Corto 2024

Corto: A Cinematic Triumph Unfolds in Dublin

On Wednesday, January 31, 2024, the Pavilion Hall at the Istituto Italiano di Cultura in Dublin came alive with the magic of Italian-Irish cinema during the sold-out event, “Corto. Italy and Ireland in a Snapshot.” Organized by Radio Dublino in collaboration with the Italian Institute of Culture, this annual rendezvous with the finalists of the Italian Fusion Festival – Short Video Competition proved to be a cinematic extravaganza.

The evening commenced at 7:00 PM local time, with Maurizio Pittau, Founder and Director of Radio Dublino and the Italian Fusion Festival, opening the event. Pittau welcomed the audience and highlighted the significance of the Short Video Competition in promoting Italian-Irish film productions, showcasing their creativity on diverse platforms.

Debora Lupi, the accomplished Panel Moderator, guided the audience through the night’s program, fostering an engaging atmosphere. Lupi introduced the impressive lineup of short films and facilitated a Q&A session with the attending directors, providing insight into their creative processes.

The heart of the event was the screening of six remarkable short films that beautifully encapsulated the artistic fusion of Italian and Irish cultures:

  1. The Return by Chiara Viale: A contemporary interpretation of John Francis O’Donnell’s poem, “The Return” (1837-1874).
  2. A Drinking Pub With A Music Problem by Claire Issartel: A short documentary exploring the social and cultural significance of The Cobblestone pub in Dublin.
  3. Renvyle by The Sea by Jan Sisley and Silvana Benedetto: An experimental and poetic documentary giving voice to the local community in one of the most remote areas of Western Ireland.
  4. The Circle of Infinity by Stefano Rolando: Filmed in Dublin, this short offers a personal interpretation of Nietzsche’s eternal return idea, presented in a thrilling narrative.
  5. Style by Beta O’Dwyer: A captivating discussion on style at Dublin University, potentially leading to a new friendship.
  6. Served by Renee Walker: A suspenseful tale of a calculating woman serving her estranged husband a meal to remember, accompanied by unexpected divorce papers.

The accompanying photo gallery, skillfully curated by Chiara Provenzale, captures the essence of the event – the joy of filmmakers presenting their works and the audience immersed in the cinematic journey.

“Corto. Italy and Ireland in a Snapshot” proved to be a resounding success, showcasing the extraordinary talent and cultural convergence between Italy and Ireland. Our gratitude extends to the Istituto Italiano di Cultura for hosting this captivating evening and to Radio Dublino for their unwavering commitment to promoting cultural diversity through the art of cinema. As we eagerly anticipate next year’s edition, we look forward to diving once again into the compelling stories and magic of Italian-Irish cinema.

Winners Short Video Competition 2023

Winners Short Video Competition 2023

The Winner of the Sixth Edition of the Italian Fusion Festival – Short Video Competition is Served by Renee Walker.

Motivation: Served is a darkly delicious masterpiece that echoes Italian stereotypes and cunningly challenges gender roles and expectations. With vivid colours, clever use of camera shots and angles, a twisted plot, and a play on words, “Served” serves up a thrilling narrative that makes this a gem of storytelling.

The short video also won the Audience Award after a hard-fought week against the short video “A Drinking Pub With A Music Problem” by Claire Issartel. The main actress of “Served”, Maria Monteleone, accepted the awards.


“Renvyle by the Sea” by Jan Sysley and Silvana Benedetto won the Jury Award.

Motivation: “Renvyle by the Sea” is an enchanting portrayal of life in the remote West of Ireland which comes alive in the form of a poetic documentary, with its breathtaking ocean landscapes, authentic tales of perilous fishing, traditional melodies, and the pure and authentic voice of the locals. A harmonious blend of art and reality, it’s a profound ode to an extraordinary way of life.

Silvana Benedetto accepted the award.

 

IIF Video Finalists

Short Video Competition 2023 Finalists

We are happy to present the finalists of the Short Video Competition 2023.  The winner will be announced during the event and will be awarded with a plaque and a small cash price. You can vote your favourite video at the end of the post for the Audience Award.

Served by Renee Walker

A calculating woman cooks her estranged husband a meal to die for and serves him with divorce papers. He arrogantly obliges believing that he has the upper hand. But she has other plans. Renee Walker returned to college at 48 to study TV and Media Production. She has immersed herself in many creative projects through the years ranging from choreographing, design painting to being a singer and musician in a wide range of bands. She feels that all of these creative parts of her contribute to the bigger picture. “Art” in all its many forms intertwine and push forward each new stage of her development. Renee continues her persuit of bringing life to thoughts and ideas within the film-making community.


The Return by Chiara Viale

Chiara Viale is an Italian born writer, director and producer based in Ireland. After a degree in English as a Foreign Language and Literature in Milan, she went on studying screenwriting in Dublin and began making independent films. Since then she has written, directed and produced numerous short films. Her first Independent Feature Film ‘The New Music’, was released in 2021. She is co-founder of the Dublin based production company Built To Fail Productions.


A Drinking Pub With A Music Problem by Claire Issartel

Claire is a French writer, director and editor living in Dublin. She studied Theatre and Film at the University in France and moved to Dublin 6 years ago to study film. Since she has made several short-films as writer, director and editor. She shot ‘’ A Drinking Pub With A Music Problem’’ during Kino D event (48 hours Filmmaking challenge) in Dublin with Marco Griffini as a DOP and support in editing and Martin Brady in sound recording. A Drinking Pub with A Music Problem is a short-documentary about the pub The Cobblestone in Dublin.


Renvyle by The Sea by Jan Sisley and Silvana Benedetto

Jan Sisley was born in Tāmaki Makaurau, Aotearoa/New Zealand. She graduated with an M.A. from the Auckland University Film School. She has worked on documentaries, music videos, films and television while continuing to make short films of her own. Jan’s festival screenings include CON-TEMPORARY Art Observatorium in Venice, Winnipeg Underground Film Festival, Torino film festival, and as part of The One Minutes screening across Asia and Europe.

Silvana Benedetto was born in Albenga (Italy), but she moved to Ireland in 2008. Fascinated by everything about visual Arts, acting and music since she was a child, she started to be involved in film projects in Ireland in 2013, juggling between long hours in the office and sleepless nights learning lines, writing scripts, producing short films. Can’t wait to retire and focus on acting and documentary film making. Jan and Silvana shot together “Renvyle by the Sea” over two very stormy days in Connemara. It’s an experimental poetic short documentary where we gave voice to local people of one of most remote areas in the West of Ireland. This short documentary won an award as “Spirit of the Festival” at “Shot by the Sea Film Festival” in Galway.


The Circle of Infinity by Stefano Rolando

Stefano Rolando is originally from a small village near Domodossola (VB) and he has been living in Ireland since 2006.He studied at DAMS (Bo) and attended a 2 years filmmaking course at BCFE college in Dublin. He currently works as a digital compositor for EGG vfx. In his VFX career he had the chance to work for international projects as Game of Thrones, The Favourite, The Woman King, Good Omens.  Circle of infinity is the short film he made in 2011 as his personal graduation project at BCFE. It is a personal interpretation of Nietzsche’s eternal return idea. The short film was a no-budget project and it was entirely filmed, edited and directed by Stefano.


Style by Beta O’Dwyer

Geraldine, writing under the name of Beta, is new to filmmaking having made her first short in January of 2023. She is a qualified Accountant by profession. Style was filmed at the Kino Kabaret Dublin filmmaking festival in August in collaboration with Maria Etienne (DOP). Maria graduated from the University of Bologna in 2022 with a masters in cinema and moved to Dublin to pursue a career in the Arts.


Vote your Favourite Video!

 

Short Video Contest

Short Video Competition 2023 – 6th edition

The Italian Fusion Festival 2023– Short Video Competition

“Corto | Italy and Ireland in a snapshot”.

The short video competition has been integral to the Italian Fusion Festival since its start.

The aim is to offer a spotlight to international filmmakers in Ireland wishing to showcase their works on our platforms.

Entry is open to any short films made by Italian-Irish film productions. They must include at least one Italian and one Irish cast/crew/director/writer/composer/editor/producer. We accept both unreleased and previously released short movies.

Deadline: Thursday, 12 of October 2023

Duration of short films: up to 10 minutes.

Submission: Send an email to info@italianfusionfestival.com with a short bio and a description of the video. Your email should also include a YouTube or a WeTransfer link to your video(s).

The winner will be announced during the event and will be awarded a voucher.

All the videos shortlisted by our jury will also be advertised and made permanently available to the wider public on different platforms, such as the Italian Fusion Festival and Radio Dublino web pages and social networks.

Contact us for further information.

Corto: Italy and Ireland in a snapshot 2022

A selection of short videos in English, presented at the last edition of the Italian Fusion Festival, combines elements of both Italian and Irish cultures.

Since its start, the short video competition has been an important part of the Italian Fusion Festival, and also an instrument to give visibility to local filmmakers. The participating directors, mainly Italian or Irish, express a real artistic fusion of elements from the two cultures.

The following short videos will be screened:

  • The plait by Chiara Viale
  • Shame by Chiara Provenzano
  • Uberman by Alois J.L. Steinmacher
  • A decent proposal by Cathal Feeney
  • Stage fright by Giuseppe Mirabella

A Q&A session coordinated by Valentina Settominiwill follow at the end of the screenings.

Information

  • Date: Monday, October 24, 2022
  • Address:  11 Fitzwilliam Square E, Dublin, D02 KN81
  • Time: At 6:30 pm
  • In collaboration with : IIC Dublino
  • Admission : Free

IIF Video Finalists

Short Video Competition 2022 Finalists

We are happy to present the finalists of the Short Video Competition 2022. All videos will be projected on the 2nd of July during the Italian Fusion Festival. The winner will be announced during the event and will be awarded with a plaque and a small cash price.

The Plait by Chiara Viale

Chiara Viale is an Italian born writer, director and producer based in Ireland. After obtaining a degree in English as a Foreign Language and Literature in Milan, she went on studying screenwriting in Dublin and began making independent films. Since then she has written, directed and taken part numerous short films. In 2017 she started her first Independent Feature Film ‘The New Music’, which has reached completion in 2019. She is also co-founder of the Dublin based independent production company Built To Fail Productions.


Shame by Chiara Provenzano

Born and bred in Italy, Chiara has cultivated a love for cinema since the age of 11, when she first saw The Lord of the Rings, and she was left in awe. After moving to Dublin 5 years ago, she hasn’t stopped editing: from short films to documentaries to weddings, she loves all art forms. Editing is her true passion!


Stage Fright by Giuseppe Mirabella

Giuseppe Mirabella was born in Naples in 1985. He currently lives in Dublin where he plays in two bands Skakki Blues and Locanda a jazz manouche project. He shot ‘Stage fright’ during the KinoD: an event in Dublin during which filmmakers are asked to create a short movie in 48 hours.


A Decent Proposal by Cathal Feeney

Cathal started film making when he joined the Dublin Filmmakers film club in Dublin in 2011. In the intervening period he has worked on numerous short films in various roles, although mainly as a writer and director. The Interview was his first film followed by Oh. Oh was made as part of a 72 hour challenge at the Offline film festival in Offaly where it took first place. His film making style would lean towards comedy.


Uberman by Alois J.L. Steinmacher

Alois J.L. Steinmacher is 37 and grew up in Kaiserslautern. Being a true faustian spirit he set off to study Philosophy and Law but he eventually graduated from acting school and also medical school after living a while in a French monastery. He started writing and directing mostly comedy shorts and won his first award for his slapstick spy shorts “Styler und Gyler”. “Uberman” is his first Drama on screen and was written during a creative break in Cinque Terre, Italy – a pilot version was shot 2021 with an Italian cast in Dublin. The background idea was to artistically explore the growing pressure of capitalism and migration on human relationships. He currently works at ICU in order to complete his emergency physician training this year. After this he wants to go dead serious about the arts once and for all. His dream is to become the German Adriano Celentano. He lives in Berlin whith his wife and their children.


Vote your favourite video!

This poll is no longer accepting votes

Your Favourite Movie
Italian Fusion Festival short video competition

The Italian Fusion Festival – Short Video Competition 2022

“Corto | Italy and Ireland in a snapshot”.

The short video competition has been an integral part of the Italian Fusion Festival since its start.

The aim is to offer a spotlight to international filmmakers in Ireland wishing to showcase their works on our platforms.

Entry open to any short films made by Italian-Irish film productions (they must include at least one Italian and Irish cast / crew/ director / writer / composer / editor / producer). We accept both unreleased and previously released short movies.

Deadline: Friday 24th of June 2022 at 18PM.

Duration of short films: up to 10 minutes.

Submission: send an email to info@italianfusionfestival.com with a short bio and a description of the video. Your email should also include a YouTube /Vimeo or a WeTransfer link to your video(s).

The short films shortlisted by our jury will be screened during the Italian Fusion Festival live and on Facebook and YouTube

The winner will be announced during the event and will be awarded a voucher.

All the videos shortlisted by our jury will also be advertised and made permanently available to the wider public on different platforms, such as Italian Fusion Festival and Radio Dublino webpages and social networks. The competition is curated by Giuseppe Crupi.

Contact us for further information.

Corto. Italy and Ireland in a snapshot

The Italian Institute of Culture – Dublin hosts a selection of short films combining elements of Irish and Italian culture, presented during the latest edition of the Italian Fusion Festival, the biggest Italian Festival in Europe organised by Radio Dublino (the only Irish Radio programme in Italian).

This short film competition has been an integral part of the Italian Fusion Festival since its start, aiming to offer a spotlight to Dublin film-makers ready to showcase their works.The artists involved, mainly Italian and Irish, express a true artistic fusion of elements of both cultures.

A short discussion with a Q&A session and a refreshment will take place after the screenings.

The following short films will be screened:

  • My Red Hot Car by Max Boccalari
  • First Day by Alexandre Vetter
  • Here and Through by Luca Truffarelli
  • Dublin 2015 by Ivan Mazza
  • Clown by Chiara Viale
  • Bright Eyed in the Mornin by Maria Fiorentini
  • Abrasion by Sefora Castro
  • Amore in Translation – Tuttifrutti by John McNally
  • Cascao & Lady Maru “One Place” by Miro Mastropasqua
  • The Siege of Bóthar Anam by Marcus Maher

Free admission, booking recommended

Information

  • Date: Monday, October 07, 2019
  • Time: From 6:30 pm To 8:30 pm
  • Organised by: IIC
  • Un collaboration with: Radio Dublino
  • Admission : Free

Short-Video Competition

Winner Short-Video Competition 2018

Short-video-competition-Italian-Fusion-Festival-2018My Red Hot Car by Max Boccalari is the winner of the Short-Video Competition at the Italian Fusion Festival.

Max Boccalari is a 360-degree multidisciplinary artist, his interests are in visual arts, design, sounds and music. Creativity and visions are his focal point of communications, indeed through his art, he communicates his visual experiences, his thoughts and his emotions to the public. Max was born Italian and is in Ireland from 11 years. Max is graduated in Media Arts at Dundalk Institute of Technology.

Realised by a multi-racial group (three from Nigeria, an Irish and an Italian) My Red Hot Car is an interpretation by Max and his classmate in DKIT of the song by Squarepusher. Final Assignment first year of Media Arts and Technologies.


Short-Video Competition 2018 Special Mentions

First Day by Alexandre Vetter (Dublin Filmmakers Collective)

finalists

Finalists at Short-Video Competition 2018

We are happy to announce the final list of videos of teh Short-Video Competition that will be shown during the festival.

  • A Christmas to Remember by Maria Fiorentini
  • First Day by Alexandre Vetter
  • My Red Hot Car by Max Boccalari
  • Ellie by Tim Laubscher