04/08/2023 - The concluding summit on 29 July played host to four panel discussions and covered themes such as co-production activity, new technologies and the film system in Campania

The ninth edition of Giffoni Next Generation, the innovation-focused event promoted by the Giffoni Innovation Hub and held during the 53rd edition of the Giffoni Film Festival (which ran 20-29 July) wrapped on Saturday 29 July. 100 guests took part in Giffoni Next Generation this year, which offered up 14 mentorships, 12 meetings with the Impact jury, five special events and 120 hours of working sessions. Giffoni Innovation Hub also produced 80 minutes of short films “to convey, by way of the audiovisual medium, the mission and values of firms like Enel X, Iren, Stellantis, Henkel, Fondazione LICE and Lundbeck.”

Central to the Giffoni Next Generation event were 25 “dreamers,” a group of young people under 30, hailing from all over Italy, boasting transversal skills and selected to put themselves to the test with ad hoc challenges set by the companies involved.

The closing day of the event also hosted a gathering entitled “Summit on the Future of Audiovisual Productions: Innovation within the Creative Industries and the Entertainment Field.” After institutional greetings delivered by the Giffoni Film Festival’s director Claudio Gubitosi, ANEC’s Simone Gialdini and the Film Commission Campania’s Titta Fiore, the event pressed on with four panel discussions moderated by journalist Andrea Chimento.

The first, organised by MIA – Rome’s International Audiovisual Market and entitled “Production Goes European. How to Create Viable European Projects and New Opportunities from EU Co-Production Funds for Film and Series Content”, revolved around experts exchanging views on the themes of competitiveness, challenges and opportunities for European media and audiovisual industries. Featured speakers were Alessia Sonaglioni (Programme Manager at Pilot Programme for Series Co-Productions DG II - Eurimages Council of Europe), and Giorgio Scorza (CEO and Creative Director of Movimenti Production).

The second panel discussion, entitled “International Financing and Tax Credit,” saw representatives from leading Italian banks sit down with a handful of international guests to take stock of the financial solutions available to the audiovisual sector and the development opportunities offered by co-production and tax credit.

The third, organised in collaboration with Accenture and entitled “Disruptive Technologies, New Skills, New Entertainment,” explored the opportunities offered by Artificial Intelligence, focusing on the entertainment industry, how technology can support creativity and the potential development of new skills.

The final session, entitled “The Campania Film System: The Campania Region’s Policies in Support of the Audiovisual Sector”, involved a speech by the director of the Campania Film Commission Maurizio Gemma.

Discussing this most recent edition of Giffoni Next Generation, the founder and CVO of the Giffoni Innovation Hub Antonino Muro explained that: “This nineth edition of Giffoni Next Generation has been a mix of emotions and new knowledge. We’re getting ready for next year’s event and for the huge celebration of our ten-year anniversary. Between 2015 and now, hundreds of youngsters have experienced the Dream Team adventure, immediately putting it to good use in a variety of work settings. While they’ve acquired new knowledge and skills, we’ve expanded, and we can now say that we’ve become a reference point for young innovators, creatives, start-uppers and dreamers who wish to play leading roles in the changes that are underway and in this much-needed technological transition, alongside ourselves and the companies who acknowledge the appeal of the Giffoni Innovation Hub, both for themselves and the under 30s”.

(Translated from Italian)