The idea of a film festival in Barga has been put forward a number of times in the recent past.
Maybe now the time is ripe for it to become a reality.
The idea that was launched in 2011 was for a documentary film festival to celebrate the work of the Italian film director Gualtiero Jacopetti (article here) although many people signed a petition on line nothing much happened after.
Since then the incredibly fast evolution of digital film cameras and dropping prices has now meant that making high definition films is no longer just for a small group of people with expensive equipment but has broadened out to be within the reach of many, many more people who with the aid of a relatively inexpensive camera, a good idea, a good eye and of course, the internet , can now reach potentially a world audience.
Now is the time to broaden the idea of a film festival to include short films.
Next month the first 6 films produced specially under the banner of ARTCAMBARGA will be screened here in Barga
The name; ARTCAMBARGA practically sums up in one word the aims of the project, that of making public some of the art produced here in Barga.
During the whole of August there will be 6 large monitors positioned in strategic places in Barga Vecchia.
These places will include: inside a studio window at Porta Reale, just inside Casa Cordati, Acchiappasogni, the main window of Vaso Di Pandora Concept Store, the Galleria Marzocco and inside the palazzo opposite Palazzo Pancrazi
These monitors will be screening the work of 6 artists who have been filmed producing work specially for the project using a variety of mediums, from traditional canvas through to paper and pure digital marks.
Each film will last for just 30 minutes and will be on a constant loop for the whole time the project is running.
On the face of it, a superb idea. The theme, “documentary,” is right on the mark for many reasons: the technological developments mentioned by Keane, the explosive proliferation of nonfiction videos of every sort on YouTube and similar sites, the role played by such works in the political arena, the sheer need to discuss and analyze this unprecedented phenomenon.
One question has to do with venue. Where in Barga would it be held? Another is whether venue actually matters. In the past, a documentary film festival would have stood a very good chance of attracting larger numbers of people, assuming it was intelligently and effectively publicized well in advance and broadly — by which I mean internationally. But will today’s audience congregate in literal community to share documentaries and discuss them, or do they prefer the isolating (in my view) distance of that nebulous space called “virtual community,” especially given the close identification of personal videos with Internet distribution and viewing?
Then there are the perennial questions raised about cultural events in Barga, which has a remarkable pool of creative artists and an equally remarkable dearth (apart from the brilliant Rizzardi) of people capable of securing the necessary funding and organizing such efforts.
One additional thought: There are thousands of documentary film festivals out there already. Barga’s will need some sort of precise focus. Given the homage to Jacopetti, creator of the extraordinarily off-beat “Mondo Cane,” perhaps Barga should host a festival on “Imaginative Documentaries.”