14/06/2005

Ischia is rare among European events, dedicated entirely to an aspect of films which is too often overlooked: locations. Ischia is where cinema and tourism meet, reflecting the fact the locations for cult-movies often become dream destinations for film-lovers, to the financial benefit of both industries. The Ischia Film Festival, which will take place on the highly photogenic Italian island from the 20th to the 25th of June, will this year focus on the Bict (the International Film and Tourism Trade Forum), an important meeting point for professionals of both sectors.

The idea to dedicate a forum to the specific theme of Cine-Tourism came from the fact that it was clearly important to build bridges, by encouraging collaborations between regional promotional organisations and TV and film producers — such as the 'Movie Tours', a fashionable concept in Anglo-Saxon countries—, and to include financial partnerships, so that tourism could fund films which attract attention to a specific area of the world. Besides the Forum, a campus and conference on Cine-Tourism will be organised.

The competition consists of four sections: Italian features (Cielo e terra by Luca Mazzieri, Iguana by Catherine Mc Gillrayn, Saimir by Francesco Munzi, and Tartarughe sul dorso by Stefano Pasetto), foreign features (with Cowgirl and The Story of the Weeping Camel representing Germany, alongside the British film Red Rose and the Czech film The Farm Keeper), plus documentaries, and short films (5 of each). The Lifetime Achievement Award will be handed to Director of Photography Vittorio Storaro, who received no less than three Oscars (for Apocalypse Now, Reds, and The Last Emperor).

(Translated from Italian)