Lead partner: Promoturismo FVG.
Venue: Gorizia, Nova Gorica.
8 short films produced by European directors and selected by a jury chaired by Oscar winner Gabriele Salvatores that tell the story of the cross-border territory, through its values, its history, its peculiarities linked to being a "borderland" and which will have as a common element the Europe Square, the genius loci of this borderless area.
The works will be premiered at the opening and closing of the 25th edition of Giornate FICE – Incontri del Cinema d’Essai FVG: on Monday, 29 September 2025, at 20:00 at Kinemax in Gorizia and on Friday, 3 October , at 19:30 at the magical Europe Square in an event that further enhances the symbolic value of the project. Both evenings are free of charge.
The programme includes:
- Il ponte, directorial debut by Giacomo Bendotti (Amarena Film), exploring the theme of migrations and the permeability of the border through time and history;
- Cos’ te costa by Davide Del Degan, written by Alessandro Biamonti (Galaxia), investigating physical and metaphysical borders as distortions of human reality;
- La battaglia delle spazzole (The Battle of the Brushes) by Lorenzo Fabbro (Staragara I.T.), a sparkling comedy that turns the nightly routine of two street sweeper operators into a battle of invisible borders and unexpected feelings;
- Confini, canti by Simone Massi (Rumore), the only animated work of the project, which closed the International Critics’ Week at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival;
- Meja – Frontiera by Emma Jaay (Tucker Film), a modern fairytale offering a poetic reflection on human connection beyond geographical divisions;
- Vivere (To Live) by Chiara Cremaschi (La Scontrosa), a powerful and visually intense road-movie tale;
- L’estate che verrà by Mauro Lodi (Groenlandia), a moving story of deep friendship between an Italian and a Slovenian, who grew up in the culturally cohesive environment of Gorizia’s Staatsgymnasium;
- L’osservatore dell’est by Alberto Fasulo (Neferti Film), a skillful blend of comedy and drama and a tribute to Sergio Leone’s westerns.
Key individuals:
- Gabriele Salvatores.
