Giffoni Macedonia – the beginnings
Giffoni Macedonia – how it all started?
Giffoni Macedonia is part of the big Giffoni Family and a regional hub of the biggest cultural event for young people in the world Giffoni Film Festival.
The festival that originally started in Italy, came to Macedonia as a result of the wonderful energy and enthusiasm that Macedonian kids brought with themselves throughout the years of participation at the Giffoni Film Festival in Italy.
The Youth Film Festival “Giffoni Macedonia” was created as an initiative of Claudio Gubitosi, the founder and creator of Giffoni Film Festival inspired by proactive young participants from Macedonia. From the very beginning of the implementation of this festival, the Film Agency, the Ministry of Culture of Republic of Macedonia and the Italian Embassy in Skopje have given their continuous support and active involvement for the purpose of ensuring a successful realization of the festival and the other accompanying activities which are an integral part of Giffoni Macedonia.
Giffoni Macedonia – the mission
The primary goals of Giffoni Macedonia:
- to contribute to the growth and social development of young generations;
- to actively unite and engage young audiences in a unique driving force – an international jury, tasked with evaluating the films in competition;
- to enable enrichment of children’s knowledge of European stories, countries, nationalities, cultures and societies through film;
- to expand the experience and education of children and youth through active participation in educational platforms within the festival;
- to encourage multicultural communication and exchange among children;
- to offer a cultural product which itself combines film program and educational platform (workshops, master classes etc);
Movies
Giffoni Macedonia is a Film festival where the young participants take the role of a Jury. There are three competition sections for feature length movies and several categories for short movies. There is also a non-competition movie program open to the general public.
Workshops
The participants can choose among several 5-days creative workshops, where they get to learn new skills and techniques in different fields of creative industries. The workshops are conducted under the mentorship of experienced professionals and educators.
Talks
Q&A sessions: After the screenings the jurors meet the directors or the actors of the movies.
Masterclasses: The jurors meet representatives of the art and creative industries, civil society and the education sector, for a discussion and exchange of opinions.
The Jury
The Jury of the Festival is composed of over 500 young participants from Macedonia and abroad. They are divided in three age groups: Juniors (11-14), Cadets (15-16) and Seniors (17-19) Each group watches the movies carefully selected for their age, and vote for their favorite ones.
Exchange program
Every year ten to fifteen students represent North Macedonia in film festivals and other events organized by our international partners.
They are selected among the participants of Giffoni Macedonia that have been loyal and active in all the segments of the Festival: discussions, workshops, hospitality program.
Hospitality
The Hospitality program entails the very essence of the Giffoni concept: The guest jurors from foreign countries are hosted by the families of local jurors. They take part of all activities, they live one week as if they were part of the family and they get to learn about local traditions, habits, food. And the best part: new friendships.
The EPYC project
The project EPYC – Enhancing Peace through Youth Creativity, supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, is a part of the 2023 edition. It aims to promote regional peace and reconciliation, through film and other content created by young authors and for young audiences.
Other activities
Apart from the main Festival in October in Skopje, during the year, we organize other screenings and workshops all over Macedonia. The project Giffoni on Tour consists of two-day events in other towns in North Macedonia. The project Giffoni Movie Days offers screenings and workshops on the weekends.
Friends
The Giffoni Macedonia Youth Film festival, together with all the other activities we offer to kids and youth during the year, are supported by Macedonian, Italian and international institutions, companies and friends that believe in our mission.