Second day of Concorto 2024 is ready to go!
IMPORTANT: Today, the weather is unpredictable, so keep an eye on our social media for any potential changes or evening program updates.
No changes for the afternoon, so starting at 4 PM at Rathaus in Piacenza, it’s the first day of *The Frame Beyond*, a focus on virtual reality works; at 6 PM at the Salone Amici dell’Arte in the Ricci Oddi Gallery, there will be a special screening of *La carità è un fuoco* by Fabio Torrembini.
If the weather holds, we’ll see you at Parco Raggio from 8 PM for dinner and from 9 PM for the short films in competition; at the greenhouse at 11:15 PM, the vernissage of the *Terra di Sotto* exhibition in collaboration with the Kult association will take place, followed by the *Supernature* focus. We remind you that from 11:15 PM at Villa Raggio, you can still experience the virtual reality journey on the Emergency rescue ship.
Meanwhile, at the grove from 11:30 PM, Eugenio Sournia live!
In case of rain, we’ll move to Piacenza at the Salone Amici dell’Arte; stay tuned!
Manting – Shuyao Chen
As seen by Eva Olcese
The funeral of a former high school classmate becomes an opportunity for two women, once lovers and now elderly, to meet. The long walk home, after the last bus has already passed, turns into an opportunity to explore the city as they blame each other for a fate that was never fulfilled, an event that kept them apart. Manting tastes like that slightly bitter candy your aunt would always give you: it reminds you of home, even if it was never the flavor you would have chosen. The two women eventually part, each with her own burden of memories and regrets, as the city once again envelops them in its silence. The bitter candy slowly melts in their mouth, leaving an aftertaste that will last until dawn.
A Black Hole Near Kent County – Hannah Schierbeek
As seen by Carola Visca
In a small Midwest town, Julie works in a factory that commits environmental crimes by polluting local waters. Trying to uncover the crimes she doesn’t want to take part in anymore, the woman gets in touch with a journalist, hoping to expose the truth. With its faded colors and its similarity to a thriller, A Black Hole Near Kent County creates an apparently calm atmosphere, where the element of water appears several times and in different forms as a warning of an invisible danger. It is Julie’s body to reveal the nature of this danger, in the permanent marks of a disease that can’t be “washed” away.
Diciassette – Thomas Horat
As seen by Carola Visca
Thomas Horat’s short film explores the places of the Italian Resistance by combining documentary images with animated drawings that give a voice and a body to the memories of a partisan relay girl, known as “Diciassette” (it. Seventeen), owing to of her age when she joined the antifascist militancy. Antonietta Chiovini, from Cuggiono and active in the Val Grande area, was one of the many women who played a crucial role in the fight against fascism, here celebrated in a personal story that is linked to the nation’s history.
The New Red Car – Yeung Tung
As seen by Virginia Carolfi
Talking about childhood, without becoming preachy or falling into clichés, is a difficult task. A task that seems to have been accomplished by Yeung Tung, who does what should always be done: lets the images speak, along with the faces, the silences, and the unspoken words. The father’s farm, however decrepit, retains that magic that only childhood memories possess, with straw hats hanging in a corner for who knows how long, chipped terracotta pots, and still-bitter mandarins. Yangyang sees everything, understands everything, and begins to fear the future, showing that he is no longer a child.
The Nominees (Nominantai) – Birutė Kapustinskaitė
As seen by Carola Visca
The Lithuanian short film by Birute Kapustinskaite reflects on the human need of feeling admired and recognized by others starting from the world of cinema itself. On the way back from a festival, a film crew drinks and celebrates on a bus, despite the fact no one has won an award. Only Alona suffers for not being recognized as “best actress of the year” and prefers withdrawing into solitude. Along the way, a series of meetings and complications – a moose killed on the road, in which the woman identifies herself – eventually lead her back to being the main character of the scene. Sometimes it is the oddest and most unexpected encounters that gratify us the most.
Il compleanno di Enrico – Francesco Sossai
As seen by Eva Olcese
Time seems to stretch when Francesco is taken by his father to his classmate Enrico’s party. It’s December 1999, and the boy is anxious about the Millennium Bug, a flaw in software source codes that, with the arrival of the new millennium, was feared to have disastrous consequences, marking an epochal change. Dragged to a party he would have preferred to skip, Francesco’s gaze lingers on details that might escape others but seem to hide family secrets. The suspended atmosphere and red jellies evoke the prelude to a horror film… What happened to his grandmother? What mysteries lie behind the apparent triviality of a spoiled boy? Sossai draws inspiration from a childhood memory to meticulously recreate that feeling of temporal dilation we experienced as kids.
Stück Für Stück (Piece by Piece) – Reza Rasouli
As seen by Francesca Marchesini
Reza Rasouli presents a delicate coming-of-age story, where the discovery of oneself and the other is skillfully intertwined, filling the viewer’s heart. The short film explores themes of identity, in this case religious and gender identity, with a measured lightness. We know nothing about the protagonists, yet it feels like we’ve known them forever. Little by little, piece by piece, their lives unfold before the audience’s eyes.
Tako Tsubo – Fanny Sorgo, Eva Pedroza
As seen by Virginia Marcolini
Tako Tsubo by Eva Pedroza and Fanny Sorgo is a short film that explores “broken heart syndrome”, a medical condition that reflects how emotional pain can manifest physically. Through slow, meditative editing, the film immerses the viewer in the emotions of the protagonists, following them on their journey of suffering and healing. The direction avoids melodrama, offering a sincere portrayal of grief, perfectly rendered by animation that is dark and pained yet soothingly placid. The careful visual composition and minimalist soundtrack result in an evocative meditation on human frailty and the resilience of the heart.
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