Youth of the CGS at Giffoni Film Festival

Salerno (Italy). Being immersed and fully participating with a group of young people in an international event, but at the same time remaining autonomous and different in the educational proposal is the challenge that the CGS Sociocultural Youth Cinecircles have been making since 2007. It is in coherence with the Salesian roots of the Institutions that the promoters CNOS and CIOFS play at the Giffoni Experience, the film festival for children and young people in Giffoni Valle Piana, Salerno where they are present as a recognized collateral jury. The 53^rd Edition of the Festival took place from 20 to 29 July 2023 under the theme “Indispensable”.

The formula has always included two strong moments: the viewing of the films in competition for +13 (children between 13 and 15 years old) and the activity of the Jury, with the discussion on the films following an analytical method of observation which translates into a critical report, a vote on the film for the awarding of the C.G.S. Prize Creative Paths and the composition of the Motivation to be read during the final evening of the Festival.

The days are completed with the workshop on audiovisual languages, which focuses on products and channels inhabited by young people: from the world of video clips, to that of platform series, Japanese anime and manga, Youtubers, influencers, and tenants of the social worlds. On the sidelines, for some accredited people, the experience of photojournalist is also carried out daily in the areas reserved for professional photographers and then on-site editing www.sentieridicinema.it. From there, it is disseminated on the association’s social channels and on the national website www.cgsweb.it, thanks to an “editorial team” that documents the work done in real time.

From the early years, when the workshops and the coordination of the Jury’s work were handled by Nadia Ciambrignoni and Lorenzo Angelini of the CGS Dorico of Ancona, we gradually moved on to the creation of a team of young people formed by this experience. An authentic peer to peer process has been implemented, already intuited by Don Bosco in the formula that saw young people as educators of young people. In fact, intergenerational team building work is necessary, because the young animators of the team, who are now between 20 and 27 years old, perfectly intercept the interests and languages of children aged between 13 and 18.

The C.G.S. Award Percorsi Creativi makes the association visible and recognizable. The creator Claudio Gubitosi and the entire organization of the Giffoni Film Festival greatly appreciate the quality of the work, which the young people are able to demonstrate even in public with the accurate Motivation of the award-winning film. Even the “red t-shirt” worn by the CGS group is a characterizing element of the event itself. Image and slogan are created within the National Board of Directors by the campus representatives.

The themed incursions of the Language Workshops in the worlds of cinema constantly follow the compass needle which moves in the direction of the territories frequented by the youngest and the attentive sensitivity of the young cultural animators has meant that the path proposed this year on the “construction of the cinematic character as the pivot of the narrative”, was of great interest to the recipients. The “critical training” always aims to enable the gaze to distinguish between Story and Narration, between Person and Character, through the unmasking of the “tricks of the trade”, which is nothing other than the art of interpretation.

Finally, in the fun practical internship, the young people, divided into small troupes (“The Four Directors”) had to conceive, script, and make some short-themed brief films, experimenting with the techniques discussed during the course and, above all, teamwork.

Two girls accredited as Photojournalists of the Festival followed the arrival of the guests on the Blue Carpet in the official photographers’ enclosure, being able to participate this year in the photocall with Raoul Bova, Matteo Paolillo, Maria Chiara Giannetta, Francesco Pannofino, The Kolors… On the evening of Ermal Meta’s concert completed the almost “professionalizing” as well as exciting experience.

This year, thanks to a considerable increase in registrations, there were two CGS Percorsi Creativi 2023 Awards: one for the +13 category and one for the +16.

The awarding of the 8 Jurors +13 Prize to the Belgian film “JUNIORS” by Hugo P. Thomas, a biting comedy of manners built around the character, proved to be very independent – and in clear contrast to the films closer to the animators’ sensitivity of the unscrupulous teenager Jordan, son of separated parents, who does not hesitate to take advantage of an online scam to buy back his broken console. “The fast and eventful narrative gives a glimpse, in addition to the comedy, of more serious scenarios such as bullying, difficult family and social situations, of illness, of the adolescent need to overcome prejudices, gaining one’s freedom compared to imposed models.”

Struck by the painful references to the current situation in Ukraine, however, the 14 Jurors +16 awarded the dramatic and profound “ROCK. PAPER. GRENADE”, by the Ukrainian director Iryna Tsilyl, “because it effectively represents a story of abandonment and care linked to the well-defined and characterized roles of men and women in the Ukraine of the 90s”.

Different ages, different tastes and motivations, the same courage to discuss, vote, and then compose the text together to be read in public. In short, all-round educational work in coexistence, 24 hours a day, with 22 boys and girls aged between 13 and 18, coming from 7 different CGS areas such as Ancona, Cagliari, Civitavecchia, Genoa, Naples, Potenza, Taranto; the synergy of the staff of entertainers and adult managers of the various Clubs is ready and intelligent.

The national dimension of the experience was demonstrated by the involved – and not just “institutional” – presence of the CGS President Cristiano Tanas, the Vice President Stefania Di Turo, and the two national Councilors coordinating the Workshop, both from the CGS Dorico of Ancona, Raffaella Zoppi, and Irene Sandroni.

The participation of Sister Ausilia De Siena, general councilor for Communication of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, was particularly significant, interpreted as a sign of a renewed closeness and sensitivity of the Salesian Congregations regarding the world of Communication, the territory of young people.

“We responsible adult formators have always been convinced that this work of education in freedom, in the protagonism experienced together with others, and in the careful interpretation of the “signs” is an open door towards the discovery of the Beauty and the Beyond that lie behind the Visible signs. In other words, an openness to the gaze of Faith that seeks God. It is not just “being passionate about cinema” or being a group of “cultural interest”. For us, it is a Salesian vocational commitment of education to spirituality,” states Nadia Ciambrignoni, one of the managers.

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