IT
Second to last day of screenings and first day of voting for the jurors who will decide the winner of the Grifone Awards for the 54th edition of the Giffoni FIlm Festival. While the older jurors will be busy watching the last films in competition, for the younger ones the day will be spent watching the short films.
From 10 a.m. in the Sala Truffaut the Generator +16 jurors will watch THE IMMINENT AGE (Spain, 2024) directed by Col-lectiu Vigília, Clara Serrano Llorens and Gerard Simó Gimeno. Bruno is an 18-year-old boy who happens to live with his 86-year-old grandmother Natividad. Having only her in his life, he takes care of her and spends most of his time in her company. But when a great opportunity comes knocking at his door, the boy is forced to make a painful choice: either continue to take care of her or take her to a nursing home.
Followed by voting.
In the early afternoon, at 2.30 p.m., again in the Sala Truffaut, the boys and girls of the Generator +13 section will be watching the film SEASIDE AVENUE (Brazil, 2024) directed by directors Manu de Paiva and Bernando Florim. Twelve-year-old Rebeca is the daughter of divorced parents and, together with her mother, moves to the coastal neighbourhood of Piratininga. While in summer it is populated, in winter no one is ever there and boredom takes over. It is Mika who – unknowingly – changes her outlook on life while she is skating in the street.
Followed by voting.
Meanwhile in the Sala Galileo at 10 a.m., Generators +18 will watch the film A HAPPY DAY (Norway, 2023) directed by Hisham Zaman. Three teenage friends are stranded on an icy place and try with all their might to escape over the mountain. Their intention is to travel to a world where their dreams can come true, but soon, when one of them falls in love, their plan becomes very problematic. And so to the screening of the short films. Starting at 4 p.m. in the Sala Sordi, the jurors of the Elements +10 section will watch the short films in competition and vote for their favourite at the end.
The first title is AERIALIST (Russia, 2024) directed by Anna Kuzina. A woman works as a saleswoman in a textile shop. Although she enjoys working with textiles, her daily routine is rather monotonous. However, when she meets a group of gymnasts, her life is brightened by a dream.
CAFUNÈ (Spain, 2024) directed by directors Carlos F. De Vigo and Lorena Ares. Alma, a lonely refugee girl, is thrown back into her traumatic past when her doll falls into the pool. The event takes her back to the shipwreck of the refugee boat of which she is the only survivor.
TO THE BIKINI! (Canada, 2023) directed by Justine Gauthier. Ten-year-old Lili rebels when her parents force her to wear a bikini, even though she has always swum topless.
GAME RULES (Sweden, 2024) directed by Christian Zetterberg. A youth handball team is about to participate in its first major tournament. While they are aiming for the top, facing professional players, scouts and sponsors, the game is suddenly interrupted by some adults.
In the Sala Lumière at 15.30, the short films reserved for Elements +6 will be screened. Kicking off the action is BOTTLES (Morocco, 2024) directed by Yassine EL Idrissi. Said, a 13-year-old boy lives in the old Medina of Rabat. In summer he works a side job: he collects empty beer bottles and sells them to a shop. With the money he wants to buy food for a dog he is hiding, despite his best friend telling him that doing so is ‘haram’, i.e. forbidden according to their religion.
THE GIRL WITH THE OCCUPIED WYES (Portugal, 2024) directed by André Carrilho. A little girl wanders through towns, countryside and beaches, always with her eyes fixed to a phone. Along the way, she meets a variety of characters including a bear, dolphins, pirates and an alien. They all try to catch her attention, but she is indifferent to everything.
GO MY WAY (Spain, 2024) by director Chelo Loureiro. Elisa likes Martin, but Martin does not seem to notice. The advice she receives to make Martin fall in love involves changing not only her appearance but also her entire personality. Will Elisa give up being herself to win Martin over?
HEAD IN THE CLOUDS (France, 2023) directed by Rémi Durin. Alfonso, a young squirrel scout, always has his head in the clouds. He loves to watch them and sometimes photographs them. His parents and friends find it difficult to take his hobby seriously. But watching the clouds is not always easy: Alfonso sometimes has to be as brave as some of the great explorers of our time.
HOMEWORK (Spain, 2024) directed by Nacho Arjona. A pencil and his friends use their unique skills to help each other in unexpected situations, inside the school where they all live together.
LEAP OF THE FAITH (France, 2024) directed by the filmmaking team of Martina Doll, Coline Reverbel, Kenzo Talma, Edgar Vernier, Lisa Vlaine and Anaïs Dos. A little girl is on holiday at the seaside with her little brother when she suddenly falls in love at first sight with a mysterious boy she sees in the distance.
MAGIC CANDIES (Japan, 2024) directed by Daisuke Nishio. The other children in the park never ask Dong-Dong to play. That’s OK. He likes to play with marbles by himself. One day, he buys a bag of coloured candies instead of new marbles. The first time he puts one in his mouth, his old sofa starts talking to him. Apparently, the people, animals and objects in Dong-Dong’s life have a lot to say. With each candy, he discovers new voices and perspectives, including his own.
MONSTER SISTER (South Korea, 2024) directed by Choi Eunji. Monster lives in isolation and a group of bullies torments her at school. Will she be able to find someone who will stand by her and make her life happy?
OVO (France, 2023) directed by Stiv Spasojevic. This is the story of the encounter between an extraordinary robot from outer space and an adorable little bird that has just hatched from its egg.
WILFRID GORDON MCDONALD PATRIDGE (Australia, 2023) directed by Hattie Archibald. When 6-year-old Wilfrid discovers that his 96-year-old friend, Nancy, has lost her memory, he decides to help her find it.
For the section PARENTAL EXPERIENCE, the short films selected are: AMANDA, YOU LIED (Spain, 2024) directed by directors Eva Libertad and Nuria Muñoz. Amanda and Virgi are two inseparable friends. After meeting a man in the hot summer countryside for the girls nothing will ever be the same again.
FATMA (Sweden, 2024) directed by Sebastian Ringler. Fatma, a single mother, and her son Khaled are traumatised by a past of domestic violence. Far from family and friends, they try to rebuild their shattered lives. Depicting their daily struggles, their efforts to free themselves from the past and regain control of their lives, the film captures the inseparable love and survival instinct that define the mother-son relationship.
FINDING JIA (Australia, 2024) directed by Alice Yang. Mei, an eight-year-old immigrant girl, longs for the kind of life she sees on TV. A life that resembles the Western lifestyle so often broadcast on television.
IGNOTI (Italy, 2023) by director Giuseppe Brigante. There hasn’t been an evening that Zena and her son Maurizio haven’t turned on the television to watch that popular quiz show where contestants show their ability to recognise similarities and kinships. When she expresses a desire to participate, he tries to talk her out of it, but only because he is hiding a secret.
MANMADE (UK, 2023) directed by Plum Stupple-Harris. Two brothers come to terms with their past as they face the consequences of their father’s strict upbringing during the man’s funeral.
MAYBE ELEPHANTS (Canada, 2024) directed by Troll Kove. Three rebellious teenage daughters, a restless mother, a father struggling with potatoes and maybe some elephants, find themselves in Nairobi. What could possibly go wrong?
US AGAINST THE NIGHT (Italy, 2024) directed by Stefano Moscone. An interminable and surreal eclipse is bringing the entire planet to its knees. Yet little Luna, intent on bringing her parents back together, does not seem afraid. On her way, darkness and the city are not benevolent, and Luna ends up getting lost. A chance encounter with a mysterious woman will be her opportunity to survive the night.
Free entry until full capacity is reached, priority will be given to parents in the ELEMENTS +6 and +10 section.