Concorto Film Festival Returns to Piacenza for 15th Edition

The Concorto short film festival, one of Italy's most important, returns for its 15th edition from now until August 27. Screenings take place at Parco Raggio in Pontenure and Palazzo Ex Enel in Piacenza, featuring 120 works selected from over 3,000 submissions, with 52 films in competition. Awards include the Asino d'Oro for best film, Special Jury Prize, Audience Award, and the "L'Onda" Prize decided by a jury of 18- to 21-year-olds. The festival includes contemporary video art, notably the world premiere of a new film by Simone Rovellini, a videomaker from the Toiletpaper factory (the image-only magazine founded by Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari). The closing event features Mexican musician and artist MURCOF presenting "Etna: a portrait," a video-sound project sampling sounds from Europe's largest active volcano, set to images shot in Sicily by Spanish video artist Manu Ros. In an exclusive excerpt for Artribune, David Krippendorff's short "Nothing Escapes My Eyes" is highlighted. The film, inspired by Giuseppe Verdi's Aida, references the 1971 destruction of Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and stars Arab-Israeli actress Hiam Abbas.