The Giffoni Film Festival was founded in 1971 by the current artistic director Claudio Gubitosi who wanted to develop and promote cinema for children and youth. The festival started as a quite modest event with a limited budget so it screened mostly films made in Northern Europe and the Soviet Union, bringing an unknown world to Italy.
In 1974, the festival was officially registered as a non-profit organization and gradually began to grow in both programming and attendance. In the early 1980s, it started to showcase films made in countries from different parts of the world, including Albania, Australia, Canada, Iran, France, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, and others.
The festival had its turning point in 1982, when French filmmaker and critic François Truffaut visited the Giffoni Film Festival and named it the most necessary of all the film festivals. Truffaut’s blessing opened the doors to a stream of Italian and international guests such as Alberto Sordi, Michelangelo Antonioni, Sergio Leone, Robert De Niro, John Travolta, Ian McKellen, Ben Kingsley, and more.
The Giffoni Film Festival is special because children and young people aren’t just its audience, they also act as jurors. The festival hosts several film competitions that are judged by children and teenagers. They are Elements +3, Elements +6, Elements +10, Generator +13, Generator +16 and Generators +18 (the numbers refer to the jurors’ age). The best film in each section is chosen by vote and receives the Gryphon Award.
Although competitions are one of the most important parts of the festival program, Giffoni is more than just a film competition. In 2009 it was even dubbed Giffoni Experience because the new name better encompasses all aspects of its programming. The Giffoni Film Festival hosts an impressive array of events and activities including talent meetings, meet & greets with international stars, non-competitive screenings, film premieres, workshops, exhibitions, concerts, animation, and more.
The Giffoni Film Festival prides itself on the extraordinary quality of its films. Each competitive section contains carefully selected films which are most suitable for the sensitivity of its age group.
Photo: tweens.screenweek.it
