01 Giugno 2017
“The University of Gastronomic Sciences has made cultural diversity and internationalism its cornerstone, making it the ideal location for tackling the subject of migrations, particularly given the close link between food and cultures in motion,” says Carlo Petrini of the first Migranti Film Festival, to be held in Pollenzo from June 10 to 12, 2017. “The films in competition shine a light on a topical, complex and profound reality. Thanks to the different nuances that they are able to transmit to us and the empathy of the big screen, we can discover the incredible stories of women and men, of their journeys and their lives.”
Targeting the issue of migration—with a particular focus on migratory phenomena in all their complexity, examples of inclusion and integration and second-generation youth—this festival has been conceived and organized by the University of Gastronomic Sciences (UNISG) in collaboration with Slow Food and the City of Bra as part of MIBACT’s MigrArti project, with the support of NovaCoop and the Fondazione CRC.
The project has developed out of UNISG’s Cinema Lab, a hub for developing audiovisual narrations about the world of food and an integral part of the university’s educational program. According to Dario Leone, UNISG Cinema Lab coordinator and director of the Migranti Film Festival, “the festival wants to be an opportunity for talking about the theme of migrants as something socially but also culturally urgent, seeking to create platforms of connections that can contribute to constructing a culture of welcome.”
The festival’s subject has inspired great interest from filmmakers around the world: By the application deadline on May 15, the organizers had received a total of 2,509 films submitted from 113 countries, including 174 films from Italy.
There are two competition sections for the selected films, one for six feature-length films (from Sweden, France, Spain/Ukraine, Denmark and Italy/Sri Lanka) and the other for eight shorts (from Spain, Slovenia, the UK, Switzerland, France, the USA and Albania). Three out-of-competition sections with 20 films each are dedicated to the three stages of before, during and after the journey.
The jury that will pick the best film from the feature-length category is chaired by Giorgio Diritti. Its other members are Gianni Amelio, Alberto Barbera, Luciana Castellina, Paola Farinetti, Enrico Magrelli, Maurizio Molinari, Liborio Termine, Alice Waters and Senegalese UNISG student Cheikna Thiam. The winner will receive a prize of €1,000. For the short films, the jury is chaired by Emanuele Crialese Francesco Amato, Victoria Cabello, Lella Costa, Jacopo Fo, Dieter Kosslick, Isabella Rossellini, Gabriele Salvatores and Syrian UNISG student Ali Haidar Alsharani, with a €500 prize for the winner.
The Migranti Film Festival is not just an event for cinephiles; the long weekend features a packed program with writers, academics, artists, cultural and social operators, migrants and students from all over the world. It will serve as a place where everyone—in different contexts—can share stories, experiences and projects with the aim of enriching the national and transnational collective heritage of “other” memories, while also taking into account the migratory processes currently underway.
Why a festival dedicated to migrants at the University of Gastronomic Sciences? Because one of the keys to interpreting this highly topical issue is gastronomy, in the broad, complex and original sense typical of the studies at our university, and because food and cultures have always travelled and developed out of minglings and contaminations. Pollenzo will be a shared place of meeting, exchange and planning for communities of migrants, students, local authorities, social and humanitarian organizations, cooperatives and associations participating in the festival.
During the event’s three days, screenings of the selected and out-of-competition films will alternate with conferences, debates, performances, shared experiences of migration both within Italy and from the outside, stories of migrants’ entrepreneurial success and explorations of gastronomic and political identities.
The large green areas around the campus and the university’s classrooms will host screenings, tastings, gastronomic workshops, introductions to African languages and cultures, meeting and discussion points, markets, live music, sports and activities for children. An informal space, Migrant’s Corner, will give migrants, associations, local authorities and other socially active organizations a place where they can share different experiences of reception, projects and initiatives from the past, present and future.
#MFFPollenzo in brief
When:
From Saturday June 10 to Monday June 12, 2017
Where:
At the University of Gastronomic Sciences, Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II 9, Pollenzo-Bra (CN), Italy
What:
A festival to learn about, think about and share the theme of migrations, crossing cultures, global and local connections and second generations.
In numbers:
- 2 competition sections: 6 features, 8 shorts
3 out-of-competition sections with 60 films - 19 jury members
- 12 different countries of origin for the shortlisted films: Albania, Denmark, France, Italy/Sri Lanka, Slovenia, Spain, Spain/Ukraine, the UK, the USA, Sweden and Switzerland
- 2,509 films submitted from 113 countries, including 174 from Italy
- 8 migrant communities cooking their traditional food
