Competition and program of the first edition of the Urban Visions Film Festival

The first edition of the film festival “Urban Visions. Beyond the Ideal City” was scheduled on 12-15 November 2020 as a live event, with screenings and activities in several locations in the Porto-Saragozza neighbourhood. Due to the COVID-19 restrictions imposed by the Italian government at the end of October, cinemas and theatres were closed and live events were prohibited. So the festival was postponed to 22-25 April 2021. However, still in April 2021 cinema and theatres were closed, so the festival could not take place in public space. Then City Space Architecture  ecided to develop a fully online format, with the creation of a specifically designed streaming platform with free streaming (only during the days of the Festival): https://2020.visioniurbane.stream/

In response to the open call published on FilmFreeway, aimed at engaging young and experienced film-makers, for the first edition of the Festival City Space Architecture received more than 1,000 films from all over the world. The final selection of the A-Place competition on “Migrants, refugees and displaces communities”, aimed at investigating the living conditions of migrants, refugees and displaced communities in cities, in Italy and elsewhere, was curated by Luisa Bravo and shorlisted 31 films, out of 388 submissions.

Program

For the A-Place programme, the first edition of Urban Visions film festival included different activities, shaped around the theme ‘Migrants, refugees and displaced communities’:

- opening ceremony, with the involvement of La Salle, and presentation of A-Place competition on “Migrants, refugees and displaces communities”

- free streaming of 31 shortlisted films from the A-Place competition

- four films out of competition

- three interviews and a public debate

- award ceremony, with jury members from A-Place network

- closing session, with representatives from other European festivals on architecture and urbanism and of the associate partner Ecomuseo Casilino ad Duas Lauros in Rome.

It also included the dissemination of the film competition “A Confined Urban Vision”, as part of “A Confined Place” (2020), with the following activities:

- free streaming of 29 shortlisted films from the A-Place / A Confined Urban Vision competition

- interview with the winner Alessandro Marinelli, with the film Quarantine Mood

- one film out of competition, Molecole by Andrea Segre