Schedule La Guarimba International Film Festival – Summer 2025
Last year, Nonna Saveria left us, one of the symbols of this festival and the first supporter of my projects. She left little by little, in a descent toward childhood, after a life of sacrifices like those of many Calabrian women of her generation.
It was she, with her fare contadino, who taught me to take care of things, the importance of getting my hands dirty to cultivate my dreams, and to celebrate good news together.
She attended every edition, from the very beginning, always sitting in the front rows, not to miss a thing. For me, Nonna was the physical embodiment of what the impact of my work truly means: a hardworking woman who did not have access to education or cultural events, yet was deeply moved by the stories we projected. Because culture cannot be a weapon against the ignorant, nor a bubble to make us feel superior. It must be an illuminated path to elevate us collectively, free to interpret the images we see, without preachy explanations or unnecessary lectures.
Indeed, after every evening, my grandmother and I exchanged opinions about what she liked the most. This tradition gave birth to the Nonna Saveria Award, which we would present to the short film she liked the most. In twelve years of the festival, Nonna Saveria never ceased to surprise me with her choices of shorts and the profound reasoning with which she defended them.
This year will be the first edition without her light and the first for my son Lorenzo, who unfortunately never got to meet her. I will miss her enthusiasm for this program we have put together, her eyes lit up by the big screen, and her hands capable of calming any anxiety. I will miss her voice and her dialetto calabrese, which for so many years I thought was just her way of speaking Italian. I will miss her, but I will use this sadness to cultivate something beautiful for everyone.
This 13th Edition of the La Guarimba International Film Festival, therefore, is a celebration of Nonna Saveria’s life and of all of us who fight against distrust to build a better world than the one we were handed.
We will screen 190 short films from 67 different countries, without forgetting our values: there will be space to talk about the people of Gaza as well as those in Ukraine, we will give voice to the Venezuelan crisis, to the emancipation of women’s bodies, to experimental cinema, to dance, to music videos, and we will host a large selection of animation, including La Grotta dei Piccoli, the program of 100 shorts for children in collaboration with UNICEF Italia.
There will also be important moments of exchange between excellent cultural experiences, such as the independent animation collective Serato Animato, who will be with us all week conducting workshops and screenings; the friends from TAM, who will explain how to create an independent museum; the founders of ESTÁJEVI from Caracas, who will make us dance by the sea; the musician José Ignacio Benítez Dotti, who will take us on a journey of music and poetry.
We will also give space to the regional network of festivals born thanks to the support of the Calabria Film Commission; we will offer Calabrian lunches with friselle and pimmiduori and arepada venezuelana; we will organize an artistic tour of the historic center of Amantea and present the Audience Award dedicated to Vitaliano Camarca and, of course, the Nonna Saveria Award to continue celebrating what was a wonderful person.
Giulio Vita, festival director and grandson of Nonna Saveria
LA GUARIMBA ENTRY IS FREE
ALL THE FILMS WILL BE SCREENED WITH ITALIAN AND ENGLISH SUBTITLES
ARTISTS FOR LA GUARIMBA
Every day, starting at 18:00, we will host the exhibition “Artists for La Guarimba” an annual online and offline illustration exhibition.
This year, the artists selected are: Mikel Murillo (Spain), Barbora Kmecova (Slovakia), Johnny Ryan (USA), Karol Carassai (Italy), Rocío Quillahuaman (Peru/Spain), Dania Bucko (Venezuela), Laura Jayne (England), Audrey d’Erneville (Senegal), Assala Chouk (Tunisia), Resi (Indonesia), Yiling Changues (Tahiti), Bijijoo (USA), Lika Kvitsiani (Georgia), Mari Kinovych (Ukraine), Marcelo Clapp (Portugal).
LIDO AZZURRO (LUNGOMARE, 5)
8:00 | BEACH CLEANING
LA PICCOLA BIBLIOTECA DI AMANTEA (VIA MAZZINI, 26)
18:00 | DOODLE SPACE | Free drawing workshop
IL TERRENITO (VIA MAZZINI, 32)
20:30 | OPENING CONCERT “20 YEARS OF THE ORCHESTRA DI FIATI MEDITERRANEA”
21:00 | OPENING
21:30 | SHORTS IN COMPETITION | All ages
feelslikimfallinginlove by Raman Djafari | 4′ | UK | MUSIC VIDEO
Paternal Advice by Lisa Clarkson | 11′ | UK/Scotland | FICTION
The Golden Donkey by Anne Verbeure | 16′ | Belgium | ANIMATION
Common Pear by Gregor Božič| 15′ | Slovenia | DOCUMENTARY
Pasta Negra by Jorge Thielen Armand | 14′ | Canada/Colombia/Italy/Venezuela | FICTION
Flares by Jáchym Bouzek | 5′ | Czech Republic/France | ANIMATION
22:30 | SHORTS IN COMPETITION | Accompanied children
Baumarkt (DIY Store) by Marc Teuber | 2′ | Germany | MUSIC VIDEO
Mercenaire by Pier-Philippe Chevigny | 15′ | Canada | FICTION
An Explosive Love Story by Adina Oana Enache | 3′ | Italy | ANIMATION
3350 KM by Sara Kontar | 13′ | Syria/France | DOCUMENTARY
No Room by Jelena Oroz | 6′ | Croatia | ANIMATION
The Boy with the White Skin by Simon Panay | 15′ | France | FICTION
00:00 | SCREENING “INSOMNIA” | Experimental films
Beyond the Facade by Eyup Kuş | 5′ | Austria
Concrete Whisper by Jannis Lenz | 13′ | Germany/Austria
How to Film a Mushroom by Lucas Albert Gortemaker | 20′ | Belgium/The Netherlands/Germany
Dell’Altro Mondo by Delia Simonetti | 7′ | Italy
Hun Tun by Magdalena Hejzlarová | 15′ | Czech Republic
LIDO AZZURRO (LUNGOMARE, 5)
09:30 | CHEW, DRAW, BARF | Curated by Serato Animato
LA PICCOLA BIBLIOTECA DI AMANTEA (VIA MAZZINI, 26)
18:00 | DOODLE SPACE | Free drawing workshop
IL TERRENITO (VIA MAZZINI, 32)
18:00 | STARTING POINT OF AMANTEA HISTORICAL CENTRE TOUR
21:00 | SHORTS IN COMPETITION | All ages
Reminder by CIANG studio | 3′ | Italy | MUSIC VIDEO
Keep Frozen! by Jeanne Tiessé | 8′ | France | ANIMATION
Lights in the Night Sky by Octavio Daniel Carreño | 15′ | Mexico | FICTION
Lanawaru by Angello Faccini | 16′ | Colombia/Mexico/USA | DOCUMENTARY
Poppy Flowers by Evridiki Papaiakovou | 4′ | Estonia/Cyprus | ANIMATION
Lees Waxul by Yoro Mbaye | 21′ | Senegal | FICTION
22:30 | SHORTS IN COMPETITION | Accompanied children
The Cage by Roxanne Gaucherand | 4′ | Belgium| MUSIC VIDEO
Amarelo Banana by Alexandre Sousa | 12′ | Portugal/Hungary | ANIMATION
Clear Sky by Marcin Kundera | 22′ | Poland/Ukraine | DOCUMENTARY
The Truck by Elizabeth Rao | 13′ | USA | FICTION
Free the Chickens by Matúš Vizár | 15′ | Czech Republic/Slovakia | ANIMATION
Vox Humana by Don Josephus Raphael Eblahan | 20′ | Philippines/Singapore/USA | FICTION
LIDO AZZURRO (LUNGOMARE, 5)
9:30 | INDUSTRY CONFERENCES
9:30 | SUBTITLING FOR FILM FESTIVALS
10:00 | LE SUPERCAZZOLE: TAKE THE GAME SERIOUSLY | with Museo Tam, Serato Animato, Esta Jevi
10:30 | THE CALABRIAN FILM FESTIVALS
LA PICCOLA BIBLIOTECA DI AMANTEA (VIA MAZZINI, 26)
18:00 | BOOK PRESENTATION AND DRAWING LAB | with Rullampo
IL TERRENITO (VIA MAZZINI, 32)
21:00 | SHORTS IN COMPETITION | All ages
Lay Me Down by Emmanuelle Mohnblatt, Sébastien Kirszenblat, Marie Deboissy | 5′ | France | MUSIC VIDEO
Three Keenings by Oliver McGoldrick | 10′ | UK| FICTION
Children of the Bird by Julia Tudisco | 12′ | Hungary | ANIMATION
Four Holes by Daniela Muñoz Barroso | 20′ | Cuba/France | DOCUMENTARY
The Office Farewell by Mehdi Pierret | 18′ | Belgium | FICTION
Dead Weight by Øyvind Tangseth | 8′ | Norway| ANIMATION
22:30 | SHORTS IN COMPETITION | Accompanied children
Quicksand by Sujin Kim | 3′ | South Korea | MUSIC VIDEO
A Son and A Father by Andrés Ramírez Pulido | 25′ | Colombia/France | FICTION
World Naked Bike Tour by William Bradford | 10′ | Canada/Mexico/Philippines/UK | ANIMATION
Invasive Species by Risto-Pekka Blom | 6′ | Finland | DOCUMENTARY
Detlev by Ferdinand Ehrhardt | 13′ | Germany | ANIMATION
Majonezë by Giulia Grandinetti | 22′ | Italy/Albania | FICTION
LA PICCOLA BIBLIOTECA DI AMANTEA (VIA MAZZINI, 26)
10:00 | THE POETRY OF RHYTM | with José Ignacio Benítez Dotti
18:00 | DOODLE SPACE | Free drawing workshop
IL TERRENITO (VIA MAZZINI, 32)
21:00 | SHORTS IN COMPETITION | All ages
Sexual Misery by Ingrid Heiderscheidt | 5′ | Belgium | MUSIC VIDEO
Shadow of the Butterflies by Sofia El Khyari | 9′ | Morocco/France/Qatar/Portugal | ANIMATION
Xing Long by Xin Alessandro Zheng | 17′ | Italy | FICTION
Puriykachay by Rocio Quillahuaman | 9′ | Spain | DOCUMENTARY
Il Burattino e la Balena by Roberto Catani | 8′ | Italy | ANIMATION
Neverlandex by Agata Kapuścińska | 23′ | Poland| FICTION
22:30 | SHORTS IN COMPETITION | Accompanied children
Ye Kou Si Kuo by Lola Lefèvre | 3′ | France | MUSIC VIDEO
Söder by Raoul Bruck | 27′ | Austria | FICTION
The Peel by NanTung Lin | 6′ | Belgium/Finland/Portugal/Taiwan | ANIMATION
Crocodile Nest by Jazmin Rojas Forero | 9′ | Colombia/Germany | DOCUMENTARY
Dollhouse Elephant by Jenny Jokela | 11′ | Finland | ANIMATION
My Demon by Rossana Montoya | 17′ | Colombia | FICTION
LA PICCOLA BIBLIOTECA DI AMANTEA (VIA MAZZINI, 26)
18:30 | CINEFORUM
IL TERRENITO (VIA MAZZINI, 32)
21:00 | SHORTS IN COMPETITION | All ages
Lost in Space by Rupert Höller | 4′ | Austria/USA | MUSIC VIDEO
Voiceless by Samuel Patthey | 15′ | Swizerland | ANIMATION
Shadows by Rand Beiruty | 12′ | Jordan/France | ANIMATION
Atom & Void by Gonçalo Almeida | 9′ | Portugal | FICTION
Quota by Job, Joris & Marieke | 2024 | 3′ | The Netherlands | ANIMATION
Sirènes by Sarah Malléon | 16′ | Martinique | FICTION
22:30 | SHORTS IN COMPETITION | Accompanied children
Bob Dylan’s Big Dick by Chris Lambourne | 3′ | UK | MUSIC VIDEO
Almost Certainly False by Cansu Baydar | 20′ | Turkey| FICTION
8 Times by Adam Mbowe | 2023 | 15′ | Canada/Gambia/USA | DOCUMENTARY
Luz Diabla by Gervasio Canda, Paula Boffo, Patricio Plaza | 11′ | Argentina/Canada| ANIMATION
The Leader Will Come by Michiel Geluykens, Manuel Janssens | 17′ | Belgium| FICTION
Barry by YONK | 1′ | The Netherlands | ANIMATION
SECRET LOCATION
01:30 | SPECIAL PROGRAM “DANCE FILMS!”
Do Not Dance by Julian Quentin, Marie Heleen Samrotzki | 7′ | Germany
Monoplay – York by Victor Lyapakhin, Alina Now | 5′ | Russia
Muses by Simon Vermeulen |8′ | Canada
02:00 | ESTÁJEVI PARTY
LA PICCOLA BIBLIOTECA DI AMANTEA (VIA MAZZINI, 26)
20:45 | AWARD CEREMONY AND ‘BEST OF’ LA GROTTA DEI PICCOLI
21:00 | CARIBE ATÓMICO
Audio y el Caiman by Andrés I. Estrada | 16′ | Venezuela
22:00 | SERATO ANIMATO
My Ex Boyfriend by Cissi Efraimsson | 3′ | Sweden
Easter Egg Hunt by Leah Putnam | 1′ | UK
Butterfly by CIANG studio | 2′ | Italy
Drain Snake by Nespy5euro | 4′ | Italy/Mexico
How to Make a Pizza Tutorial by Jake Huffcutt | 1′ | USA
ZimZam by Fantastic 3D Creation | 2′ | France
Buzz Box by David Daniels (STRATA CUT) | 6′ | USA
Spooky Loops by Stas Santimov | 4′ | Ukraine
Worm Hole by Kate Renshaw-Lewis | 1′ | USA
Horse Squeezing by Master Tingus | 2′ | Australia
Overture by Jakub Hronský | 7′ | Czech Republic
Sending Signals by Rafael Esteban Trujillo | 1′ | Spain
Breakfast by Caitlin McCarthy | 1′ | UK
Somewhat Related by James Kerr/Scorpion Dagger | 4′ | Canada
IL TERRENITO (VIA MAZZINI, 32)
23:00 | AWARDS
23:30 | ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE “VITALIANO CAMARCA” AUDIENCE AWARD
LA PICCOLA BIBLIOTECA DI AMANTEA (VIA MAZZINI, 26)
21:00 | SHORTS FOR CHILDREN
Mind the Gap by Gwenola Heck | 1′ | Germany
Forever Seven by Antje Heyn, Alexander Isert | 10′ | Germany
Above the Tamarind Tree by Buthyna Al-Mohammadi | 8′ | Qatar
Hello Summer by Martin Smatana, Veronika Zacharová | 11′ | Slovakia
Pear Garden by Shadab Shayegan | 7′ | Germany
Muscle Man In: Metal Mayhem by Nicolas Gemoets | 8′ | Belgium
Shorts from the box / modern times by Géza M. Tóth | 8′ | Hungary
Intermezzo by Putik Amirasari | 3′ | Indonesia
Next Stop by María Barriga | 3′ | Spain
Gilbert by Arturo Lacal, Alex Salu, Jordi Jiménez |13′ | Spain
Monster Shaker by David Garcia | 11′ | France
Everything We Missed by Marta Prokopová | 12′ | Slovakia
22:35 | SHORTS FOR YOUTH
Potatoes by Marcin Podolec | 4′ | Poland
Robert Yoghurt by Sacha Beeley | 2′ | UK
Dagon by Paolo Gaudio | 6′ | Italy
That Mystery of Mysteries by Eléonore Geissler | 12′ | France
Floaters by Mocong Yuan | 6′ | UK
Nabu by Joanna Rusinek | 5′ | Poland
High Diver by Oscar Bittner | 5′ | Germany
Flow of Being by Helen Unt | 11′ | Bulgaria/Estonia
LA PICCOLA BIBLIOTECA DI AMANTEA (VIA MAZZINI, 26)
21:00 | SHORTS FOR CHILDREN
House Trap by George Hampshire | 2′ | The Netherlands
Homework by Nacho Arjona | 15′ | Spain
Filante by Marion Jamault | 9′ | France
El Chucur by Jairo Tarapuez Jaramillo | 12′ | Colombia
Sailboat at the End of the Street by Lucia Aimara Borjas | 8′ | Croatia
Eureka! by Kris Borghs | 10′ | Belgium
The Little Ancestor by Alexa Tremblay-Francoeur | 11′ | Canada
Simon Super Rabit S5 by Julien Cayot | 5′ | France
Little Hole by Giulia Tivelli | 6′ | Italy
Barry by YONK | 1′ | The Netherlands
Sphere Supreme by Hasan Pastaci | 5′ | Belgium/Turkey
22:30 | SHORTS FOR YOUTH
Create Safe Dance Spaces by Britt Raes | 1′ | Belgium
The Dog in the Long Grass by Seb Cox | 5′ | UK
Dead Weight by Øyvind Tangseth | 8′ | Norway
Uncertified Document by Hao Wang, Ying Wan, Ximing Li, Nahee Jang | 7′ | France
Né Una Né Due by Lucia Catalini | 6′ | Italy
A Toi by Stéphane Berla | 3′ | France
The Shyness of Trees by Bingqing Shu, Maud Le Bras, Jiaxin Huang, Simin He, Lina Han, Loïck Du Plessis D’argentré, Sofiia Chuikovska | 9′ | France
Dolores by Cecilia Andalón Delgadillo | 9′ | Mexico
Society of Clothes by Dahee Jeong | 15′ | France
LA PICCOLA BIBLIOTECA DI AMANTEA (VIA MAZZINI, 26)
21:00 | CAMBUR: ENVIRONMENTAL SHORTS
The Bear and the Bird by Marie Caudry | 26′ | France
Rerooted by Christian Spurling, Delphine Coudray | 6′ | Ireland
Books Are Made of Trees by Julianna Jakubowska | 6′ | Denmark
Dancing in the Rain by Chao-chun Yeh | 6′ | Taiwan
Playground by Jojo Chongjaroenjai | 1′ | USA
Quota by Job, Joris & Marieke | 3′ | The Netherlands
The Refusers by Wiep Teeuwisse | 3′ | The Netherlands
Desi Oon by Suresh Eriyat | 7′ | India
Le Petit et le Géant by Isabela Costa | 9′ | France/Brazil
Veils of Landscape by Chihiro Yamanaka | 5′ | Japan
Tubulus Plasticus by Yoonjoo Lee | 1′ | South Korea
Rise Age by Tatjana Theuer | 5′ | Germany
22:30 | SHORTS FOR YOUTH
Detours Ahead by Esther Cheung | 8′ | Canada
Mimt by Ted Wiggin | 4′ | USA
Pietra by Cynthia Levitan | 13′ | Portugal/Brazil/Lithuania/Poland/Spain
An Explosive Love Story by Adina Oana Enache | 2′ | Italy
The Thoughtless Hand by Harry Bhalerao | 5′ | UK/Germany
Gravity by Robotina – Sara Taigher and Yassmin Yaghmai | 9′ | Italy/Mexico
Cottage Cheese by Liina Luomajoki, Lena Metzger, Janina Müller, Alice Kunz | 5′ | Switzerland
Where I Belong by Mohamad Beirouty | 2024 | 8′ | Lebanon
Wind Goes On by Eric Lee | 15′ | Hong Kong
LA PICCOLA BIBLIOTECA DI AMANTEA (VIA MAZZINI, 26)
21:00 | SHORTS FOR CHILDREN
Carmen and the Wooden Spoon by Carlos Gómez-Mira Sagrado | 20′ | Spain
Kitty Kotty in Winter by Marta Strozycka | 7′ | Poland
Let’s Play by Marzieh Rasekh | 5′ | The Netherlands
Baking with Boris by Maša Avramović | 8′ | France
Saq Nikté and the Spirit of the Mask by Ester Weiner | 5′ | Guatemala/Uruguay
Reminder by CIANG studio | 3′ | Italy
Amen by Orphee Coutier, Bettina Demarty, Kimie Maingonnat, Laurène Perego, Louise Poulain, Avril Zundel | 7′ | France
Peninsula by Angèle Vergoni, Sarah Vanhoeck | 6′ | Belgium
Le Case di Achille by Nespy 5Euro | 3′ | Italy
Freak of Nature by Alexandra Lermer | 8′ | Germany
Ummi and Zaki by Daniela Opp | 4′ | Germany
Polliwog by Julia Skala | 9′ | Germany
Jarred by Maryna Yanul | 5′ | Ukraine
22:30 | SHORTS FOR YOUTH
Create Safe Talking Spaces by Britt Raes | 1′ | Belgium
Storytelling by Nils Hedinger | 8′ | Switzerland
Box by Aline Schoch | 8′ | Switzerland
Are We There Yet? by Sven Kristlbauer, Raul Bison, Marion Zeder | 5′ | Switzerland
Jour de Vent by Martin Chailloux, Ai Kim Crespin, Élise Golfouse, Chloé Lab, Hugo Taillez, Camille Truding | 7′ | France
Raaf by Jeroen Ceulebrouck | 13′ | Belgium/Portugal
Dream by Semiramis Mamata | 5′ | Greece
Tiny Little Bopoolagi by Bom Kim | 9′ | South Korea
LA PICCOLA BIBLIOTECA DI AMANTEA (VIA MAZZINI, 26)
21:00 | SHORTS FOR CHILDREN
The Final by Álvaro Parrilla Álvarez | 15′ | Germany
Forever by Theo Djekou, Pierre Ferrari, Cyrine Jouini, Pauline Philippart, Anissa Terrier | 6′ | France
Down in the Dumps by Vera van Wolferen | 18′ | The Netherlands
The Girl with the Occupied Eyes by André Carrilho | 2024 | 8′ | Portugal
Aria by Arthur P. Motta | 13′ | Brazil
The Strange Case of the Human Cannonball by Roberto Valencia | 10′ | Ecuador
The Path of Sounds by Tom Raijasse, David Nguyen | 8′ | France
Yore Gramps and the Whale by Mariana Elisabetsky | 13′ | Brazil
Bliss by Freya Zoharah K. Sørensen | 5′ | Denmark
feelslikeimfallinginlove by Raman Djafari | 4′ | UK
Wrong Way by Giacomo Calderoni | 4′ | Italy
Hell is Above Us by Pietro Leddi | 1′ | Italy
22:30 | SHORTS FOR YOUTH
#Yacht by Pablo Anasse, Loane Baumer, Marine Bouvier, Marie Malaval, Maxence Mouttou, Florence Susanna | 5′ | France
TV or the Disturbance on Forest Hill Road by Frederic Siegel | 14′ | Switzerland
Al Amal by Thomas Kunstler | 3′ | Greece
I Am Glitching by Salma Parra | 7′ | Germany
Impossible Maladies by Alice & Stefano Tambellini | 8′ | Italy
Au Coeur du Son by Marie Larrive, Lucas Malbrun | 4′ | France
LA PICCOLA BIBLIOTECA DI AMANTEA (VIA MAZZINI, 26)
21:00 | SUNDAY CINEMA | Forms of Resilience
A Day in the Tent by Haneen Koraz / Children from the Deir al-Balah Refugee Camp in Gaza | 4′ | Palestine
The Kids Fixed It by Haneen Koraz / Children from Khan Younis in Gaza | 5′ | Palestine
Grandmother Wore Us Out by Haneen Koraz / Children from the Deir al-Balah Refugee Camp | 5′ | Palestine
Six Children and Eggs by Haneen Koraz / Children from the Basmet Amal Camp in the Deir al-Balah in Gaza | 4′ | Palestine
The Monster by Haneen Koraz / Children from the Jafa Camp in the Deir al-Balah in Gaza | 3′ | Palestine
21:30 | BEST OF LA GROTTA DEI PICCOLI 2025
F.A.Q.
Which is the price of the entrance?
Since our first year, the entrance for the screening is free, because our goal is to bring the cinema back to the people and the people back to cinema!
But I want to contribuite anyway
You can make a donation or buy a t-shirt, a bag, a gadget or a poster and help us to be sustainable!
Can we bring our children?
The festival doesn’t know the censorship but, after 23:00, some projections can hurt the sensibility of some people. That’s why we created “La Grotta dei Piccoli”, a space dedicated to children that will consist of animation movies projections during all the evenings of the festival.