MARTIN FIERRO – THE MOVIE WINS LANCIA PLATINUM GRAND PRIZE

Posted on 01/02/2009 in Comunicati Stampa

More than 150 events, among screenings and meetings, 27 feature films in preview, attendance exceeding 30.000 people, 250 journalists, 6 days devoted to animation and new technologies in image manipulation.
These are the numbers that featured the 11th edition of Future Film Festival, an edition full with prestigious previews, famous international guests and offering the audience a range of special events.
The closing ceremony of this edition of the FFF will take place tonight, with the award of Lancia Platinum Grand Prize, Future Film Short – Groupama Audience Award, and of the Jury Award - Provincia di Bologna, followed by the Italian preview of The Tale of Despereaux (distributed by Universal, in Italian cinemas from April 24th).
The jury, including the Director Maurizio Forestieri (president), University of Bologna’s professor Franco La Polla,  and Massimo Germoglio from Rumblefish, has awarded the Lancia Platinum Grand Prize, the FFF award for the best animated feature film or film with special effects to Martin Fierro - The Movie by Liliana Romero and Norman Ruiz for “the originality and refinement of the design, the simplicity and incisiveness of the story, featuring an ancient Argentinian poem about gauchos and the pampas and the wonderful 2D animation technique.”
The special mention has been awarded to Sword of the Stranger by Masahiro Ando for “the stunning direction and animation technique, and for the story, featuring elements from a western tradition, telling a wonderful samurai tale.”
Among the shorts in competition, those favoured by the audience and that have won the Groupama audience award have been The Facts in the Case of Mister Hollow by R. Gudino, V. Marcone, (1000€) and  Berni’s Doll by Yann J (500€).
Furthermore, for the first time at the FFF, this year a special jury including the journalist Francesco Festuccia, the illustrator Sara Colaone and the comic designer Giuseppe Palumbo has awarded the Jury Award – Provincia di Bologna, a prize for the Best Short Film. The winner is Prof Nieto Show by Luis Nieto, and the jury explained their choice with this ironic statement: “ The supreme commission, considered the prominent importance of the experimental activity over the material and the immaterial, seen the cultured cross-reference to the masters of cinema and comedy - both accomplished by our dearest professor Nieto following the pataphysic method – appoints Professor Nieto to the office.”
Directors Giulietta Fara and Oscar Cosulich stated their satisfaction about the event, saying, “ We are particularly satisfied about the success this 11th edition has obtained”. The 3D day event registered a great success as well, “ for the first time in its history, FFF has devoted an entire day to 3D, involving producers, distributors, theatre owners, 3D technology professionals (plying their trade in the making and distribution of polarized eye-glasses, projection systems and such). The goal of the day, that is to say defining the state of the art in the field of 3D cinema – unanimously recognised as the new frontier in upcoming cinema - was ambitious, but it has been greatly fulfilled, gathering the most important majors around the same table.
The success of the event went far beyond our expectations, and the inputs we had from the participants made us decide to permanently include the 3D Day in the FFF schedule, since our Festival has been elected as key reference in Italy for this kind of technology.”
Among the events appeared this year for the first time, and widely appreciated by the audience, we find the workshops on animation. These workshops have allowed those which have took part to them to experiment in first person all the steps in the creative process standing behind an animated film.
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