MILANO FILM FESTIVAL 2006

Eleventh edition
15-24 September 2006
Piccolo Teatro

"A new start, towards something different, unexplored, unexpected. A festival for people that don't have any preconceptions, that are eager to be surprised."

Eleventh edition

The submission deadline has passed, the selection is in progress. A thorough search through film schools, producers, distributors and independent festivals resulted in the submission of more than 2000 films from more than 90 countries: from Mexico to Palestine, from South Africa to Finland, from India to Chiapas.
The eleventh edition is a chance to start anew: the Festival will be a meeting point for film lovers, for not-festival-goers, for children, for music enthusiasts, for professionals, for students, for people that believe that films can portray important aspects of the world.

At the eve of a new decade, Milano Film Festival focuses its attention and energies on its various parts that are blended together to create a unique all-round event.

The Festival

For eleven years Milano Film Festival has attracted films and filmmakers from all over the world. It is independent - from the interests of major distributors, from institutional politics, from money, from fashion, from critics. But it is also dependent - on the filmmakers' creativity and talent, on the expertise, the experience and the skills of the people that organize it, on the work and commitment of hundreds of volunteers, on the curiosity and willingness to take risks of the selection committee. This Festival scouted and promoted emerging talents, for whom the Festival has often been a springboard to international success. For ten days, this festival transforms places and people that pass through them.

Overview of the 2005 edition:

* 85,000 visitors
* 80 journalists with accreditation card
* 1,200 film professionals involved in the Borsa Democratica del Cinema
* 495 films screened
* 130 filmmakers attending the festival
* 250 international guests - directors, producers, actors and film enthusiasts

First information on the competitions and out-of-competition sections

Short film competition and Feature film competition
The competitions are open to short and feature films of any genre and running time, on any format and in any language, provided that they were produced after January 1st, 2005. They won't be divided into sections and will be screened in their original language with English and Italian subtitles. Filmmakers are invited to present their films to the festival audience.

Colpe di Stato
A collection of documentaries that depict crimes, injustice and slaughters under the banner of freedom, security and religion. These screenings mark an interesting but disturbing journey around the world.

Histoire(s) du cinéma - Cinema according to Jean-Luc Godard
Through the quotes scattered in the Histoire(s) du cinéma, a video by Jean-Luc Godard in which the filmmaker traces the history of filmmaking, this season aims to show this entire work for the first time in Milan and to highlight different central films from which this flow of images moves.
In collaboration with Fondazione Cineteca Italiana - Spazio Oberdan.

motion&picture against poverty
The UN campaign for the 8 Millennium Development Goals relies on alternative means of communication, including films.
The motion&picture against poverty section, which is currently under construction, was first launched during the festival's 2005 edition to create a film season dedicated to human rights and to different issues linked with the development goals. This section is particularly focused on countries that produce films despite economic, political and social hindrances.

Incontri italiani
This section features young Italian filmmakers, screenings and meetings to help directors get together, exchange ideas and projects and create new collaborations.

Focus animazione
A search through different styles, traditional techniques and cutting-edge technologies.

Salon des refusés
A section managed by non-selected directors - democratic, open to all the films submitted to the festival.


Borsa Democratica del Cinema

After the success of the first edition and the positive feedback from exhibitors, professionals and visitors, the 2nd edition of the Borsa Democratica del Cinema will run from 21st to 24th September at the Fondazione Antonio Mazzotta.
Directors, screenwriters, actors and set designers, producers and distributors, film schools, institutions and young independent filmmakers will gather to present ideas and projects and analyse the current situation of the film industry. The aim is to perform a change by creating new cultural, professional and business relationships.
For further information: expo@milanofilmfestival.it.


Holiday project - Filmmakers' House

The Filmmakers' House is a project developed to offer alternative hospitality to filmmakers, professionals and film lovers that will attend the festival in Milan - a facility set up as a solution to the lack of low-cost accommodation in Milan, to become a meeting point and a common area.
For further information: holidays@milanofilmfestival.it.

Accreditation and discounts

Milano Film Festival has launched an accreditation campaign that offers discounts to different typologies of applicants: students, film professionals, journalists, people aged over 65.
For further information: info@milanofilmfestival.it.


Festival organization

Milano Film Festival is organized by esterni - an association of young people that have organized cultural events for eleven years. Through public spaces such as squares, tunnels, parks, disused factories and building sites, esterni boosts culture and social interaction.

Main aim of the association is the implementation of the cultural role of public spaces by means of big events such as Milano Film Festival, the Sciopero Nazionale dei Telespettatori (National TV Viewers' Strike) and the Salone dell'Arredo Urbano (Street Furniture Fair).

For further information on esterni and its events: media@esterni.org, www.esterni.org