International Award for the Best Short Film
An international award for Best Short Film, dedicated to the late director Ermanno Olmi, to support and promote the works of young filmmakers.
The award is addressed to filmmakers of all nationalities and not older than 30 on the date of the open call deadline. The maximum length of each submission (fiction, documentary or animation) must not exceed 15 minutes. All entries must have been produced in 2022 or 2023. Each filmmaker can submit a single entry.
A special mention will also be assigned to the most significant film dedicated to theme “The Human Being and Time”. The theme chosen by the municipal administration for the special award is reflection on the relationship of the human being with time, a theme that Ermanno Olmi explored in various aspects throughout his film production. Olmi has dealt with the relationship of the individual with family history and collective history, the bond with the heritage of the places of birth and belonging; he has recounted the harmony with the rhythms of nature and the bewilderment that humanity and individuals experience when this is broken. The winner of the mention will be awarded a cash prize worth € 300 offered by FIC – Federazione Italiana Cineforum.
The winners’ announcement and award ceremony will be held on December 5th, 2023, at the Auditorium in Piazza della Libertà, Bergamo, or another suitable venue.
The competition awards the following:
Ermanno Olmi Award – 1st Prize: € 1200
Ermanno Olmi Award – 2nd Prize: € 600
Ermanno Olmi Award – 3rd Prize: € 400
Bergamo Brescia Italian Capital of Culture 2023 sees Intesa Sanpaolo and A2A as Main Partner, Brembo as System Partner, Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane and SACBO as Area Partners. The Ministry of Culture and Regione Lombardia are institutional partners together with Fondazione Cariplo, Fondazione della Comunità Bresciana and Fondazione della Comunità Bergamasca.
Application
Participation fee — € 5
Deadline — October 15th, 2023
News
Winners – IV Edition
First Prize
Flores del precipicio
Andrea Gatopoulos
For the refined simplicity and sweetness with which a salvaged relationship in a barren world is portrayed. A little tale that speaks of loss, physical and emotional distance, but also of the need to reconnect with a past that's been silently waiting at the foot of a cliff. A father and daughter, the most difficult relationship in the world, and, around them, a boundless space: endless possibilities for a new beginning.
Second Prize
La vera storia della partita di nascondino più grande del mondo
Paolo Bonfadini, Irene Cotroneo, Davide Morando
Because it manages to tell a story that combines a game of Hide-and-Seek with the commemoration of the partisan Resistance in the village of Serravalle Langhe. The film is both light and engaging. The staging of some reconstructed sequences mixes well with the realism of the storytelling, creating a successful hybridisation between two cinematic styles. The use of graphics and music is engaging and effective in conveying the dynamics of the game; the archive footage is dosed well and facilitates the connection between the two polarities of the story without weighing down the narrative.
Third Prize
Garfield Coquillage
Paul Marques Duarte
Inspired by actual events as absurd as they are authentic, the film steers the ecological perspective towards a candid and innocent observation of children and their unique understanding of the world. A delicate tale of an age when every little thing becomes a treasure for the eyes and curiosity is a tool for understanding ourselves and the world through imagination, the film reflects on the carefree and visceral friendship typical of children.
Special Mention
Sonnenstube
Davide Palella
A secluded and obsessive character becomes the window through which we see the world under a new perspective, rooted in the profound analogical capacities of cinema. Things shimmer with a new substance through the audio-visual perspective, revealing the inherent ambiguity of everything. Such is the power of cinema and light, of the sun that here transcends into silver nitrate and pixels, taking us to a different place that's always and still our mysterious world.
Press area
Press office — Ada Tullo
adatullo33@gmail.com / press@bergamofilmmeeting.it
Tel. +39 349 2674900
2022 – 4th Edition
Have a look at the Press review
Press Release – The Winners Premio Ermanno Olmi 2022 (.pdf)
Press Release – The Winners Premio Ermanno Olmi 2022 (.doc)
Press Release – The Award Ceremony Premio Ermanno Olmi 2022 (.pdf)
Press Release – The Award Ceremony Premio Ermanno Olmi 2022 (.doc)
Photos – The Finalists (.jpg)
Photos – La Cotta (.jpg)
2021 – 3rd edition
Have a look at the Press review
Press Release — The Winners 2021 (.pdf)
Press Release — The Winners 2021 (.doc)
Press Release — The finalists of E. Olmi Award Third Edition (.pdf)
Press Release — The finalists of E. Olmi Award Third Edition (.doc)
Photos — Il tempo si è fermato (.zip)
Photos — The Finalists (.zip)
Press Release — The Jury of Ermanno Olmi Award Third Edition (.pdf)
Press Release — The Jury of Ermanno Olmi Award Third Edition (.doc)
Press Release — Third Edition E. Olmi Award (.pdf)
Press Release — Third Edition E. Olmi Award (.doc)
Official Image (.zip)
2020 – 2nd edition
Have a look at the Press review
Press Release — The Winners 202o (.pdf)
Press Release — The Winners 202p (.doc)
Press Release — The finalists of E. Olmi Award Second Edition (.pdf)
Press Release — The finalists of E. Olmi Award Second Edition (.doc)
Photos — Torneranno i prati (.zip)
Photos — The Finalists (.zip)
Press Release — The Jury of Ermanno Olmi Award Second Edition (.pdf)
Press Release — The Jury of Ermanno Olmi Award Second Edition (.doc)
Press Release — Second Edition Ermanno Olmi Award (.pdf)
Press Release — Second Edition Ermanno Olmi Award (.doc)
Official Image (.zip)
2019 – 1st edition
Have a look at the Press review
