Building on the success of previous years, the IFF Integrazione Film Festival is back for its 14th edition. Last year more than 150 directors, Italian and foreign, sent in their films, proof of the growing interest among film-makers for the IFF. But its success is also due to a positive response from the public, with last year’s festival attracting more than 2,000 spectators in just three days of screenings.
Since 2007 the Festival has used the talents of film-makers to bring stories about migration and integration into the public consciousness. This year the theme remains the same: intercultural integration.
The organisers of the IFF are interested in integration because the issue “is becoming more and more complex, particularly in the way it is treated by politicians, legislators and the media – which is then reflected by a large part of public opinion” as Giancarlo Domenghini, the IFF’s director, explains. “More and more people and communities need a vocabulary, they need to see real cases which help them understand that these changes in our society – multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious – are irreversible. That can then lead to them becoming actively involved. This is how cinema can help us. The quality of the films in competition last year, the number of films submitted and the size of the audience, confirm we are on the right track.”
Organized in collaboration with Lab 80 film, the IFF consists of two sections:
– an international competition for documentary films
– an international competition for short drama films
Each film submitted must be about real situations of integration between people of different cultural background or national origin. Stories should tackle themes such as inclusion, identity and inter-culturality and show them to be key elements of integration.
The Integrazione Film Festival gives three awards: Best Documentary, Best Short Fiction Film, and Best Student Film from a school or individual class in Italy.
For documentaries the maximum length is 52 minutes, and for short films 20 minutes. The selection is open to films produced after January 1st 2018.
The 2020 edition of the IFF will take place in Bergamo and Sarnico from April 16th to 19th. Registration is open until February 15th here.
Sources :
https://www.iff-filmfestival.com
