The Saturnia Film Festival returns: the 6th edition dedicated to Franco Zeffirelli, with guests Daniele Luchetti, Greta Scarano, Lorenzo Richelmy, and Bianca Nappi, will take place in 5 villages in the Maremma Toscana.
NEWS by VALENTINA D’AMICO — 04/07/2023
The selected short films for the Saturnia Film Festival 2023 come from screens in Cannes, Florida, and Turin. The itinerant event dedicated to short films is set in the heart of Maremma Toscana, under the presidency of Antonella Santarelli and the artistic direction of director Alessandro Grande. From July 26th to 30th, the festival will return to symbolic locations in the area – from Manciano to Sorano, Montemerano, Rocchette di Fazio, and Saturnia – for five days of screenings, masterclasses, guests, exhibitions, tastings, and side events. The 6th edition is dedicated to Franco Zeffirelli on the centenary of his birth, featuring the screening of the documentary Zeffirelli conformista ribelle by Anselma Dell’Olio, in the presence of the author.
Over 2,500 submissions have been received so far for the short film competition – the traditional centerpiece of the event – and 12 films have been selected for 2023 in the categories of fiction, animation, and documentary. Among the confirmed guests are Daniele Luchetti, Greta Scarano, and Lorenzo Richelmy.
The Program
The section dedicated to Italian auteur feature films, which awards the three most significant debut and second works produced in the last year, will continue. The selected films for this edition are L’uomo sulla strada by Gianluca Mangiasciutti, Primadonna by Marta Savina, and Margini by Niccolò Falsetti, which will be screened and discussed in the presence of the authors (on July 27th, 28th, and 29th, respectively). As for the short films in competition, some of the titles include Il barbiere complottista by Valerio Ferrara, winner of the Best Short Film La Cinef award at the Cannes Film Festival (July 27th), Old Tricks by Edoardo Pasquini and Viktor Ivanov, presented at the Turin Film Festival (July 28th), 7 lbs 8 oz by Yoo Lee, acclaimed at the Florida Film Festival (July 27th), and from Cannes, The Right Words by Adrian Moyse Dullin (July 28th), Bear by Nasch Edgerton (July 27th), and Spring Roll Dreams by Mai Vu (July 29th).
The events will take place in picturesque locations, including Piazza Magenta in Manciano (July 26th), the square of Rocchette di Fazio (July 27th), Piazza Vittorio Veneto in Saturnia (July 28th), and Piazza del Castello in Montemerano (July 29th). The awards ceremony, as usual, will be held at the spaces of the Terme di Saturnia Natural Destination thermal park (July 30th). The short films will compete for awards assigned by a jury chaired by Paolo Orlando, the distribution director of Medusa Film, and composed of Mario Mazzetti (Vivilcinema), Manuela Rima (Rai Cinema), and Mirella Cheeseman (Wildside). This year, additional awards include the Donne nel Cinema award, reserved for films directed by women directors and presented by the Mujeres nel Cinema group, the Audience Award, and the Clorofilla Film Festival award – with which Saturnia is twinned. Furthermore, the short films in competition will be streamed on the Mymovies platform of the La Compagnia cinema in Florence, in collaboration with the Fondazione Sistema Toscana.
Masterclasses and Side Events
Among the side events, SCREENS is worth mentioning, a collective exhibition that will bring together the works of 35 artists including Holaf, Leonardo Crudi, Pep Marchegiani, EPVUS, Desiderio, Krayon, and Massimo Saverio Ruiu, curated by artist David Pompili and sponsored by the Municipality of Sorano (from July 25th to August 31st). Also curated by Pampili for 2023 is the selection of short films for the Art Shorts section, dedicated to artist shorts, which returns with 5 chosen works after the success of the previous edition. The works will be viewable both in the cinema hall of Fortezza Orsini as part of the exhibition, and at the Polo Culturale Le Clarisse in Grosseto during the festival days, according to the museum’s schedule. Let’s not forget the customary tastings with local wines and products that will accompany the festival at each stage.
And then the masterclasses: actress Bianca Nappi, known to the public for TV series such as Tutto chiede salvezza, Skam Italia, Sirene, and collaborator of Ferzan Özpetek, will hold a meeting on the craft of acting (July 30th) and will co-host the festival’s final evening with Matteo Nicoletta. On the day of the awards ceremony, there will also be a VR (virtual reality) experience offered in a dedicated corner at Terme di Saturnia Natural Destination. The initiative, curated by director and producer Alessandro Parrello, will provide the audience with the immersive film 7 Miracles by Rodrigo Cerqueira.
For more information, visit www.saturniafilmfestival.it.
