Over 100 works are taking part in this year’s 7th edition of the Ermanno Olmi Award, intended to promote short films by young directors. Fictions, documentaries, experimental films and animation, from Germany, Spain, France, Belgium, UK, Hungary, Portugal, USA, Georgia, Chile and Poland, among others, and a substantial Italian representative.
Three cash prizes (€1,200, €600, €400), made available by Bergamo Film Meeting Onlus, and a special mention with a cash prize worth €300 offered by FIC – Federazione Italiana Cineforum. Competing for the Prize, promoted by the City of Bergamo, with the support of Bergamo Film Meeting Onlus in collaboration with FIC – Federazione Italiana Cineforum are: El pütì pèrs by Paolo Baiguera (Italy, 2025), Two Ships by McKinley Benson (Portugal, USA, 2025), Voiceover by Leonardo Ferro (Italy, 2024) e Fühle(r)n/Alien Minds by Florian Rudolph (Germany, Switzerland, 2025).
The Ermanno Olmi Award is an event of great significance, a valuable opportunity to support and highlight the talent of filmmakers under 30. For the City Administration, supporting young authors means investing in new perspectives that explore the contemporary world and propose new forms of storytelling. The growing participation of young filmmakers from all over the world confirms the international reach of the Award, which continues to be a significant showcase for short films and a meeting point between different generations of spectators. A special thanks goes to the jury, which every year, with passion and expertise, takes on the challenge of evaluating, rewarding, and encouraging the creativity and abilities of the directors of the future.
– Sergio Gandi, Councillor for Culture of the Municipality of Bergamo
The Prize will be awarded on Tuesday 2nd December at 8.30 p.m. at Sala dell’Orologio of Palazzo della Libertà in Bergamo by the jury consisting of Chiara Borroni (professor and film critic), Luca Capponi (director), Adriana Ferrarese (director and producer), and Francesca Magliulo (director of the EOS Foundation). Francesca Magliulo watched the short films with a group of girls and boys between 16 and 18 years old who created the “Controcampo” community, a platform supported by the EOS Foundation and Anica Academy ETS, of which she will be the spokesperson during the award ceremony. In addition to the three cash prizes, a special mention will be awarded to the most significant work concerning “Humility”, that, for its echoes from the Gospels and Dostoevsky, stands in stark contrast to the social obsession with profit, domination, and widespread selfishness. As the Gospel of Matthew says: «Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek and peaceful, for they will inherit the earth». These words should be read in a secular light, just as Olmi did. Humility carries within it a deep sense of justice and care for others, for the environment, for work. It also means embracing complexity, accepting that we are part of something greater than ourselves. It means not being masters, but seekers of meaning.
During the evening – with free admission – the four finalist works of the competition will be screened and a tribute will be paid to Ermanno Olmi.
I FILM FINALISTI
Alien Minds
by Florian Rudolph (Germany, Switzerland, 2025)
This is a short film on insect feelings and a documentary experiment on human feelings towards them. The thesis: our view of insects is tinted by the surface over which they crawl – not because they are small, but because we don’t look at them with time.
El pütì pèrs
by Paolo Baiguera (Italy, 2025)
In the woods of Fobbia, Claudio spends his days obsessively carving wood. Years earlier, his son vanished in that very forest. All that was ever found was a red T-shirt beneath a pine tree. Since then, Claudio has been uprooting trunks and shaping them, convinced his son is hidden within. Blurring the line between reality and fable, his story echoes a reversed tale of Pinocchio.
Two Ships
by McKinley Benson (Portugal, United States, 2025)
While working opposite schedules, a couple attempts to maintain their connection through fleeting encounters.
Voiceover
by Leonardo Ferro (Italy, 2024)
Hamza, an inmate, discovers joy through cinema. The documentary follows his stream of consciousness, which shifts depending on the space he occupies and how his body reacts to the environment, revealing a profound and touching inner transformation.
