The Giffoni International Film Festival

With the Cannes Film Festival almost upon us, I was pondering about how young people get involved in the industry and stumbled upon The Giffoni Internation Film Festivalis, the largest children’s film festival in Europe. Since 1971, this festival has been held in a town near Salerno in Italy called Giffoni Valle Piana.

07 May 2014
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This little quaint town creates this incredibly unique movie star feel, with streets named after directors and actors and so concerning itself so much with children’s cinema that even the jury is made up of kids! Every year over 2000 children attend the festival from all around the world and has become so popular the festival opened a US branch in Los Angeles, run by actor Jon Voight.

During the festival, children and teenagers watch the films, learn about the film making process and are asked to judge the awards ceremony.
This film festival is the second most important film festival in Italy. The festival takes place between July and August and directed by Claudio Gubitosi.
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The festival has been running for 43 years and has developed a large impact not only in Italy but all around the world. It is a very unique and different style of festival as the idea is completely revolved around children’s film making. Every year the festival attracts over 100,000 guests, being made up for producers, directors and movie stars.

French actor, Francois Truffaut quoted the Giffoni festival ‘the most necessary of all festivals’. Various famous actors have participated in the event over the years including; Robert de Niro, Oliver Stone, Meryl Streep, Anthony Quinn and Meg Ryan. The Giffoni Hollywood film festival has proven to be the biggest so far.

This years festival is being held from the 18th to the 27th of July 2014 so whether you're vacationing in Naples or chartering a yacht in Sicily, make sure to check it out if you are by Naples!