Lorenzo Vecchio, born in 1981, moved from Acireale to study cinema in Rome. After returning from an Erasmus project in 2002 he was diagnosed with cancer. A founder member of Scarti, the creator and artistic director of Magma, he passed away in 2005.

Besides some cinema articles for the magazine “Segno”, he published the novel
Mia madre non chiude mai (earning him the Vittorini prize for his debut work); posthumously released Un metro lungo cinque and Cinque racconti più uno, all published by the editor Bonanno, and also Vent’anni a Barcellona. His movie productions, including the medium-length film Ballata di un uomo sottile (2001), can be found on the dvd Raccontando storie con la mia videocamera.

Lorenzo Vecchio at Magma 2004

The Jury will award the best short film of the Festival with the “Lorenzo Vecchio Prize”, dedicated to the creator and artistic director of Magma who prematurely died in May 2005.

The Prize, that this year will amount to 1000 €, was assigned for the first time in 2005 to Siempre quise trabajar en una fábrica a short by the Spanish author Esteban Crespo.

In 2006 the prize went to Éramos Pocos, by the Spanish director Borja Cobeaga, which obtainedd in January 2007 a nomination for the Oscar as best narrative short film.

Mentions
The Jury of Magma will give a special mention to the best short film of each sections in competition: the narrative, the documentary, the experimental and the animation section.