Emotions at the closing ceremony of Giffoni Macedonia Youth Film Festival

“Thanks to you, a light shines in a time of darkness for the world.

In Skopje the words of Deputy Ambassador De Rosa. The event is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture - Directorate General for Cinema and Audiovisual. On stage the winning films and then the creativity of over 500 young people who participated in the eleventh edition. Success for the EPYC project

“Thank you Giffoni. It is an extraordinary experience. Giffoni promotes dialogue between different countries as an instrument of peace, representing a unique example in the world capable of uniting people, cultures and different religions. In these days we are all following the news of war and we have had the opportunity to consider how important the values ​​of conciliation and peace are. Here Giffoni is shining a light in a moment of darkness like the one we are experiencing at an international level”.

These are the words spoken by Mario De Rosa, Deputy Official and Head of the Economic and Commercial Office of the Italian Embassy in Skopje, on the occasion of the closing ceremony of the eleventh edition of Giffoni Macedonia Youth Film Festival which was held at the Millennium Cinema in Skopje.

The event, organized by Giffoni with the Macedonian cultural associations Planet M and Idea Artis, is co-financed for Italy by the General Directorate for Cinema and Audiovisual of the Ministry of Culture, also supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the National Agency for Cinema of the Northern Macedonia and from the Italian Embassy in Skopje.

The Giffoni Macedonia Youth Film Festival has become a consolidated reality in the panorama of cultural activities in the whole of North Macedonia. The collaboration with the Directorate General for Cinema and Audiovisual of the Ministry of Culture is confirmed, which has long supported the initiatives and the cultural path carried out by Giffoni through the language of cinema and audiovisual.

The five-day event dedicated to film screenings, workshops related to cinema and more, was attended by 500 Giffoners from Italy, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Kosovo, Bosnia, Greece and France. A delegation of Giffoners from Italy was also present. The jury was called to express itself on the five feature films in competition for each category and on the approximately 40 shorts and animated films produced by young authors.

Giffoni participated in the festival with the presence of Manuela De Cataldis and Marica Lamberti of the Special Projects Department, the tutor Mario Cesaro, together with Gabriele Battimelli, Emanuele Bertone, Arianna Casale, Maria D'Addeo, Ginevra D'Alvia, Vincenza Carmen Fasano, Giulia Galano, Gerardo Guarino, Mario Manco, Simona Paterni, Vittoria Pecoraro, Giorgia Peluso, Alessia Sorgente, Francesca Virtuoso.

At the Cinema Millenium in Skopje, the winning films of the competition for the categories Junior, Cadets and Senior were announced. For the short film section of the cadets category, the Italian “Mariposa” by Maurizio Forcella won.

During the closing ceremony, the final works of the various laboratories and workshops that enriched the eleventh edition were presented. In particular, the workshops dealt with choreography, photography, videomaking, drawings and comics. For each one, outputs were created that highlighted how creativity represents a universal tool on which to base relationships, form alliances, imagine collaborations. The Youth Cultural Center served as a backdrop to the students' works, as well as some of the most characteristic places in Skopje: from the old town to the stone bridge.

During the evening, the names of the boys who will represent Macedonia next July at #Giffoni54 were announced.

The big news this year was undoubtedly the “EPYC: Enhancing Peace through Youth Creativity”. This is a project supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation within the framework of the Balkans 2022 Call, which aims to contribute to the stabilization processes of the region and to the advancement of the EU accession process of the Western Balkan countries.

The Enhancing Peace through Youth Creativity (EPYC) project envisaged the creation of an integrated platform at the 11th edition of the Giffoni Macedonia Youth Film Festival with activities aimed at promoting peace and cohesion, European values ​​and human rights, through cinema, art and culture.

The young people, mostly coming from countries in the Balkan region, participated in various activities that took place during 2023 (dedicated workshops, blogs managed by the young people, screening of thematic films, creation of short films, etc.). During the closing ceremony, the winners of the three categories of the new competition for short films dedicated to the theme of peace were announced: best short film “EPYC”, best short film “EPYC” produced by a young director and best short film “EPYC” produced by a director from the Balkan region.