The 69th Trento Film Festival will be an entirely “digital but far from virtual” edition, presented today and on stage from 30 April to 9 May on the online.trentofestival.it platform. Digital because the continuation of the Covid emergency still forces us to give up screenings in the cinema for the moment, but not virtual because the issues addressed by the selected films are very current and concrete: the impact of the pandemic on mountain communities and activities, nature and environmental sustainability, mountaineering and adventure, the peoples of the world, the comparison between different places and cultures.
«The methods of use change but the selection is no less rich – explains the director of film programming Sergio Fant -. 98 works are scheduled in the 8 sections, coming from 31 production countries: of which 30% in international preview and 50% in Italian preview ». In competition for the gold and silver Gentians of the oldest Italian kermesse dedicated to the mountains there are 23 films, of which 18 premieres, the presence of 9 female directors and an international jury for the first time with a female majority: “Numbers important for an exhibition that this year proves to be stronger than the emergency, and which give a sense of vitality to a sector which – despite all the difficulties that have hit it – still has strength, ideas and passion », adds Fant.
“Godspeed, Los Polacos!” by Adam Nawrot: A group of Polish students fleeing the Communist regime to explore the rivers of America
Culture as a cure and a sign of hope for the world. The hope of course is to return to see the films in the hall as soon as possible; and to be able to meet the festival guests live. Which, if the health situation allows it, could take place this summer in a sort of “second phase” of the festival – as the president Mauro Leveghi called it – with the screening of films and the organization of mountaineering meetings in the presence in the Trentino area.
Speaking of Trentino, the opening and closing films, both in absolute previews, reaffirm the link between the festival and the territory: the digital animated short film “Mila” by Cinzia Angelini from thirty America, inspired by her mother’s childhood stories the bombing of Trento during the Second World War; and “N-Ice Cello – History of the ice cello” by Corrado Bungaro, documentation of the journey from the glaciers of the Dolomites to the Mediterranean of a unique musical instrument in the world.
“The Trouble with Nature” by Danish director Illum Jacobi, premiered at the Trento Film Festival
Among the most anticipated premieres in competition, two Italian feature films with as many protagonists from the world of mountain culture, and not only: “Paolo Cognetti. Sogni di Grande Nord ”by Dario Acocella follows the writer Premio Strega on a journey between the Alps and Alaska in the footsteps of his literary masters, accompanied by his friend Nicola Magrin; “La casa rossa” by Francesco Catarinolo documents the life and work, at the time of Covid, of the South Tyrolean explorer Robert Peroni, who for 30 years settled in a community on the east coast of Greenland, the guest national of this edition of the festival.
The vision of the films will be accessible in streaming starting from April 30 at the address online.trentofestival.it. New films will be added to the platform every day until May 8, thereafter remaining available for a full week until May 16. The rental of individual films is free up to 30 minutes in length, costs € 3 for medium-length films up to 60 minutes, and € 5 for feature films. The € 25 online pass allows free access to the entire program during the over two weeks of streaming.