The final ceremony of the "Don Bosco Global Youth Film Festival" took place, starting at 6 pm Italian time, at the Teatro Grande in Valdocco, in the presence of the Rector Major, Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, the Councilor for Social Communication, Fr Gildasio Mendes, and the Director of the Festival, Fr Harris Pakkam. Cristina Priarone, President of the “Italian Film Commissions” and member of the Grand Jury was also present.
After the welcome greetings from Br. Alberto Rodríguez, President of the DON BOSCO NEL MONDO Foundation, the explanation of the meaning and purpose of the festival and the path that led to its creation was presented. Later, the screening of some select short films belonging to the different categories in the race were screened. Those present and all those who followed the event live on Facebook were able to see and appreciate live action short films, music videos and animated short films. All the films, inspired by the theme "Moved by Hope", were applauded by those present, who admired the originality, quality and great sensitivity that distinguished the young directors.
The Rector Major then recalled: “Young people are capable of doing extraordinary things, even having only a mobile phone at their disposal.” The Successor of Don Bosco then expressed his joy in having hosted this great event precisely in Valdocco, imagining that Don Bosco and all the Salesian Saints were happy and proud of the goal achieved with this festival, characterized above all by the activities and creativity of the young.
In his speech, the Director of the Festival, Fr Harris Pakkam, thanked all those who made the festival possible. “This Festival is a dream that has come true, and we hope that it will continue to bear fruit in the future as well. We started to think about it, humbly, with a small team, to offer young people a space where they can express themselves,” he explained.
Ms. Priarone was also enthusiastic about the event, urging young people to continue chasing their dream of cinema because, more than any other art, cinema could give voice to emotions. “Being part of a jury made up of members from all over the world was an interesting experience. It must be said that occasions like this bring with them values and open up a view towards contents, such as hope, which is always good to keep in mind,” said Cristina Priarone.
Together with the Rector Major, she announced the award winners, who connected through the Zoom platform. At the end of the award ceremony, then, Fr Harris Pakkam invited all those who worked on the Festival process itself to receive mementos from the Rector Major. Finally, a hymn to Don Bosco was sung.
The 36 prizes for the winners also consist of a sum of money. For the 15 Best Global prizes, the winners received € 5,000; € 3,000 went to second-place, while third-place winners received € 2,000. The winners of the other prizes, of all the other categories, instead receive € 2,500 each.
Among the 15 BEST GLOBAL AWARDS, in the category of LIVE ACTION SHORTS (running time up to 1 minute), the first prize was awarded to Epiphany, by Gabriel Cerqueira from Brazil, followed by the second, Special Glasses, by Jose Borregales from Venezuela, and the third prize to El Sol, by Maria Nazareth Castillo Alfaro from Costa Rica. Next, in the category of LIVE ACTION SHORTS (runtime up to 10 minutes), the first prize was awarded to Delirious, by Jasmina Huynh, from Austria, the second to Hope and her two daughters, by Chloe Potamiti from Japan, and the third to Self Therapy, Mohammed Zalbak from Belgium. For the ANIMATED SHORTS category (duration up to 1 minute) the first prize was awarded to Corazon Azul by Daniel Flamenco from El Salvador; second prize went to High Tide, by Paula Astorga Benito from Spain; The Magik Change, by Monami Roy, India, was third. For the ANIMATED SHORTS category (duration up to 5 minutes), the first prize was awarded to The Night of Men, by Raquel Arias from Spain; the second to The Fisherman, by Francois Balanant, from France, while the third to A little more Blue, by Sugandha Bansal, from India. For the MUSIC VIDEO category (lasting up to 5 minutes) the first prize was awarded to Thenupfu Ruli, by Albert Seluokuolie Rutsa, India, followed by the second Take it easy, by Thamizh Vannan, India, while third prize went to In the heart of the world, by Simone Baldi, Italy.
Among the 6 BEST PRIZES PER CATEGORY, the BEST NARRATIVE “Original Concept” award went to The Priceless Art, by Mohamed Asif Hameed, India. The BEST SCREENPLAY “Concise Storytelling” award went to Grains of Sand, by Liviu Rotaru, Republic of Moldova. The BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY “Stunning visuals” award was won by Behind the gate, by Roksolana Khanas, Ukraine. The BEST SOUND DESIGN “Crystal and pristine” award went to Moved by Hope, by Charity Chariet Pinaloya, Uganda. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE Award went to Amma, Rakibul by Hasan Reza, Bangladesh. The BEST EDITING “Precise trimming” award went to Frame of Mind, by Birinchi Kumar Gogoi, India.
Among the 6 BEST YOUTH AWARDS, the prize for BEST YOUNG STORYWRITER “New Perspective” was awarded to Un Tipo de Magia, by Hernán Galardi, Argentina. The BEST YOUNG SONGWRITER "Fresh thinking" award went to Kanavugal Kaanbom, by Anto Joe, India. BEST YOUNG MALE ACTOR “Great Performance” went to The Ticket, by Andre Tidori, Aleppo, Syria. The BEST YOUNG FEMALE ACTOR "Great Performance" award was won by The Bearers of Hope, by Teresa Maria Dos Santos Da Cruzhernandez, East Timor. The BEST YOUNG DIRECTOR (Animation) "Inspirationally Creative" award went to Texting with your nose, by Adam Zheng, USA. The BEST YOUNG DIRECTOR (live-action) “Next Generation” award went to Greedy Shadow, by Ji Hae Yoon, South Korea.
Among the 6 BEST CONTINENTAL AWARDS, the BEST AFRICAN award was assigned to Moved by Hope, by Gilbert Olanya, Uganda; BEST ASIAN to Education is our Hope, by Daniel Jaojian Gangmei, India; BEST OCEANIA was won by Bart, by Angelo Dominic Aguila, Philippines; BEST EUROPEAN was The Light of Hope, by Szymon Gil, Tarnowskie Gory, Poland; BEST INTER-AMERICAN went to in Los Chicuras, by Alejandro Saavedra, Mexico; and BEST AMERICAN SOUTH CONE is Flying Machine, by Juliano Rocha, Gama, Brazil.
Among the 3 JURY’S CHOICE awards, the JURY’S FAVORITE LIVE ACTION went to Gama, by Bagu Bagu, India; the JURY’S FAVORITE ANIMATED FILM was awarded to Vice-versa, by Kristina Kesler, Ryazan, Russia; the JURY'S FAVORITE MUSIC VIDEO went to Listen, by Zinho Fernandes, India.
The event is still available for viewing on the Facebook pages of ANS and DGBYFF.
