Six very young people, coming from Iran, Afghanistan, France, Bulgaria, China and Colombia.
Michelangelo Pistoletto Ambassador of Sustainability. Pif President of the Jury.
The winners of the SON OF A PITCH AWARD 2023 have been announced: they are six very young people from Iran, Afghanistan, France, Bulgaria, China and Colombia. The contest, dedicated to short films made by young talents from all over the world, is dedicated to the theme of sustainability and, since 2023, has Maestro Michelangelo Pistoletto as its ambassador.
Three juries involved: an artistic jury chaired by Pif, a social jury composed of immigrants from the Astalli Center and an audience jury composed of film students.
The three juries unanimously awarded, through secret ballots, the Best Short Film, Audience Award and Intercultural Award to the animated film SONG OF THE WAVES by director Colombe De Vallavieille, on the theme of the clandestine, unsafe and often deadly journey that forces men, women and children to find a better future in Europe.
The same artistic jury wanted to award a Special Mention to the Chinese THE SQUARE CITY by Ruth Lam, On Wa Chow and Ka Lok Liu on the weight of trust and responsibility of a school-age child, while the award for best direction goes to ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN by Colombian Yosman Serrano Lindarte, a story of the education and play of two teenagers.
As in previous years, during the awards ceremony, two other awards were assigned, which arise from the meeting between the world of cinema and the world of business.
The Sustainability Award – assigned by eFM, main partner – goes to LIGHTS by twenty-three-year-old Adél Palotás. “Lights talks about a crucial topic such as energy efficiency and, in a metaphorical way, also talks about man and society, exploring the relational dynamics of old and new generation light bulbs. We chose this film because we believe that the energy theme and that of technological innovation cannot be addressed only in terms of efficiency, but also of effectiveness and impact”, stated Daniele Di Fausto, CEO eFM and Founder Venture Thinking.
In addition, for the first time, the rare disease biopharmaceutical company Sobi Italia, present among the sponsors of the award, has awarded the “Corto Circuito” recognition to the Indian SHIKSHA (Education or Punishment) by Rashtrapal Kakde, focused on free access to study: “Even though we live in 2023, we need equal opportunities for everyone, starting with school education” declared Annalisa Adani, VP & General Manager Sobi Italia. “For this reason we have chosen to sponsor the distribution of this short film: Sobi is, in fact, a company that takes care of people and our mission is to make a difference in the lives of those with a rare disease and we do this thanks to innovative therapies that improve their existence. We have always been oriented towards young people and the future because science never stops, and just like cinema they speak a universal language”.
The Corto Circuito award consists of the free distribution for 12 months of a short film which in this case was selected by Sobi Italia for its ability to highlight the themes of diversity, equity and inclusion.
Finally, the Territori Invisibili, di confine e di domani award created by architect Alfonso Femia, Founder of Ateliers Alfonso Femia was assigned to the Afghan ONLY IN AFGHANISTAN by Mohammad Bashir Setaushpoor and the Futuro award, which consists of the free distribution of a short film by Son of a Pitch, is TOUCH OF AUTISM by Iranian director Sepideh Parizan. The short film, selected by Erminio Perocco, creative director and well-known advertiser, was chosen "for having been able to address - as stated by Perocco himself - the theme in an unconventional, lateral and creative way, using the image to tell with maturity and confidence, without the use of words, which is typical of the filmic specific".
THE JURIES
Presiding over the artistic jury, for the third consecutive year, is Pif, winner of the EFA and David di Donatello in 2014 as best new director. Alongside him are the actress Teresa Saponangelo (David Di Donatello and Nastro d'Argento for “É stata la mano di Dio”), the producer Cecilia Valmarana, the writers Alessandro Zaccuri and Peppe Fiore, Saverio Teruzzi representing Lacittadellarte by Michelangelo Pistoletto.
The social jury is composed of refugees and immigrants, guests at the Centro Astalli facilities.
Finally, the public jury composed of students from film schools, created to create a network between those who have started making films and those who would like to enter the audiovisual world.
A thousand short films participated in the selection, only the finalists were screened in the new Laguna room, during the eightieth edition of the Venice Film Festival.
Among the sponsors this year are the Roma Lazio Film Commission, ADI, Industrial Design Association and among the cultural partners Weshorts, the Florestano Vancini School, the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and the Astalli Center.
SON OF A PITCH AWARD: WHO WE ARE
The award, founded by Save the Cut, a film production company founded in 2013, was created in 2021 to transfer a personal and critical vision of sustainability into the world of cinematic storytelling, with particular attention to social, environmental and economic implications.
Some numbers from previous editions: over 3.000 participating short films, 96 countries of origin of the directors (including Iran, Taiwan, Türkiye), three different juries.
SON OF A PITCH: WHO WE ARE
Real pitches are unforgettable. They generate stories. They bring out talent, they have a power. That of dreams. Son of a Pitch® was born in 2021 as a distribution brand of Save the Cut, a production company founded in 2013. It currently has 17 shorts in its catalog, 10 of which are directed by under 30s and 7 by female directors.
The shorts have participated in festivals around the world, from Torino Film Festival to Cinema Jove, from Festival Internacional de Cine de Lebu to Oklahoma City Documentary Film Festival.
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