We are a cultural institution and, as such, we have a duty to oppose injustice and barbarism, even if this may make us unpopular or deny us access to certain types of funding. We want to be very clear with the position of our festival: we stand with the Palestinian people because we believe that where a colonial model exists there can be no justice.
This does not make us anti-Semitic, on the contrary: cinema – from Alain Resnais to Roberto Benigni, passing through Claude Lanzmann – has educated us on the horrors of the Shoah and what happens when privileged individuals, like us, decide to hide in silence.
We want freedom and sovereignty for Palestine because where there is no justice, peace can never exist. We hope that our words reach all those living under oppression, so that they remember that they are not alone; and that they also reach those who are afraid to raise their voices, because we are sure that we are the majority who want to live without wars and in harmony.
From a total of 1290 films received, 158 short films from 52 different countries were selected, giving voice to filmmakers from all continents. 63% of the films in the selection are directed by women. The festival aims to represent the complexity and richness of cultures, traditions, and languages from around the world: films will be screened in Italian, Arabic, German, English, French, Indonesian, Filipino, Chinese, Albanian, Belarusian, Russian, Spanish, Portuguese, Korean, Croatian, Mongolian, Swahili, Hungarian, Hindi, and Ukrainian.
The Official Competition will be divided into the categories of Fiction, Animation, Documentary, Music Videos, INSOMNIA (Experimental Films). Also part of the competition will be La Grotta dei Piccoli, a program of 100 animated short films for children and youth.
