After having populated the DumBO in Bologna with ideas and visions, the event officially ended last weekend in Modena, attracting over 4000 participants.
For the first time the organization proposed the new format based on the creative hubs of the territories. Between screenings, masterclasses, meetings, workshops and a hackathon dedicated to video game developers, the Future Film Festival proved to be more than ever a catalyst for events that make the hybridization of languages its stylistic signature. This year, completely free.
Bologna 27 November 2023_The 23rd Future Film Festival closes, with an edition that aimed more than ever at the involvement of a wide audience. The poster, curated by Mr Jose, was a declaration of intent, being based on AI: created with Midjourney and improved with Photoshop, it told of a festival that abolishes borders and integrates opposite poles: human and post-human , natural and artificial, artisanal and technological, real and virtual.
This is how the FFF was able to bring together indie animation enthusiasts, students, illustrators, storytellers, scholars, experimenters and the curious, who, like many colored threads, intertwined to give substance to a complex program that extended over eight days and on two cities, Bologna and Modena.
In Modena the focus of the event reached the Cinema Astra and the Laboratorio Aperto Modena, a former power plant reborn to new life, transformed into a creative laboratory available to the city.
The 23rd edition: data and numbers
The new formula of the Future Film Festival is a successful bet: the public responded positively to the idea of concentrating the events in multifunctional and high-tech locations: over 4 thousand spectators were registered between Bologna and Modena, for a schedule that included – in competition – 21 feature films, 81 short films, 5 animated series, 12 ARVR contents, 33 meetings and workshops.
To create this edition, the territories were involved, with over 40 partnerships and collaborations, while there were more than 70 guests, including artists, panelists and professionals in the sector.
As regards the screenings – which added up to 150 hours of programming – over 200 applications were received. There were more than 200 participants in the various specialist workshops dedicated to animation, narration and illustration techniques.
More than 30 projects arrived at the Future Pitch, the industry showcase designed to support the Italian and international market, while over 50 participants registered at the Future Videogames Hackathon, including developers, animators and creatives.
The events dedicated to Bill Plympton, defined as the last great author of indie animation, a living legend for all lovers of the genre, were very popular: in addition to presenting the world premiere of the definitive version of Slide, his latest feature film, Plympton he hosted a workshop and created over 150 personalized drawings for his admirers.
The Future Film Festival experienced eight intense days, and welcomed a passionate audience eager for new discoveries: a colorful and festive community, which consumed over 700 coffees and 300 spritzes in eight days of the festival, and which did not fail to share their enthusiasm on social media, which have seen a 20% increase in followers since the last edition.
Online, however, on the MyMovies platform, there were over 1000 (virtual) viewers of the Future Film Festival from all over Italy.
