What’s new at the Biennale College Cinema 2018/2019

The 12 new projects have been selected for the seventh edition of Biennale College – Cinema 2018/19, submitted by teams composed of directors and producers who will take part in the first 10-day workshop to be held in Venice from October 6th to 15th 2018. Nine projects are coming from the Biennale College – Cinema – International, while the other three are from the new Biennale College Cinema – Italia. The International Call was launched on May 8^th, the Italian one on February 20^th.

Biennale College is an innovative and complex experience that engages every sector of the Biennale di Venezia.

Biennale College – Cinema is the project that promotes new talents in cinema by offering them the opportunity to work closely with master filmmakers in the production of micro-budget films. 3 of these 12 projects will receive support in the amount of 150,000 Euro to produce a maximum of 3 feature-length films (debut or second film), one of which must be Italian, to be presented at the 76th Venice International Film Festival in 2019.

The 12 projects were announced during the press conference held today, 2^nd of September, on the Lido di Venezia (Palazzo del Casinò), at the 75^th Venice International Film Festival, directed by Alberto Barbera and organized by the Biennale di Venezia, chaired by Paolo Baratta.

The 12 projects selected for the first phase of Biennale College – Cinema are:

• Hominarius – Federico Lagna (director, Italy) | Alice Drago (producer, Italy)
• Lessons of Love – Chiara Campara (director, Italy) | Tancredi Campello (producer, Italy)
• The Properties of Metals – Antonio Bigini (director, Italy) | Claudio Giapponesi (producer, Italy)
• False Positive – Kasia Plazinska (director, Poland) | Kamil Skalkowski (producer, Poland)
• Marwell – Benjamin Bee (director, UK) | Maria Caruana Galizia (producer, UK)
• Perros – Vinko Tomicic (director, Chile) | Alvaro Manzano (producer, Bolivia)
• The End of Love – Keren Ben Rafael (director, Israel) | Delphine Benroubi (producer, France)
• The Naked Woman – Allie Avital (director, USA) | Meghan Doherty (producer, USA)
• This is not a Burial, it’s a Resurrection – Jeremiah Mosese (director, South Africa) | Cait Pansegrouw (producer, South Africa)
• Those Who Whistle After Dark – Pinar Yorgancioglu (director, Turkey) | Sarah Seulki Oh (producer, South Korea)
• Where Were We ? – Tetsuya Tomina (director, Japan) | Mina Hatanaka (producer, Japan)
• Replaceable – Dániel Reich (director, Hungary) | Balázs Lóth (producer, Hungary)

The 12 projects are documented on the website http://collegecinema.labiennale.org/en/

At the close of the first workshop, which will be held in Venice from October 6th to 15th 2018, three teams will be selected and production will begin on 3 feature-length films (debut or second films), one of which must be Italian, which must be low-cost, will be funded in the amount of 150,000 Euro, and will be presented at the 76th Venice International Film Festival in 2019.

Biennale College – Cinema, created by the Biennale di Venezia, is supported by the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities – Cinema Head Office. One of the Biennale College – Cinema sponsors is Pegaso Online University. Another sponsor of the project is Condé Nast.  Academic collaboration is provided to Biennale College – Cinema by IFP in New York and TorinoFilmLab. The Laboratory’s Director is Alberto Barbera and the Head of Programme is Savina Neirotti.

Biennale College – Cinema and Biennale College Cinema – Virtual Reality projects receive important financing from the MEDIA Programme – Creative Europe of the European Commission – DG Connect. Educational activities are supported by MEDIA contributions, in addition to the support which the MEDIA Programme has given to develop the Venice Production Bridge.

Starting this year, Biennale College – Cinema receives a contribution from Eurimages, the cultural fund of the European Council, to cover the travel, accommodation, and training expenses for a female director (Eurimages Residency Grant). This year, the recipient is  Petra Szocs (Hungary), the director of the film Deva. The Eurimages Residency Grant for a female director is confirmed also for the 7^th edition of Biennale College - Cinema.

During the press conference the third edition of the 2018/2019 Biennale College Cinema – Virtual Reality has been announced.
Submissions will open starting from September 3^rd until October 29^th, 2018, on the website http://collegecinema.labiennale.org/en/ where a dedicated form has to be filled in.

Biennale College Cinema – Virtual Reality is a programme developed by La Biennale di Venezia to navigate the most innovative and exciting technology of today – Virtual Reality. In its approach to fully exploring the aesthetic and narrative opportunities offered by this new form Biennale College Cinema – Virtual Reality provides filmmakers and creative professionals from a wide range of backgrounds with the skills to prepare them to fully engage with 360° interactive immersive future. With the support of experts and international specialists in the field, Biennale College Cinema – Virtual Reality will help existing independent filmmakers and creative professionals from all over the world to appropriate the medium of VR and learn how to adapt their knowledge to VR in a fluid transitional way. In the process participants will acquire the specific know-how around 360° immersive storytelling that will redefine the relationship between story and audience.

Biennale College Cinema – Virtual Reality will select 3 director and producer teams to work on the development of VR projects of maximum 30 minutes of duration, at concept stage, helping them to advance their projects covering creative, production, audience/market and financial concerns. After a workshop to be held in Venice in January 2019 up to three VR projects will receive € 60,000, and will subsequently be presented at the 76th Venice International Film Festival in 2019.

The first two editions of Biennale College – Cinema Virtual have received a contribution by SONY. Biennale College – Cinema Virtual Reality, will receive essential financing from the Creative Europe-MEDIA programme.

The 2018/2019 edition of the Biennale College – Cinema and Biennale College – Cinema Virtual Reality projects, will receive essential financing from the European Commission – Connect Directorate General’s Media – Creative Europe Programme. The educational activities of the 2018-2019 edition will thus be funded by a MEDIA grant. This grant is in addition to the funding which the MEDIA Programme has given to the development of the Venice Production Bridge.