Set against the backdrop of the 35th edition of the Trieste Film Festival, with the contribution of the Consulta Universitaria Cinema and the Associazione Festival Italiani di Cinema, the University of Ca’ Foscari Venezia and University of Bari “Aldo Moro” have organised Istruzioni per l’uso (Instructions for use). This takes the form of a day of study dedicated to examining the commitment of film festivals to educational and cultural activities, and their involvement in the formation of taste and in the spread of political and social awareness, both in the past and in the present. The points of focus set out in the programme are articulated through two areas of investigation.
The first part of the day will focus on the micro-histories of film festivals, presenting case studies that include, among others, the reconstruction of Jean Rouch’s Turin workshops (Elio Sacchi, University of Turin), the first ethnographic seminars organised by the Festival dei Popoli (Sofia Lora, University of Florence) and the audience-training activities undertaken by the Unione Nazionale Cinematografie Specializzate in the 1960s and 1970s (Simone Dotto, University of Udine).
The second part of the day shifts to present times, offering an analysis of film education policies within LGBTQIA+ communities (Adriana Morante, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”), a mapping of funding forms for educational activities in Apulian festivals (Andrea Gelardi, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”; Angela Bianca Saponari, University of Bari “Aldo Moro”) and, moving to the area of media literacy, an analysis of educational models in the Veneto context (Laura Cesaro, University of Ca’ Foscari Venezia; Farah Polato, University of Padua).
The study day will also host a round table with the heads of the education sector Annamaria Materazzini (Bergamo Film Meeting), Elisa Giovannelli (Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna) and Daniela Persico (Locarno Film Festival) and the presentation of the project for the collection, digitisation and study of the archives of Italian film festivals, PRIN Reframing Italian Film Festivals.
