,'' was shot by the Government of Qatar where they preferred this format to the American school of cinema.''   The festival of Qatar, in fact, was made ​​looking to the Italian model of the Giffoni Film Festival collaborating with colleagues in the Middle East , bringing the experience of the festival for kids there that takes place every year in the small town in the province of Salerno. ''For three months - said the commissioner - a group of our delegates was there training on the model Giffoni ''. "What characterizes the Giffoni Film Festival is the extraordinary ability to focus attention on the boys .'' Especially shooting a western model of culture and growth for boys by a system different from ours .'' " The explanation ? The basic values ​​, when it comes to guys and cultural development , are the same.''   At Doha Giffoni has also led a group of jurors from Campania who, with the children of Qatar and other countries, have had the opportunity to see a number of films divided into four sections, followed by discussions with directors and actors. For the duration of the Festival, the youth participated in screenings, workshops and debates to promote the film and culture.   The winners of Ajyal Youth Film Festival are: Doha Film Experience Mohaq: Best Short Filmmaker – Little Kyota Neon Hood, directed by Satsuki Okawa Hilal: Best Short Filmmaker – The Invention, directed by Giovanni Granada Hilal: Best Feature Filmmaker – Regret, directed by David Schram Bader: Best Short Filmmaker – Men’s barber shop, directed by Meshal Alhulail Bader: Best Feature Filmmaker – The Inevitable Defeat of Mister and Pete, directed by George Tillman Jr.   Made in Qatar Made in Qatar Award – My Hero, directed by Nora Al-Subai        

Lots of premieres and exclusive screenings as tradition calls for youth and not only at Giffoni Experience. Hayao Miyazaki's ”The Wind Rises” is to be screened on Friday 25 July and it is a much anticipated special screening of the 44th edition of the festival that will take place from 18 to 27 July. The film is set to hit the screens in Italy in September distributed by Lucky Red. The animation feature brings together the true stories of Jiro Horikoshi,  designer of the fighter plane “Zero”, and  writer Tatsuo Hori, author of The Wind Rises, combining their stories and creating a  single character named “Jiro”, the leading player of the flick who describes Japanese youth of the 30s with the typical poetic and delicate style of the Japanese Maestro director. In the Taisho period of Japanese history (1912-1926), Jiro a country boy dreams of flying and designing beautiful airplanes inspired by the famous Italian aeronautical designer Gianni Caproni. Nearsighted from a young age and unable to be pilot, Jiro joins a major Japanese engineering company in 1927 and becomes one of the world's most innovative and accomplished airplane designers. His most acclaimed airplane will be the stunning A6M1, better known as 'Zero'. “It is an unusual and absolutely fictional work describing Japanese youth of the '30s – says Maestro Miyazaki -  it is the story of a man committed to his job who pursuis his dreams tenaciously. Dreams have an element of madness and this “venomous” aspect cannot be hidden. Longing for something overwhelmingly beautiful can destroy you.  Jiro will be destroyed and defeated, his carrier a a designer will be interrupted, however he still remains a man of extreme originality and unmatched talent”. Hayao Miyazaki's fame is mainly connected to his role as a filmmaker for children. Incredible animator, manga artist, illustrator, in 1985 together with his mentor Isao Takahata he founded Studio Ghibli. The spirited City (2001) was a record breaker at the Japanese box office and won many awards and prices, including the Golden Bear at the Berlinale in  2002 and the Oscar  for best animation in 2003, while in 2005 at the Mostra di Arte Cinematografica di Venezia he was graced with “Leone d’oro” for life achievement. Castle in the Sky (1986), My Neighbour Totoro (1988), Kiki's Delivery Service(1989), Porco Rosso(1992), Ponyo (2008) are amongst his masterpieces.

Actor and director ALAN RICKMAN will receive the 2014 Francois Truffaut Award on July 23 July at this year’s Giffoni Experience, it was announced today by the Festival’s director Claudio Gubitosi. A Golden Globe, BAFTA, Emmy and SAG award-winning actor, Rickman is perhaps best known by younger audiences worldwide as the half-blood wizard, ‘Severus Snape,’ in the hugely successful Harry Potter film franchise. The multifaceted artist is equally at ease on stage or screen. He is currently in post-production on A Little Chaos, his second feature film as director, which stars Kate Winslet and Matthias Schoenaerts.  Rickman also appears in the film and co-wrote the screenplay. Born and raised in London, England, Alan Rickman studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and worked with various British repertory and experimental theatre groups in the UK. In 1987, he earned a Tony Award nomination for his performance on Broadway as the Vicomte de Valmont, in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of  Christopher Hampton’s Les Liaisons Dangereuses. His extensive theater credits include Private Lives(Tony nomination), John Gabriel Borkman, Hamlet, Seminar, and he directed The Winter Guest both on stage in London and as a feature film adaptation starring Emma Thompson on screen. Rickman made his feature film debut in Die Hard. His film credits, ranging from drama to comedy to musical, include Truly, Madly, Deeply, Sense and Sensibility(BAFTA nomination), Love Actually, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, for which he won a BAFTA Award, Galaxy Quest, both Sweeney Todd and Alice in Wonderland for director Tim Burton, The Hitchhiiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and most recently Lee Daniels’ The Butler. Rickman won an Emmy, Golden Globe and SAG Award for his performance in the title role of HBO’s Rasputin. His television credits include the BBC’s The Barchester Chronicles and HBO’s Emmy Award-winning Something the Lord Made.

Skopje, 7 Jun 2014

Teen Wolf's Stiles will meet the jurors on July 21 The Giffoni Experience is once again set to make thousands of youth very happy!  Dylan O'Brien, the most anticipated actor by the event's social media community, will indeed be gracing the 44th Edition (18 – 27 July) of the Festival with his presence. A huge number of young people on the Giffoni Facebook and Twitter pages had asked for the young star to be invited to the 2014 Festival, and we can now confirm that their dreams will indeed come true on July 21st. The actor who plays Stiles, werewolf Scott's best friend, on hit TV show TEEN WOLF will star in the highly anticipated sci-fi film THE MAZE RUNNER, helmed by Wes Ball, set to hit theatres on September 19th in the USA.  The film is based on the first book in a young-adult dystopian science fiction trilogy of the same name, written by James Dashner, which revolves around a group of adolescents who wake up with no memories in an unknown place called The Glade.  The Glade is surrounded by a giant maze, where vicious monsters with several mechanical arms, known as Grievers, roam at night. Massive walls surround The Glade and protect the Gladers from these creatures by sliding closed every night.  Dylan plays Thomas, a brave and curious young man, who will lead the other Gladers into the Maze in a harrowing attempt to escape.  The 22 year old actor, born in New York , launched his career on YouTube by posting original videos onto his own channel.  With the videos gaining popularity, a local producer/director approached him about working on a web series of hers.  His film debut was the independent HIGH ROAD, which was followed by roles in Jon Kasdan's THE FIRST TIME and Shawn Levy's THE INTERNSHIP, alongside Owen Wilson and Vincent Vaughn.

Tirana, 29 Apr - 2 May 2014