The Press conference for the presentation of the XVII edition of the Gran Paradiso Film Festival – Stambecco d’Oro Trophy was held on Thursday 8 August 2013. It featured the President of the Regional Council of Aosta Valley, Emily Rini, the Regional Minister of Tourism, Sport, Commerce and Transport, Aurelio Marguerettaz, the Regional Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Renzo Testolin, the President of Fondation Grand Paradis and of the Gran Paradiso National Park, Italo Cerise, and the Artistic director of the Festival, Luisa Vuillermoz. The Councillor Secretary, David Follien, and the Mayor of Villeneuve, Roberta Quattrocchio, were also present.
The President Emily Rini argued that ‘at a time of serious economic crisis initiatives such as the Gran Paradiso Film Festival demonstrate our resolve to propose projects which can sustain the regional economy and promote our territory, both of which are constant concerns of the administration. The enhancement and promotion of our homeland not only preserves and strengthens the connection with the tradition but is also a crucial economic resource. I wish to underline that this year, for the first time, the Regional Council significantly contributes to support the Festival.’
‘The orientation towards nature tourism and the enhancement of our territory are not a recent trend but a peculiarity of our region – stated the Regional Minister, Aurelio Marguerettaz -. Thanks to the new organisation of the Festival and the range of professional figures involved the objective of enhancing the potential of the entire region is fully met. We are now gathering the fruit of several years of work during which we have shaped and promoted the concept ecotourism.’
The Regional Minister Renzo Testolin added: 'every year the Festival, created in 1984, becomes more relevant to the current times. It is also a touchstone for the promotion of the nature riches of Aosta Valley. Furthermore, thanks to parallel activities such as 'Aperitivi Natura’ (‘Green After Hours’), the Festival will be able to showcase and promote the local products.'
For Italo Cerise ‘the event has grown, underlying its own distinctive peculiarities and acquiring prestige on the scene of nature cinema. With an attendance of nearly 6,000 in 2012, the Festival is the key summer event of the Gran Paradiso Area, as well as an important element of the Gran Paradiso National Park tourist offer.’
Luisa Vuillermoz added: ‘the aim of the Festival is to enchant, to move, to make people reflect, to amaze and even to cause indignation. With a surprising variety of styles the films show the uniqueness of Nature, the guardian of which - man - is too often negligent or absent-minded. There is no need for special effects; the images, through their magnificence, speak for themselves. All we need is to let ourselves be carried away by the colours and sounds which characterize every ecosystem. Our wish is that the Gran Paradiso Film Festival might make us think but also ask ourselves new questions.’
The Gran Paradiso Film Festival is organised by Fondation Grand Paradis in collaboration with the Regional Council of Aosta Valley, the Regional Ministry of Tourism, sport, commerce and transport, the Councils of Cogne, the Gran Paradiso National Park, Federparchi, the Councils of Rhêmes-Saint-Georges, Villeneuve, Valsavarenche and Ceresole Reale.
This edition of the Festival, dedicated to the theme of water (on the occasion of the United Nations International Year of Water Cooperation), will be held from 26 to 31 August in Cogne, Rhêmes-Saint-Georges, Valsavarenche, Villeneuve and Ceresole Reale.
The opening ceremony will take place in Cogne, the historical heart of the Festival, at 5 p.m. on Monday 26 August, with a performance piece on the theme of water by Teatro Instabile di Aosta and the ‘Stambecco d’Oro flash mob’ taking place in the Sant’Orso Meadows.
Ten films have been selected for the 2013 International Competition and eleven for the CortoNatura section. The International Competition will take the audience on a journey across the five continents; the program includes the first Italian and international releases of films already singled out by international awards. The shorts approach nature and the animal kingdom with the utmost freedom of expression.
De Rerum Natura completes the Festival program with a cycle of conferences, encounters with the protagonists, shows and in-depth activities to discover various topics related to nature and the environment. Directors, journalists, men of science, artists, jurists and writers will spell out the nature of things and the things of nature, each according to their knowledge and experience. Many notable personalities will take part in this year’s Festival, amongst whom are Danilo Mainardi, Valerio Onida and Luciano Violante.
The emblematic figure of the XVII edition of the Festival will be the Deputy Director of ‘La Stampa’, Massimo Gramellini, who will metaphorically pick up the baton from the TV host Fabio Fazio during an interview on the themes of nature and the environment.
The award ceremony of the XVII Gran Paradiso Film Festival will be held at Maison de la Grivola at 9 p.m. on Saturday 31 August, featuring the satirist Dario Vergassola as special guest and co-host.
For further information please consult the official Festival website, www.gpff/en.
Source: Press office of the Regional Council of Aosta Valley