–  The Lorenzo Vecchio Award (€ 1500) will be assigned by the jury to the best short film in competition.

– Special Mentions will be assigned by the jury.

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

ANDREA MAGNANI – president of the Jury

Andrea Magnani lives between Rome and Trieste. He has worked on a number of TV series including Cops – una banda di poliziotti, directed by Luca Miniero and L’Ispettore Coliandro, directed by Manetti Bros. In 2017 he made his directorial debut with Easy un viaggio facile facile. Presented in competition at the 70th Locarno Festival, Easy has participated in over 100 festivals around the world and has been nominated for 2 David di Donatello including Best Debut Director. In 2019 he wrote the feature film Paradise, una nuova vita by Davide Del Degan, which premiered at Busan Film Festival and Torino Film Festival. He is currently working on his second feature film, La Lunga Corsa. 

JULIA GROMSKAYA – Juror

Born in Kharkov (Soviet Union), after getting her degree in Philology from The State Institute of Social Progress of Kharkov, she studied at the local Lyceum of Art. In 2004 she moved to Kiev and joined the staff of Krok – International Animation Festival. In 2006 she moved to Italy and started to make her first steps in animation and illustration. Her animated short films have been selected and have received awards in countries from all around the world. 

CHRISTOPHER YATES – Juror

Christopher Yates is a director, screenwriter, and editor from Belgium. He directed his first feature documentary, Not Here, a road movie about the Belgian rock band Girls in Hawaii, in 2009. He then co-directed Reveka in 2015, a documentary about silver mining in Bolivia. He is also the co-creator and co-writer of all 20 episodes of the Belgian TV drama Public Enemy. His short action film Detours has recently been awarded in numerous film festivals, including Magma. He is currently writing his first feature film.

Paradise – una nuova vita, having recently received a “Globo d’Oro” award for Best Debut Film from the Italian Foreign Press Association, it will open the screenings of Magma 2021. Co-produced by Andrea Magnani (President of the Jury) with Pilgrim Film, it was directed by Davide Del Degan, winner of the 2010 Lorenzo Vecchio Award. The screening will be introduced by Giovanni Calcagno, actor co-starring in the film and former Magma 2009 juror.

Paradise – una nuova vita | IT, 2020, 85’

The ordinary life of an ordinary man of Sicilian origin is totally changed when one day he witnesses a mafia murder and, plucking up courage, decides to break the wall of silence by witnessing it. This act of justice, however, costs him a high price.

The illustrator and author of animated films Simone Massi will be the special guest of our 20th festival edition.

Winner of one David di Donatello Award in 2012 for Best Short Film and two Nastro d’Argento Awards in 2014 and 2015, to date his works have been selected by 800 festivals around the world, winning 267 prizes and awards. From 2012 to 2016 the Venice Film Festival entrusted him with the creation of its illustrated posters and animated theme songs. A friend of our festival and its founder Lorenzo Vecchio, he was the one to whom Associazione Culturale Scarti dedicated a retrospective back in 2004. In his presentation, back then, Massi wrote: 

“An endless pile of papers, many months of work spent on making a video of a handful of seconds. The technique is poor, the characters are essential, the horizon is a line. It is complicated – no doubt about it – but I like making animation, sometimes it is even necessary for me. For me it represents the unexpected opportunity of being able to search for something, to be curious, to experiment, to discover yet again. In other words, it is the ultimate opportunity for playing and marvelling”.

On Thursday 18th November at Margherita Multisala, Simone Massi will introduce the special programme devoted to him. 

​​La memoria dei cani – IT, 2006, 8’

“My cheeks brush against the stones, I look out from a break in the wall”.

​​Dell’ammazzare il maiale – IT, 2011, 6’

“While the pig is being dragged out from the sty, it has the chance to see the sky”.

​​L’attesa del maggio – IT, 2014, 8’

“The month of May, the blackbird: they hide while singing”.

How do you make a video clip with 71 million views? How do you construct the visual story of a song that – among other things – deals with depression? What does it mean to handle a mix of characters, costumes and situations in the middle of an “orange zone”? What does Pippo Baudo have to do with all this? Zavvo Nicolosi, director of the video of the famous song by Colapesce & Dimartino and creative soul of Ground’s Oranges, will tell us more about that.

Magma Festival is made possible by the support of Regione Siciliana and Acireale City Council, the help of our main sponsors (Moro Acireale, Ceramiche De Simone, Mareneve Escursioni), our institutional partners and other organisations working in close connection with the festival.

To submit your short film to the International Competition: https://www.magmafestival.org/en/new-short/ 

To read the Call for Entries of the International Competiton:  https://www.magmafestival.org/en/call-for-entries/ 

–  The Lorenzo Vecchio Award (€ 1500) will be assigned by the jury to the best short in competition.

– Special Mentions will be assigned by the jury.

Magma Festival is made possible by the support of Regione Siciliana and Acireale City Council, the help of our main sponsors (Moro Acireale, Ceramiche De Simone, Mareneve Escursioni), our institutional partners and other organisations working in close connection with the festival.

To submit your short film to the International Competition: https://www.magmafestival.org/en/new-short/ 

To read the Call for Entries of the International Competiton:  https://www.magmafestival.org/en/call-for-entries/