In 2019 a partnership agreement was signed between two major European nature festivals, the Gran Paradiso Film Festival and the International Nature Namur Festival. Both with the common goal of presenting not a reporting cinema but a cinema focused on the extraordinary beauty of nature to make the public aware about it.
FINN, established in 1995 and now entering in its 25th edition, will take place from 11 to 20 October 2019, and GPFF, which has just concluded the international competition week of it 22nd edition in Cogne and which will continue in the valleys of Gran Paradiso in August, could find many points of contact. This partnership aims to improve the growth of both festivals, significantly increasing their impact on their territories and on the international scene.
Both the events have nature as core theme and they aim to disseminate this message through a series of events including international film competitions, outdoor activities and multidisciplinary conferences in a perspective of local development and exchange. Moreover, the two Festivals belong to two Francophone regions, with a great potential in tourism development and having extraordinary landscapes and artistic and cultural heritages.
Thus considering, both GPFF and FINN decided to implement targeted actions for their mutual development and for achieving their common mission. They include communication and promotion activities, through the dissemination of films and the awarding of special prizes to public jury and film directors.
On Monday 22, FINN award was assigned to a member of the public jury. The prize consists in a four-days stay for two persons in the Belgian city of Namur, including the invitation to the FINN award gala. On the other side, film director winner of the FINN 25° edition will be awarded with an experience in Cogne, for two persons during the 23° GPFF, at the Eco Wellness Hôtel Notre Maison, to explore the pioneering spirit linked to sustainable mobility of the Alpine Green Experience.
The two Festivals are also engaged in the exchange of good practices, information and knowledge about the new trends and outputs of the naturalistic film sector, the dissemination of research and studies, the entertainment and the arts, as well as to exchange the photo exhibitions that enrich the two Festival programs.
International Nature Namur Festival Coordinator, Christophe Boux, took part in the 22nd Gran Paradiso Film Festival as a member of the technical jury. About this new partnership he declared: “One of the main features of nature is that it could teach us how to help ourselves. Our collaboration is productive and as declared by the Belgian: union is strength ”.
Gran Paradiso Film Festival Artistic Director, Luisa Vuillermoz, said: “We are very proud of this partnership. As George Bernard Shaw says: If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas”.
Festival program is available at: www.26.gpff.it and www.festivalnaturenamur.be
The Gran Paradiso Film Festival is organized by Fondation Grand Paradis within the Project PACTA – Promouvoir the Action Culturelle en Territoire Alpin (Interreg VA Italy-France ALCOTRA 2014-2020) and the Project SONO – Svelare Occasioni Nutrire Opportunità (Interreg VA Italy Switzerland 2014-2020), with the support of: Assessorato al Turismo, Sport, Commercio, Agricoltura e Beni culturali della Regione autonoma Valle d’Aosta, Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities (MiBAC) – General Direction of Cinema, Gran Paradiso National Park, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Torino, Comune di Cogne, Federparchi, Bacino Imbrifero Montano, Fondazione Comunitaria della Valle d’Aosta, Club Alpino Italiano, in collaboration with: Assessorato all’Ambiente, Risorse naturali e Corpo forestale della Regione autonoma Valle d’Aosta, under the patronage of Ente Progetto Natura, technical partner: Montura, official media partner: Netweek.[