Spotlight on the 19° edition of the Gran Paradiso Film Festival
Today, Thursday 6 August 2015, at the Conference Room of the Palazzo Regionale in Aosta the 19th edition of the Gran Paradiso Film Festival was presented; during the press conference intervened Vittorio Stefano Anglesio - President of Fondation Grand Paradis, Italo Cerise – President of the Gran Paradiso National Park, Franco Allera – Mayor of the Municipality of Cogne, Bruno Jocallaz – Mayor of the Municipality of Villeneuve, Roberto Pagani – Councilor for Tourism of the Municipality of Champorcher, Marco Xausa – Montura, Ugo Curtaz – member of the Steering council of Fondazione CRT, Renzo Testolin – Regional Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Luisa Vuillermoz – Artistic Director of the Festival.
The Festival, that will take place from the 24 to the 29 of August in Cogne, Champorcher, Ceresole Reale, Rhêmes-Saint-Georges and Villeneuve, will open in Cogne with “L’homme aux semelles de vent”, Arthur Rimbaud’s life with music by the band L’Orage. The exhibition will be the prelude to the signature of the Gran Paradiso Valleys Charter, a proposal written and signed by stakeholders, institutions and citizens aiming at fostering policies for the conservation of biodiversity and for the sustainable and conscious fruition of the fragile natural environment.
This year’s edition proposes, for the feature films of the International Competition, a selection of films that have been awarded in the main international festivals of nature documentaries, presenting eight Italian previews and a world premiere by Brando Quilici. The films stand out for their variety of topics, countries and settings, but also of shooting techniques and narrative styles. In a Festival always oriented towards the animalier genre, the undisputed protagonist is the animal, who is the channel to teach man how to live with himself and with the dark and non-rational part inside of him.
CortoNatura is a more experimental section, dedicated to short movies where animations, fiction or mini-documentaries will explore the wildlife world.
The films will be awarded by the audience, that will select the winner of the “Trofeo Stambecco d’Oro - Premio Fondazione CRT” (worth 5000 €), and by the technical jury, led by Danilo Mainardi.
The wide presence of directors in Cogne is a chance to investigate the motivations, difficulties and passions that lie beneath the work of the selected films.
The theme of this year’s edition is “the Path”, and it will be explored during the cycle De Rerum Natura through conferences, meetings, shows and events on theme related to environment and nature. Internationally renowned guests will tell their story finding their path of life and their relationship with Nature; Mauro Berruto, Francesco Bonami, Marco Albino Ferrari, Monsignor Franco Lovignana, Nerio Nesi, Carlo Ratti, Alberto Sinigaglia, Luciano Valle, Luciano Violante, Franco Zagari and Flavio Caroli, special guest of this year’s edition, will enrich the programme.
"The two sides of the path: the first one, a physical path, is an approach to nature through the creation of tracks and trails at the heart of the unique Aosta Valley setting; the second path, a symbolic one, represents the path towards the respect for nature, towards an increasing attention to the environment and towards the importance of the human impact on the protection and life of these highly natural areas. The quality of a path for a quality path", declared the Regional Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources Renzo Testolin.
"The Gran Paradiso Film Festival grows year after year - highlights Vittorio Anglesio, President of Fondation Grand Paradis - alongside with the pride for an event that is the outcome of the collective effort made by Fondation Grand Paradis and by all the authorities and institutions that support it. It is a unique festival, created ad hoc for the Gran Paradiso, that speaks about Nature, beauty and commitment".
The award ceremony of the 18th Gran Paradiso Film Festival will take place at 9 p.m. on Saturday 29 August in Cogne's Maison de la Grivola. It will be an emotional evening, with Marco Albino Ferrari, journalist and writer, founder of the magazine “Meridiani Montagne”, accompanying the audience through the milestones of the life of Milena Bethaz, a park ranger who was involved in a tragic accident at 3000 metres above sea level. A story made of determination and love for nature and mountain, the path of her brave comeback after she had been struck by a thunder.
This year the Festival has expanded its territory, historically linked to the Gran Paradiso, also to the Mont Avic area, following the path of Giroparchi, a project that, during the last five years brought back to its ancient splendour the historical net of trails of the royal hunt reserve of King Victor-Emmanuel II. A chance to discover the two protected areas of the Aosta Valley is given by the events organised in the new section Aria di Festival.
Another new section of the nineteenth edition is Festival Off, with the screening hors concours of the film Alberi che camminano by Mattia Colombo and written by Erri De Luca and Il mio amico Nanuk by Brando Quilici.
All the events of the Festival are free.
In order to foster and sustain the activity in the social field of the Fondazione Comunitaria della Valle d'Aosta, the Gran Paradiso Film Festival gives visibility to this important body that promotes the culture of the gift by a fund-raising dedicated to a path among chapels, aedicules and oratories of the Cogne Valley.
The Festival is organised by Fondation Grand Paradis in partnership with Valle d'Aosta Autonomous Region - Department of Tourism, Sport, Commerce and Transport; Giroparchi Project – PAR FAS Valle d’Aosta 2007/2013; Compagnia di San Paolo; Fondazione CRT; Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities; Gran Paradiso National Park; Municipality of Cogne; Federparchi; Office Régional du Tourisme; Municipality of Ceresole Reale; Municipality of Champorcher; Municipality of Rhêmes-Saint-Georges; Municipality of Villeneuve; Alpine Convention and Montura.
Info:
Gran Paradiso Film Festival Tel. +39 0165-75301 info@grand-paradis.it www.gpff.it