Gala evening for the International Film competition created by iKen Onlus and co-financed by the Campania Region and the Campania Region Film Commission.
Applause, laughter, and emotion at the sixteenth edition of Omovies Film Festival created by the iKen Onlus Association with the artistic direction of Carlo Cremona. The Gala was hosted by Priscilla (the television face of "Drag Race Italy") in the Dumas Theatre of the French Institute of Naples.
Road movie manages to capture the essence of the LGBTQ+ experience in a way that is both intimate and universal. “Girls Don't Cry” by Andrea Zuliani was the best-fiction feature film, while “València, T'estime” by Carlos Giménez Pons represents a crucial and often overlooked chapter in the history of human and LGBTQ rights.
Among the short films, the winners were the documentary “Camille, Marc, Michel & Me”, by Jonathan Lemieux, defined by the jury as an extraordinarily personal and touching work, and the short film “La Cena” by Jesús Martínez “Nota” which stood out for its deft blend of humour and socially relevant themes.
The “Vincenzo Ruggiero” award went to “I am poem” by Maite Bonilla which, by telling the story of a young man who courageously faces his own gender identity, is a powerful example of how cinema can be a tool of expression and understanding the challenges of identity and acceptance.
Special mentions for “Un Kiss Too” by Vincenzo Lamagna, “Memori” by Nicola Garzetti, and “Razze Pure” by Giuseppe Zampella. Out of competition awards go for director Giuseppe Bucci and best actor to Mariano Gallo for "A mia imagine".
Felice Granisso, CEO of Tea Tek Group, was awarded the "Soap Power" Award by the entrepreneur Rossella Paliotto, which valorises business and public administration personalities who stand out for their civic campaigns.
The jury of the international Academy is composed of Macarena Ochoa, president of the Spanish association ON&OFF Theatre; Vanesa Matosevic, Maja Rogulj and Ivana Pedljo of the Croatian association CDA Cultural Development Association – Močvara, both of which are involved with iKen in the Erasmus+ Pride project; Lorenzo Crea (journalist, director of initaly.eu, retenews24 and gtchannel.tv); Peppe Iannicelli (journalist and radio-TV host); Riccardo Lenti (doctor in Oriental and African Languages and Cultures - Tourist Guide); Luciano Melchionna (director and theatre author); Nyko Piscopo (artistic director and choreographer of the Cornelia company); Gabriele Prosperi (film and television critic, professor and research fellow at the Federico II University of Naples); Antonella Raio (visual artist); Mario Zazzaro (responsible for new rights CGIL Naples and Campania).
Attending the event, the Consul General of France Lise Moutou Malaya, the singer-songwriter Mario Castiglia, who wrote for Celine Dion and collaborated with Roberto De Simone and Luca De Filippo who performed on stage. Moreover, rising stars such as the singer-songwriter Zarat, the dancers Isan Wanigarathna Madagodage, and Angelica Velasquez, the Cornelia Dance Company, and the song from the Pride Erasmus+ project was performed for the first time in Italy, created by 27 young people from all over Europe during mobility in Croatia.
The international homosexual, transgender and questioning cinema competition, which proposes Films against all forms of violence and in favour of every manifestation of love, was co-financed by the contribution of the Campania Region, the Campania Region Film Commission, and with the patronage of the Municipalities of Naples, Caserta, Salerno, Portici, San Giorgio, of the Giffoni Film Festival, of the Unar - National Anti-Racial Discrimination Office, of the Arcc, the Naples Red Cross, AMESCI, and I-Land, involving hundreds of young people between screenings, meetings and workshops in seven days of programming.
Media partner NapoFlix and Lgbt Channel TV.
OMOVIES is the first international LGBT+ film festival in Southern Italy, born in 2007 to promote Naples and Campania in national and international circuits as territories of socialisation, solidarity and hospitality and encourage the development of different tourism. The innovative aspect of the festival remains questioning, which means asking questions about a theme, or an idea and is aimed for authors to create works freely on the openness and sharing of LGBT+ issues. The spectator will find himself in a festival that talks about love in an inclusive way and the different ways of loving, which tells stories of life, dreams, hopes and humanity. The iKen association was awarded the co-financing of the cinema law of the Campania Region.
