The documentary "Su queste montagne" by Andrea Sbarretti and the short "Elsa" by Jean Marc Guiller shared the Grand Prize in the film competition organized by Cilento Fest – Cinema e Borghi 2023, a festival dedicated to promoting national and international cinema related to the stories of villages and inland areas. This year, the festival, now in its second edition, concluded on Sunday, August 20th.
The artistic committee formed by the producer Gianluca Arcopinto, the producer and actor Cesare Apolito, the director and screenwriter Andrea D'Ambrosio and the actor Bruno Cariello, chose the two works, among the many that participated in the competition launched last March, for "having told, with veins of poetry and spirituality, the world of small villages".
The festival, directed by journalist and writer Max De Francesco and organized by the publishing and production company Iuppiter, in collaboration with the cultural association I Disinvolti, Lama Film and the Pro Loco di Perito, took place again this year in the small Cilento village of Perito which, for four days, was animated by screenings, concerts, shows, exhibitions, book presentations, guided tours, workshops and initiatives in the name of the Mediterranean diet, craftsmanship and rural tourism, held in the five areas set up by the organizers.
Many well-known faces from the world of cinema and entertainment took turns on stage during the evenings hosted by journalists Laura Cocozza and Espedito Pistone. Starting with Maurizio Lastrico – awarded last year as best actor – who performed in the hilarious show entitled “Lasciate ogni menata voi che ingressi”, continuing with the actor and director Rocco Papaleo who, after the screening of his latest film, “Scordato”, spoke with Arcopinto about his vision of cinema and then received the Cilento Fest 2023 Special Award. A “surprise” evening that also saw the participation of the actor Giovanni Esposito, who received the Cilento Fest 2023 Award as best actor.
Among the special events of this second edition: “Viva Lina!”, a tribute to Lina Wertmüller, which celebrated the 60th anniversary of the film “I Basilischi”, one of the symbolic works of the country's cinematography, which was attended by Massimo Wertmüller, who received the Cilento Fest 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award, Yari Gugliucci, who was awarded for the Cinema and Theater section, and the film historian Marco Grossi; the evening “Perché di Troisi ce n'è solo uno”, in the name of Massimo with the screening of the film “Laggiù qualcuno mi ama” by Mario Martone and the meeting with the screenwriter and writer Anna Pavignano, winner of the Cilento Fest Cinema and Writing Award; the concert by soprano Desire Capaldo who enchanted the audience with the show “Ciak si Ascolta”, a journey through the soundtracks of great films.
During the final evening, other awards were given to director Zavvo Nicolosi (Revelation Film of the Year Award for “La primavera della mia vita”) with external contributions from Colapesce and Dimartino, to Carmine Padula (Best Soundtrack Composer Award), to Piero Cannizzaro (Il cibo dell'anima Award), to Sante Massimo Lamonaca (Cinema and Legality Award), to Monica Sarnelli (Donne del Sud Award), to Luisa Dresia, Enrico Pascarella and Andrea Ricca (Social Short Films Award for “Noi siamo Scampia”).
A section of the ceremony focused on the delivery of non-cinematic awards to entrepreneurs, artists and promoters of social and cultural projects in the South. Among these awards, the one dedicated to the memory of Antonio Nappi, a visionary entrepreneur and green pioneer, who died prematurely last year, dedicated to courageous and innovative businesses. The award went to entrepreneur Anna Maria Cascone, the new head of women entrepreneurs at Coldiretti Campania, awarded by Caterina Nappi. The “South Protagonist” award, on the other hand, went to Antonio Marino, director of the Bcc di Aquara, awarded for “having encouraged the birth of many healthy and proactive realities in the territory”.
The Lucia Panascì photography competition prize, introduced this year in memory of the photographer and artist from Cilento who passed away in 2014 at the age of just 30, which had the theme “la controra”, was awarded to Lello D'Anna for the photo “Cilento, una terrazza sul tempo”.
The evening that closed the second edition offered artistic moments of depth with the performances of the “Rossini duo” Demetrio Massimo Trotta and Lucio Grimaldi, of the young pianist Federico Cirillo, of the actor Bruno Cariello (who recalled the poetry of Giuseppe Liuccio), of the American singer Leslie Austin on tour in Cilento, of Monica Sarnelli and of Carmine Padula, considered by critics to be the heir of Ennio Morricone.
Also this year the “Cilento Fest – Cinema e borghi” award was created by one of the most highly rated international artists, the Neapolitan Marco Abbamondi, who, using natural materials, reproduced on wooden boards the Cilento Fest logo, represented by a reel of film and a stylised fox tail. In addition, for this second edition Massimiliano Coppeta, in collaboration with Giovanna Fontanella, designed and created the Cilento Fest cinematographic box, an elegantly crafted gift containing a fine notebook, a pen and a golden reel that 'gives' film quotes.
There are many collateral initiatives of the Cilento Fest, coordinated by Francesca Romana Cirillo and Vanessa Tedesco, organized by the cultural association “I Disinvolti”, chaired by Enrico Lava. Among these are the creative workshops for children and adults on “food for the soul” and against food waste; the presentation of the project “101 recipes for living 101 years. At the table with Cilento” by Yes Cilento; the tour “Portoni aperti”, an original way to learn about the history, myths and rituals of a town curated by Maria Pina Cirillo and the ArtExperience association; guided visits to the Oasi Fiume Alento to learn about “the great history of water”, to the Borgo del Bambù to come into contact with a surprising plant, to the educational farm of Giovanna Voria, chef and ambassador of the Mediterranean Diet, who guided the participants on the “wheat routes”.
Max De Francesco, creator of the event, declared: “If the first edition of the Cilento Fest was a miracle, the second was a feat. We immediately decided, together with the artistic committee and the organization, to raise the level, to focus on a program of shows that could combine cinema, music, publishing and creativity. The response from the public was wonderful. Four full evenings, a passionate mobilization of young people, a notable increase in the local economy and above all the awareness of having fueled the so-called return tourism: many changed their holidays to return to the village, to experience the event that is not only a cultural experience but above all an opportunity to meet in places of the soul and share roots, stories and beauties. We are already working on the third edition with more than one idea in the pipeline. Among these, the institution of the Ugo Pirro International Award for film subjects and series, promoted and organized in collaboration with Maurizio Fiume and Riverstudio; the involvement of other villages with a plan of initiatives on “non-metropolitan” cinematography; the creation of the project “Cinema dentro”, characterized by “Permanent cinematography laboratories”, to teach, with specialized teachers, the art of cinema directly in the villages, involving those who want to work in the complex and fascinating world of audiovisual. There is so much to do. Everything is possible. Especially when you have a superlative artistic committee, a formidable team that does not spare itself and a freedom of action, detached from any imposition and compromise, that draws light only from the heart of passion”.
EDITORIAL TEAM
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