The first Italian online festival to draw to a close inside a cinema

Biografilm celebrates both the reopening of cinemas in Italy and the winning films of the 2020 edition, which, for the first time, was accessible for free online nationwide in Italy. The festival welcomed a large audience: over 45,000 reservations in the Biografilm Hera Theatre virtual cinema.

“The joy of being back inside the cinema and meeting others in person is enormous, but I am also delighted about the festival’s virtual participation” says the director Leena Pasanen, “our decision to move online was rewarded by an audience who has actively followed our programme, showing their enthusiastic support on social media too. For next year we will carry on working to ensure the possibility of access to the festival for those who cannot come to Bologna. Our industry event for film professionals, Bio to B, also saw an astonishing turnout, with 150 accredited guests able to connect from home from all over the world.”

Biografilm Festival returned to the cinema in time for the Awards Ceremony,

 

on Monday 15 June. The winning films were announced at the Pop Up Cinema Medica Palace, Bologna, followed by a screening of the film Gli anni che cantano by Filippo Vendemmiati, introduced by the director, the protagonist Janna Carioli and the producer Mauro Sarti. A World Premiere in the Biografilm Art & Music section this year, produced with the support of the Emilia-Romagna Region, the film traces the history of “Il Canzoniere delle Lame”, a Bologna band that play political music with a strong social conscience. The film was chosen for the evening for its cultural poignancy, recalling a collective and uniting artistic and civil experience, born in Bologna and grown internationally.

Biografilm Festival takes place with the contribution of the Department of Culture and Landscape of the Emilia-Romagna Region and with the Main Partnership of Unipol Group.

The jury of the International Competition of Biografilm 2020, composed by Luca Ragazzi (director and film critic), Shelly Silver (artist working in still and moving image) and Martijn te Pas (festival programmer and documentary consultant), assigned the following awards:

Best Film Unipol Award | Biografilm Festival 2020, awarded by the jury to the best film of the International Competition

WALCHENSEE FOREVER by Janna Ji Wonders

Hera “Nuovi Talenti” Award | Biografilm Festival 2020, awarded by the jury to the best first feature of the International Competition

THE EARTH IS BLUE AS AN ORANGE (ZEMLIA BLAKYTNA NIBY APEL’SYN) by Iryna Tsilyk

Special Mention – Hera “Nuovi Talenti” | Biografilm Festival 2020

NOODLE KID (LA YI WAN MIAN) by Huo Ning

WAKE UP ON MARS (RÉVEIL SUR MARS) by Dea Gjinovci

The jury of the Biografilm Italia Competition, composed by Roberta Mattei (cinema and theatre actor) Cristina Rajola (documentary producer and expert in international co-productions) and Ester Sparatore (artist and documentary filmmaker), assigned the following awards:

Best Film Award | Biografilm Italia 2020, awarded by the jury to the best film of the Biografilm Italia Competition

OUR ROAD (LA NOSTRA STRADA) by Pierfrancesco Li Donni

Special Mention | Biografilm Italia 2020

IN A FUTURE APRIL (IN UN FUTURO APRILE) by Francesco Costabile e Federico Savonitto

The Audience Award | Biografilm Festival 2020, the best film as voted by the public of Biografilm Festival 2020, went to: 

SELF PORTRAIT (SELVPORTRETT) by Katja Hogset, Margreth Olin, Espen Wallin

Go to the website to check the Indsustry awards: 

https://www.biografilm.it/en/