Giffoni Film Festival
Encyclopedia
The Giffoni International Film Festival is the largest children’s film festival
in Europe, and possibly the World. It takes place in the little Italian town of Giffoni Valle Piana
in Southern Italy, close to Salerno
. Over 2,000 children attend the festival from 39 countries around the world. During the festival, the children and teenagers watch the films, learn about the filmmaking
process, and are called to judge them and award the best ones with prizes. This 39-year old festival has had a great impact in the history of entertainment and culture, not only in Italy, and it has developed a high reputation internationally. Every year the festival attracts 100,000 guests, directors, producers, and movie stars annually. The festival has been brought to many different countries around the world with Poland, Argentina, Australia, Albania, China, Korea, India, and the United States having all hosted their own versions of the Giffoni Film Festival. The Giffoni Hollywood Film Festival in the United States has proven to be the biggest so far.
, a little village in the surroundings of Salerno
, started in 1971 when Claudio Gubitosi had the idea of promoting and developing cinema for young people. The first editions were characterized by limited budgets and a little number of films. So the festival started looking at films released in the Northern Europe
and Soviet Union
, bringing an unknown world to Italy
.
In the 1980s the number of productions dedicated to children and youth grew up, and films coming from France
, Albania
, Spain
, Sweden
, Norway
, Canada
, Iran
, Australia
and New Zealand
hit the screens in Giffoni. In 1982, the festival had its turning point, indeed, in that year the master François Truffaut
met the festival and wrote an open letter that includes the following words: “Of all the film festivals Giffoni is the most necessary.”
Truffaut opened the way to a long list of Italian and International guests. Robert De Niro
, Sergio Leone
, Michelangelo Antonioni
, and Alberto Sordi
come to Giffoni to meet the young jurors and talk with them about their careers and their arts, consecrating the Giffoni Film Festival as one of the most important cultural events dedicated to young people.
During the 1990s the festival has become ever more relevant and important. In 1997, the first stone of the Cittadella del Cinema was put down, which was a starting point for the Giffoni Multimedia Valley project, an area dedicated to creativity and culture, with structures for "cultural entertainment" and audiovisual production, day care centers, and laboratories. Between 1996 and 1998, the festival started three different competitive categories: First Screens, for children aged from 9 to 12 years, Free to Fly, for children aged from 12 to 14 years, and Y-Generation (previously named, Rear Window), for youths from 15 to 19 years.
The new millennium started with the purpose to bring Giffoni and its format in the world. Berlin
, followed by Miami with its Next Generation Film Festival, Poland
and Albania
housed the Giffoni Film Festival concept. In 2005, in Australia
, the festival founded the Giffoni-Australia association, with its headquarters in Sydney
. In 2008, the first edition of the Giffoni Hollywood took place at the Kodak Theatre
, which has been the home of the annual Academy Awards Ceremonies (The Oscars), with guests such as Will Smith
and Jon Voight
. The festival also created the Giffoni World Alliance, which is a network delegates to connect the initiatives around the world.
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
in Europe, and possibly the World. It takes place in the little Italian town of Giffoni Valle Piana
Giffoni Valle Piana
Giffoni Valle Piana is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-west Italy.Economy is mostly based on agriculture, with the presence of a small number of light industries and services firms.-History:...
in Southern Italy, close to Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
. Over 2,000 children attend the festival from 39 countries around the world. During the festival, the children and teenagers watch the films, learn about the filmmaking
Filmmaking
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story, idea, or commission, through scriptwriting, casting, shooting, directing, editing, and screening the finished product before an audience that may result in a theatrical release or television program...
process, and are called to judge them and award the best ones with prizes. This 39-year old festival has had a great impact in the history of entertainment and culture, not only in Italy, and it has developed a high reputation internationally. Every year the festival attracts 100,000 guests, directors, producers, and movie stars annually. The festival has been brought to many different countries around the world with Poland, Argentina, Australia, Albania, China, Korea, India, and the United States having all hosted their own versions of the Giffoni Film Festival. The Giffoni Hollywood Film Festival in the United States has proven to be the biggest so far.
History
The Giffoni Film Festival, which takes place in Giffoni Valle PianaGiffoni Valle Piana
Giffoni Valle Piana is a town and comune in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-west Italy.Economy is mostly based on agriculture, with the presence of a small number of light industries and services firms.-History:...
, a little village in the surroundings of Salerno
Salerno
Salerno is a city and comune in Campania and is the capital of the province of the same name. It is located on the Gulf of Salerno on the Tyrrhenian Sea....
, started in 1971 when Claudio Gubitosi had the idea of promoting and developing cinema for young people. The first editions were characterized by limited budgets and a little number of films. So the festival started looking at films released in the Northern Europe
Northern Europe
Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. Northern Europe typically refers to the seven countries in the northern part of the European subcontinent which includes Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Finland and Sweden...
and Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, bringing an unknown world to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
In the 1980s the number of productions dedicated to children and youth grew up, and films coming from France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
hit the screens in Giffoni. In 1982, the festival had its turning point, indeed, in that year the master François Truffaut
François Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...
met the festival and wrote an open letter that includes the following words: “Of all the film festivals Giffoni is the most necessary.”
Truffaut opened the way to a long list of Italian and International guests. Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
, Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone
Sergio Leone was an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter most associated with the "Spaghetti Western" genre.Leone's film-making style includes juxtaposing extreme close-up shots with lengthy long shots...
, Michelangelo Antonioni
Michelangelo Antonioni
Michelangelo Antonioni, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian modernist film director, screenwriter, editor and short story writer.- Personal life :...
, and Alberto Sordi
Alberto Sordi
Alberto Sordi, also known as Albertone, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian actor. He was also a film director and the dubbing voice of Oliver Hardy in the Italian version of the Laurel & Hardy films....
come to Giffoni to meet the young jurors and talk with them about their careers and their arts, consecrating the Giffoni Film Festival as one of the most important cultural events dedicated to young people.
During the 1990s the festival has become ever more relevant and important. In 1997, the first stone of the Cittadella del Cinema was put down, which was a starting point for the Giffoni Multimedia Valley project, an area dedicated to creativity and culture, with structures for "cultural entertainment" and audiovisual production, day care centers, and laboratories. Between 1996 and 1998, the festival started three different competitive categories: First Screens, for children aged from 9 to 12 years, Free to Fly, for children aged from 12 to 14 years, and Y-Generation (previously named, Rear Window), for youths from 15 to 19 years.
The new millennium started with the purpose to bring Giffoni and its format in the world. Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, followed by Miami with its Next Generation Film Festival, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
housed the Giffoni Film Festival concept. In 2005, in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the festival founded the Giffoni-Australia association, with its headquarters in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
. In 2008, the first edition of the Giffoni Hollywood took place at the Kodak Theatre
Kodak Theatre
The Kodak Theatre is a live theatre in the Hollywood and Highland shopping mall and entertainment complex on Hollywood Boulevard and North Highland Avenue in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles...
, which has been the home of the annual Academy Awards Ceremonies (The Oscars), with guests such as Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
and Jon Voight
Jon Voight
Jonathan Vincent "Jon" Voight is an American actor. He has received an Academy Award, out of four nominations, and three Golden Globe Awards, out of nine nominations. Voight is the father of actress Angelina Jolie....
. The festival also created the Giffoni World Alliance, which is a network delegates to connect the initiatives around the world.