Digital Press Kit A Window on the World - Images from Reality
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Press Release
Second International Documentary Film Festival
A Window on the World - Images from Reality
("Visioni dal Mondo, Immagini della Realtà")
Milan, October 5-9, 2016
UniCredit Pavilion, Piazza Gae Aulenti 10
14 TITLES IN COMPETITION WILL HAVE THEIR WORLD PREMIERES
10 INTERNATIONAL TITLES WILL HAVE ITALIAN PREMIERES
8 TITLES OUT OF COMPETITION
17 "WORK-IN-PROGRESS" DOCUMENTARY PROJECTS
Milan, September 12, 2016 -- The International Documentary Festival: A Window on the World - Images from Reality ("Visioni dal Mondo, Immagini dalla Realtà") returns October 5-9 at UniCredit Pavilion in Milan's Piazza Gae Aulenti. Now in its second year, the festival features a program packed with premieres, screenings, meetings and masterclasses. In addition, this year will see the launch of the new "Visioni Incontra" section, dedicated to presenting works-in-progress by Italian documentary filmmakers to representatives of the business world - industry professionals including leading television editors, executives from cinema chains and other platforms, acquisitions executives, sales agents, producers, distributors and festival directors.
The festival aims to promote and support the production, influence, knowledge and enjoyment of Italian and international documentary cinema, with a special focus on intercultural dialogue. Additionally, the 2016 edition of "A Window on the World - Images from Reality" will offer opportunities to reflect on the state of the world today. For five days the festival will transform the innovative and remarkable UniCredit Pavilion in Milan into the world capital of documentary filmmaking.
Audiences will be able to discover and learn about a wide range of important topics, including courageous women, education, culture, the internet, privacy, migration, integration, justice and gender identity.
The 2016 festival will also offer an important showcase for the best Italian documentary projects currently in production, thanks to the new industry-focused Visioni Incontra portion of the program, taking place Wednesday, October 5, and Thursday, October 6.
The festival has been organized by UniCredit Pavilion and production company FRANKIESHOWBIZ, under the artistic direction of Fabrizio Grosoli, with strong backing from institutions and other major partners. This year the festival will present more than 30 documentary films. From more than 200 applicants, 14 titles were selected for the "Stories from the Contemporary World" competition. Ten international titles will be making their Italian premieres, and eight out-of-competition titles representing the best of contemporary Italian film will also be screened. The festival's new section, Visioni Incontra, will present 17 active documentary projects seeking final funding, pre-purchasing or distribution to an audience of industry professionals.
"This year's festival will be particularly rich and varied," said Francesco Bizzarri, Director-General of the festival and CEO of FRANKIESHOWBIZ. "We have extended the festival from three days to five days and launched Visioni Incontra, the new section for pitching Italian documentaries that are still works-in-progress, which will take place on the first two days of the festival, exclusively for invited industry guests. Then we will begin the public screenings, with two major international titles getting their Italian premieres. On Thursday, October 6, we will have 'Rupture: Living With My Broken Brain,' directed by Hugh Hudson and produced by Maryam d'Abo, who also stars in the film, telling the true story of her illness. Hudson, who was nominated for a best director Oscar in 1982 for the film 'Chariots of Fire,' and d'Abo will both attend the screening. This will be followed by 'Life, Animated,' the documentary film winner at the Sundance Film Festival and at numerous other international festivals. The movie tells the story of Owen, the autistic son of Pulitzer Prize-winner Ron Suskind. In the following days we will screen 14 selected Italian documentaries in the competition, entitled 'Stories from the Contemporary World,' as well as out-of-competition films, including a selection of important productions by Rai Cinema, Istituto Luce-Cinecittà and RSI, the Swiss-Italian broadcaster. On Sunday, October 9, the final day of the festival, we will have a masterclass with the celebrated director Pietro Marcello, an award ceremony for the competition winners, and a final screening, the Italian premiere of 'Bad Kids.'"
According to Serena Massimi, UniCredit Pavilion's Head of Events and Art Management, "The festival reflects UniCredit Pavilion's aim of providing a forum for talent in artistic and cultural expression, from music to literature, theatre to cinema. This year, our goal has been expanded to include a space for industry professionals, offering young filmmakers the chance to present their work. In this way, the second International Documentary Festival builds on the success of last year, offering an even more tangible reflection of our desire to promote and support documentary film."
THE SECTIONS OF THE FESTIVAL
Stories From the Contemporary World ("Storie dal mondo contemporaneo")
At the heart of the festival "A Window on the World - Images from Reality" is the competition for young Italian filmmakers. More than 200 documentary films were submitted, tackling profound subjects including justice, the legal system, integration and education. Other films focus on lighter and more playful topics.
The 14 titles selected for the competition will have their world premieres at the festival and will compete for the following awards:
- UniCredit Pavilion Award, which includes a €5,000 prize, will be awarded by a jury comprised of Caterina D'Amico (producer and director at Rome's Centro sperimentale di cinematografia), Gianfranco Pannone (director), Alberto Dentice (journalist), Andrea Purgatori (journalist, writer and screenwriter) and Serena Massimi (Head of Events and Art Management at UniCredit Pavilion)
- UniCredit Pavilion Student Award, which includes a €2,500 prize, will be given by a jury of university students from several of Milan's film faculties and film schools
- Rai Cinema Award will include the acquisition of the TV rights for Rai networks
The films in competition are: A Seafish from Africa-Il mio amico Banda by Giulio Filippo Giunti, Ero Malerba by Tony Trupia, Il Presidente del Mondo by Francesco Merini and Michele Cogo, Io, Assistente Sessuale by Stefano Ferrari, La Spada Invisibile by Massimiliano Cocozza, L'Estate che verrà by Claudia Cipriani, Lunàdigas by Nicoletta Nesler and Marilisa Piga, My Nature by Massimiliano Ferraina, Primadonna by Daniele Gangemi, Clelia Scimone, Ludovico Serra and Veronica Vescio, Processi by Adriana Ferrarese, Sotterranea-Viaggio in tre atti nel ventre di Milano by Chiara Campara, Matteo Ninni and Carlo Tartivita, The Viagra Chronicles by Chiara Sambuchi, The Weight of Dreams by Francesco Mattuzzi, Uncut by Emanuele Zuccalà and Simona Ghizzoni.
International Panorama
Ten international titles will be shown in this category. Films in the International Panorama category are being shown for the first time in Italy. Many of the films have already won awards at leading international festivals, covering important subjects including migration and integration, the internet and privacy, the power of education, courageous women, the eradication of minorities, and the explosive power of the imagination.
The films in this section are: Rupture: Living With My Broken Brain by Hugh Hudson, produced by Maryam D'Abo, Life, Animated by Roger Ross Williams, Why I'm Not on Facebook by Brant Pinvidic, Everything's Under Control by Werner Boote, The Bad Kids by Keith Fulton and Lou Pepe, What Tomorrow Brings by Beth Murphy, The Crossing by George Kurian, Nice People by Karin Af Klintberg and Anders Helgeson, Clandestinos-El Ejercito perdido de la CIA by David Beriain, and Untitled Climate Change Feature Documentary produced by Oscar-winners Leonardo DiCaprio and Fisher Stevens, executive-produced by Martin Scorsese.
Out of Competition
This section is managed in collaboration with Rai Cinema, Istituto Luce-Cinecittà and RSI. Eight titles will be screened: Bella e Perduta by Pietro Marcello, Il Passaggio della Linea ("Crossing the Line") by Pietro Marcello, Umile Italia, an episode of "9x10 Novanta," by Pietro Marcello, IL RISARCIMENTO: mons. Romero, il suo popolo e papa Francesco by Gianni Beretta and Patrik Soergel, Non voltarti indietro by Francesco Del Grosso, L'ultima spiaggia by Thanos Anastopoulos and Davide Del Degan, Shashamane by Giulia Amati, Povere ma belle by Viviana Russo.
Visioni Incontra
This is the new industry section organized in collaboration with Lombardia Film Commission and coordinated by Cinzia Masòtina, screenwriter and story editor, to help independent directors and producers publicize their projects, network and seek funding. Visioni Incontra will take place Wednesday, October 5, and Thursday, October 6, attended by a group of industry professionals including television editors, cinema chain executives, executives from other platforms, acquisition managers, sales agents, producers, distributors and festival directors, who can help projects in final development with funding, pre-purchasing and distribution.
The 15 best Italian documentary projects that can be described as works-in-progress will be screened. The movies were selected from the submissions received from qualifying filmmakers. The selection committee included Emanuele Nespeca (producer), Gianfilippo Pedote (producer and director) and Cinzia Masòtina.
On Thursday, October 6, the winner of "Visioni Incontra Best Documentary Project" will be announced. Provided by production house FRANKIESHOWBIZ, the award will be €2,500.
In addition to the pitching portion of the event, Visioni Incontra will also feature panel discussions on important issues relating to documentary filmmaking, including:
- New cinema law: systems, opportunities and perspectives, in association with MiBACT
- Creative Europe program - MEDIA: funding, networking and training, with speaker Silvia Sandrone (Creative Europe Italy Desk, project officer at MEDIA Turin)
- Marketing for the cinema: the winning mindset for promotion, in association with Doc/it - the Association of Italian Documentary Filmmakers, with speaker Alvaro Vega (communications for the cinema Double Sentido), coordinated by Stefania Casini (vice-president Doc/it)
- The Visioni Incontra section will conclude with Focus on the sources of financing, editorial policies and coproduction processes, in association with RSI - Radio Televisione Svizzera Italiana, scheduled for Friday October 7, with speakers Diana Segantini (Head of Culture, RSI), Michael Beltrami (producer, RSI), Silvana Bezzola Rigolini (producer, Head of Documentary Purchasing and Coproductions, RSI), and Bruno Bergomi (producer, LA2DOC)
FESTIVAL EVENTS
Masterclass "Beyond the Real," featuring director Pietro Marcello. Coordinated by Paola Malanga (deputy director Rai Cinema) and Fabrizio Grosoli (artistic director of A Window on the World - Images from Reality), the event will be preceded by two screenings: a remake of "Il passaggio della linea" ("Crossing the Line"), presented at the 64th Venice Film Festival and nominated for best documentary at the Davide di Donatello awards in 2008; and "Umile Italia," an episode from "9x10 Novanta." At the end of the masterclass, there will be a screening of "Bella e Perduta" by director Pietro Marcello.
Marcello will also be honored with the Window on the World - Documentary Film Award during the same presentation that will conclude the Stories from the Contemporary World competition.
A conference, "From school to screen: a look at theory and practice in teaching documentary filmmaking," will be organized by the Civica Scuola di Cinema Luchino Visconti. Speakers will include Nicolas Philibert (documentary filmmaker and director), Gianfranco Pannone (documentary filmmaker), John Burgan (documentary filmmaker) and Fabrizio Grosoli (artistic director of A Window on the World - Images from Reality).
A showcase will be held by the Civica Scuola di Cinema Luchino Visconti, with the screening of a selection of documentaries from the CILECT Prize. This international competition features short films of all kinds produced as thesis projects by students at the more than 160 schools participating across the world in the association Centre International de Liaison des Écoles de Cinéma et de Télévision.
Sponsored by the City of Milan, the Italian Ministry for Economic Development, 100autori, the Italian association of filmmakers and television show directors and writers, A Window on the World - Images from Reality also has its main media partnership with Rai and additional media partnerships with Rai News24 and Rai Cultura, as well as the support of Rai Cinema, Istituto Luce-Cinecittà, Doc/it - the Association of Italian Documentary Filmmakers, Lombardia Film Commission and SIAE. The festival also works with Milan's leading film faculties and film schools: IULM, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, IED - European Design Institute, Università degli Studi di Milano's Department of Culture and Environment, Civica Scuola di Cinema Luchino Visconti, and the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. The festival is also recognized as an Expo in Città event.
2nd International Documentary Festival A Window on the World - Images from Reality
UniCredit Pavilion
Piazza Gae Aulenti 10, Milan
#visionifest
from Wednesday, October 5, to Sunday, October 9, 2016 - hours: 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
Free admission to screenings (availability is limited)