What we saw during the opening night
It left yesterday, at Nexus Cinema Theatre at the MaxiMall Pompeii, the second edition of Pompeii International Film Festival, an event conceived and desired by the president Annarita Borelli and artistically directed by Enrico Vanzina.
We attended the presentation at the Nexus of the MaxiMall Pompeii, and the most striking aspect was the spirit of participation surrounding the project. It was an intense opening night, built around a specific message: cinema is not just entertainment, it's not just entertainment, but memory, identity and collective storytellingIt's the ability to stop time, to transform a face, a street, a city, an emotion into something that lasts.
"Time Found Again," the short poster for the second edition
It is no coincidence that the heart of the opening was “Time Found Again”, the short film written and directed by Annarita Borelli with the artistic supervision of Enrico Vanzina. A work chosen as visual poster of this second edition, a tribute to the eternal strength of Pompeii and its ability to transcend time.
Pompei returns to tell its story through the movies.
Pompeii, after all, is already cinema even before a camera arrives. It's a natural setting, a living memory, an eternal snapshot of a civilization that continues to speak to the present. This short film attempts to convey precisely this: the city that does not disappear, the time that does not erase, the beauty that remains even when everything seems destined to pass.
Guests at the opening night
Present at the opening night were, next to Annarita Borelli ed Enrico Vanzina, also Gino Rivieccio e Veronica Olivier, among the interpreters of the short film.
Gino Rivieccio He emphasized the value of initiatives capable of bringing culture and attention back to an area that needs major public events. Veronica Olivier she described the emotion of having immersed herself in the reality of Pompeii and in the profound meaning of a work that binds cinema, memory and identity.
The importance of the Festival emerged several times on stage: cinema as memory, as testimony, as a way to immortalize immortalityA phrase that takes on an even stronger meaning in Pompeii, because here the past is never truly past. It is living matter, it is a story, it is presence.
The competing sections and the novelty of the school short films
The opening day also saw the presentation of the works in competition and the various sections of the Festival: feature films, short films and, the great novelty of this edition, short films made by school children.
An important choice, because introducing young people to the language of cinema means educating them about the gaze, memory and narrationIt means making people understand that cinema isn't just what you watch, but also what you build, think, and experience.
The program of the Pompeii Film Festival
During the week, the Festival will bring to the Nexus screenings, meetings, panels and prominent guestsAmong the most anticipated events are the meetings with Maurizio De Giovanni, Ottavio Lucarelli, president of the Order of Journalists of Campania, Frederick Ruffo, Adriano Monti Buzzetti Colella e Rosario Coluccia.
The final evening, scheduled Saturday June 6, will see the delivery of the official prizes by the juries and the Lifetime Achievement Awards a Ezio Greggio, Massimiliano Gallo e Massimo Ghini.
Tuesday 2 June
- Short films from the official selection and panel "From news to image: the fact that becomes cinema", a discussion dedicated to the relationship between journalism, investigation, and audiovisual narration.
- Speakers: Frederick Ruffo, Ottavio Lucarelli, Enrico Vanzina e Annarita Borelli.
- In the evening there will be space for the screening of “Münter & Kandinsky”.
Wednesday 3 June
- Meeting “Writing Images: Literature Becomes Cinema”, with Maurizio De Giovanni, Enrico Vanzina e Annarita Borelli.
- An event designed to reflect on the transition from page to screen, from the written word to the visual construction of characters, atmospheres, and stories.
Thursday 4 June
- new short films in competition.
- Panel dedicated to “The fake blondes”, with Enrico Vanzina, focusing on the relationship between novel and cinema.
Friday 5 June
- Meeting “From words to cinema”.
- Speakers: Adriano Monti Buzzetti Colella, director of Rai Libri, Rosario Coluccia of the Accademia della Crusca, Enrico Vanzina e Annarita Borelli.
Saturday June 6th
- Awards ceremony at the Nexus Theater.
- Awards will be given for the best feature film, best short film and the jury prizes dedicated to young short films.
- The Festival jury is chaired by the film critic Valerio Caprara.
- On the same evening they will be awarded Ezio Greggio for television, Massimiliano Gallo for the theater and Massimo Ghini for the cinema.
The absence of local institutions is causing controversy
But alongside the beauty of the initiative, there remains a note of regret. On the opening day, the voices were heard the absence of local institutions, in particular of the City of Pompeii.
A lack that gives rise to discussion, especially in the face of a cultural event that bears the name of the city, which enhances its identity and which tries to build a bridge between territory, cinema, memory and future.
Representatives of the Metropolitan City of Naples, but the absence of the municipal administration weighsAnd it's not just a formal issue. Because when a cultural event is born amidst a thousand difficulties, when it brings together artists, professionals, young people, schools, the public, and the local area, institutions should be thereEven just with a moral presence. Even just to say: this city recognizes those who try to build something.
The short circuit between major events and territory
This is exactly the short circuit.
Provincial areas often complain about the lack of major events, the fact that everything is concentrated in the big cities, the lack of cultural opportunities capable of shining a spotlight on precious realities.
Then, when those events arrive, when someone organizes them, when a Festival comes to life and brings important names from the world of cinema, culture and entertainment to Pompeii, local institutions risk being left on the sidelines.
And instead culture should be the first ground on which a community recognizes itselfCinema, as was reiterated from the stage, is not just a projection on a screen. It is memory, education, identity and social narrativeIt's a tool that helps citizens see each other, understand each other, and imagine the future.
Pompeii is not just a city to visit, but to tell
The second edition of the Pompeii International Film Festival It therefore starts with a strong message: Pompeii is not just a city to visit, but a city to tell. And film can be one of the most powerful ways to do that.
Amid applause, emotion, screenings, and reflections, the Festival once again shined a light on a region that deserves attention.
Now one question remains, inevitable: Faced with initiatives like this, do local institutions want to remain spectators or finally choose to take the cultural stage?
I like this festival. The idea is good, but the absence of the municipality is strange. The opening night was exciting, but the organization seemed rushed. The people were eager to put together short courses, but there were problems with schedules, logistics, and poor communication.