02/09/2025
At the Venice Film Festival, today’s press conference presented the traditional meeting of Italian film distributors and creators, entitled Incontri del Cinema d’Essai, which will take place from 30 September to 3 October in Nova Gorica and Gorizia this year. This 25th anniversary edition of the gathering is organized by the Italian film distributors’ association FICE.
With film culture is deeply rooted in the cross-border space, the Nova Gorica region will host numerous Italian filmmakers and other professionals closely connected to cinema. The Venice Film Festival, currently taking place, offered an excellent opportunity to present both the upcoming meeting and the European Capital of Culture to the wider international film community. At the press conference, Nova Gorica’s mayor Samo Turel, together with the mayor of neighboring Gorizia, Rodolfo Ziberna, highlighted the significance of the European Capital of Culture, which gives special importance to film within its official programme and supports successful cinematic projects. The Incontri d’Essai filmmakers’ gathering represents an extraordinary promotional opportunity for both Gorizias.
Nova Gorica and Gorizia have long been shaping a unique cinematic space that transcends borders and unites filmmakers from both sides. Kinoatelje in Gorizia embodies this cross-border cinematic offering, bringing compelling film stories from the region and beyond. Gorizia was also home to Darko Bratina, in his memory Kinoatelje annually awards the Darko Bratina Prize. Gorizia is also a birthplace of Rossellini’s screenwriter Sergio Amidei—in his honour, the city has been awarding a prize for decades. The conurbation brings together students from three universities—Nova Gorica, Trieste, and Udine. In Nova Gorica, the Academy of Arts at the University of Nova Gorica is particularly renowned for its focus on animated film.
As Stojan Pelko, programme director of GO! 2025, emphasized, the region invited Gabriele Salvatores to chair the jury for the selection of eight short films that will carry the spirit of the European Capital of Culture across Europe. With the support of the European Capital of Culture, several films have already reached leading film festivals: Urška Djukić’s Little Trouble Girls opened the Berlinale’s Perspektive program and continues to succeed at other festivals, while Gregor Božič’s short film Common Pear was presented in Rotterdam, Oberhausen, and more. Božič also served as director of photography for the Croatian film The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent, which won the Palme d’Or for Best Short Film in Cannes last year and was nominated this year for an Academy Award in the same category. Thanks to Kinoatelje, the rich retrospective East – West: The Border Through Film and History has toured across Europe, reaching Vienna, Belgrade, Timișoara, Athens, Brussels, Chemnitz, and many other cities.
Stojan Pelko, programme director of GO! 2025 and future director of the Slovenska kinoteka, stated: "As programme director of the European Capital of Culture 2025 Nova Gorica - Gorizia, I am extremely proud for two reasons: first, to welcome the FICE meeting of film professionals, creators, and audiences in Gorizia, Nova Gorica, and Ljubljana in early October. And second, to screen the entire collection of eight short films, prepared by Friuli - Venezia Giulia exclusively for the official programme of GO! 2025, in the open air on our most symbolic location, Europe Square.”
The organizers of the FICE meeting expressed their gratitude to both municipalities—the City Municipality of Nova Gorica and the Municipality of Gorizia—as well as to Friuli - Venezia Giulia, GO! 2025, and all other participating institutions for their support in organizing the event. This will be a major organizational challenge, as the gathering will, for the first time, take place outside its usual location and, equally significant, for the first time beyond the borders of Italy.
Photo: Ana Rojc
