Editor

The tenth edition of the Milano Film Festival has closed its doors with the final awards ceremony and an unexpected concert by Vinicio Capossela. Best feature film “Las Mantenidas sin sueños”, by the Argentine Martin Desalvo and Vera Fogwill; for the short films competition, the winner is “La ruta natural”, by the young spanish filmmaker Alex Pastor. The Aprile Award has been awarded to “Wrong”, by Tom Geens. (The other prices and mentions are listed in the attachment.)

More than 15.000 persons have been attending to the opening party held on September 16th on the parvis of the Teatro Strehler and in the moats of the Castello Sforzesco, and during the following days Milan has been tainted by a joyful and international atmosphere. Thousands of persons have come every night to the parvis of the Teatro Strehler and in the moats of the Castello Sforzesco in order to see the screenings and the concerts, witnessing the will to find new ways to live this city and this festival.

The public has come here mainly for the films: a wide selection of short and feature films coming from all over the world and offering an interesting and rich cross-section of different genders, subjects, narrative languages and shooting formats; but also for the concerts in the moats of the Castello Sforzesco and the dj-sets on the parvis of the Teatro Strehler; and the Democratic Film Exchange, at its first edition, that has hosted more than 40 exhibitors and has presented a program rich in meetings and workshops. Not to forget the filmmakers, chief protagonists during the screenings and in all the locations of the festival: regular customers of the concerts and of the screenings, it was possible to find wandering around the Teatro Strehler the Russian Sergej Potemkin (director of the feature film “Sunless City”) together with Olexsandr Shmygun, the Ukrainian director of one of the most loved short films of the Festival, “Play for three actors”. But also the directors of the non selected films, who have come from all over Europe in order to present their works.

The Milano Film Festival, now at its tenth edition, is a place in the city where to meet, a preferred showcase for independant filmmakers and the right occasion for the professionals to discover new talents. It is therefore surprising that an event aknowledged by public and international filmmakers, professionals and film lovers is completely ignored by the institutions.

Total presences: 85.000 persons
Paying spectators for the cinema area:36.000 persons
Spectators of the music area (concerts and dj-sets): 29.000 persons
Spectators with accreditation cards (students, teachers and members of the film industry with facilities included): 3.000 persons
Journalists with accreditation ard: 450 journalists
Students attending the special screenings for the schools: 2.500 students
Members of the film industry taking part to the Democratic Film: 1.200 persons
Screenings: 495
Filmmakers (of the competition, out of competition, Italian Get-Togethers, Salon des Refusés, “motion&picture against poverty”: 130 filmmakers
International guest: 250 persons