TDC24 – PHOTOSTORY – TERRE DI CINEMA – International Cinematographers Days

On Saturday August 31st 2024 a new group of young, talented filmmakers from 19 different countries inaugurated the new location of Terre di Cinema in Siracusa, reinforcing the reputation of our CineCampus as one of the most diverse, inclusive, and highly sought-after film workshops globally. Below is the complete list of participants:

Directors:

Maisha Rahman (Canada), Lorenzo Monti (Switzerland), Simona Franco (Italy), Samuele Portera (Italy), Gianluca Catalfamo (Italy), Grace Song (Singapore), Andrea Viggiano (Italy), Rani Messias (Brazil), Lydia Leiber (USA), Razan Alsoghayer (Saudi Arabia), Olga Sargenti (Italy), Takuya Mera (Japan), Domenico Pizzulo (Italy), Carlos M. Mora (USA).

Camera persons:

Kingkan “Meng” Siripiriyakul (Thailand), Aden Kahr (USA), Lucas Lind (USA), Giorgio Chiucchiu’ (Italy), Elisabetta “Fox” Piantoni (Italy), Laura Morales (Switzerland), Camilla Dazzi (Italy), Noemi Gentiluomo (Italy), Tatiana Iversen Khokhlova (Russia), Walker Hull (USA), Konrad Karason (Iceland), Nikita Karmen (Russia), Shaun Neo (Singapore), Claudia Sepulveda (Mexico), Harebell Suzuki (Brazil), Gregory Fitton (USA), Ludmila Kuropyatnikova (Russia), Omer Weiss (Israel), Julian Matzat (Austria), Rafael Winkler (Germany), Margherita Bagnara (Italy), Mashana Karimifar (Iran), Marco Dal Fabbro (Italy), Tim Bekir (United Kingdom), Isay Peña (Mexico), Salvatore di Renzo (Italy), Chukwuemeka Chukwurah (Nigeria), Lorand Marton (Romania).

In line with the established format of our CineCampus, the participants immersed themselves in an intensive program, living and working closely together. Filming took place at several stunning locations in Syracuse, including Villa Reimann, Latomie dei Cappuccini, Palazzo Francica Nava, Fonte Aretusa, and the historic centre of Ortygia. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to the township of Siracusa and its Film Commission for their outstanding support and for granting our students access to such remarkable locations of immense historical and artistic value. Their invaluable assistance throughout the days of CineCampus made this experience truly exceptional.

In particular, we wish to extend our thanks to the Mayor of Siracusa, Francesco Italia, the Town Councilor for Cultural Heritage, Fabio Granata, the Head of the Siracusa Film Commission, Nunzio Marino, and Iris Leone whose dedication and collaboration were crucial to the success of our program.

This year, alongside the usual allocation of 35mm 500t and 250d film stock, two of the short films were uniquely shot on s16mm for the first time, contributing to a remarkable total of 14 films completed within just 8 days. A special thanks to the Kodak team in London—especially Julie Taylor-Butt, Sam Clark, and Alberto Rasura—for their invaluable support in making this possible.

AT TDC24, as in previous editions, the educational foundation of the CineCampus was built on the strong partnership between AIC, the Italian Society of Cinematographers, and BVK, the German Society of Cinematographers. The program was led by TDC Director Vincenzo Condorelli AIC, alongside Johannes Kirchlechner BVK, Martin Bethge BVK, and for the first time, Michael Boxrucher BVK, who oversaw the s16mm productions.

The AIC IN CAMPUS section, dedicated to Italian cinematography, highlighted the expertise of renowned Gaffer Fabio Policastro, as well as internationally acclaimed cinematographers Daniele Massaccesi AIC and Luciano Tovoli AIC, ASC. On the directors’ front, TDC24 welcomed the special participation of Italian director Alessandra Pescetta, who conducted an immersive workshop for CineCampus students, and Emirati director and producer Nayla Al Khaja, who delivered an insightful session on international opportunities and funding for female filmmakers.

Our group of Technical Partners once again included some of the most prominent global brands in the industry. We were pleased to welcome back Panalight, which supplied all film cameras and grips, expertly overseen by Guido Battaglia. Cooke Optics was represented this year by Carey Duffy, their renowned Director of Product Experience, returning to Terre di Cinema after two years. Additionally, Nanlux and Nanlite were represented by Mirko Poppi and Francesco Tinti from Italy’s Gruppo TFS, alongside De Sisti Lighting and ARRI Italia. Finally, Augustus Color Lab provided outstanding film processing and post-production services for the 2024 CineCampus short films. Special mention, in this respect, to Augusto Pelliccia and Maurizio Iacoella for their enduring support to TDC.

The Sicily Team was lead by cinematographer Prema Franceschini, coordinated by Carola Mandalari and sided by Elio Strano, Christian Salerno. The Directing Department was guided by Michele Leonardi. This year, for the first time, we were able to offer internship opportunities across various departments, including Directing, Set Photography, Production, and Camera. We are thrilled that the following young aspiring filmmakers seized this opportunity: Diego Finocchiaro, Paolo Arcarese, Simona Di Giammarino, Sveva Assennato, Chris Akintola, Cristina Cosma, Ludovica Mandalari, Federica Malpasso, Noemi Falconi, Gabriele Bordonaro, Alessio Priscitelli, and Alessio Cristaudo.

A heartfelt THANK YOU to each of the actors and actresses who breathed life into the TDC24 CineCampus short films. We wish you all the best in your future careers and continued success moving forward:

Mariachiara Pellitteri, Lorenza Denaro, Sara De Lauretis, Clarissa Cardi’, Marta Pappalardo, Liborio Natali, Francesco Di Lorenzo, Mary Accolla, Dominica Sylvia Sankowska, Nicolas Cepeda Torres, Sylvia Sankowska, Gabriele Bonnanno, Daniele Pennuto, Loredana Giurdanella, Marco Vitale, Alessandro Capozio, Angelo Tarantello, Manuel Vita, Cristina Tarantello, Maria Grazia Maranci, Gaetano Lo Magro, Veronica Capossella, Beatrice Anello, Carla Bongiovanni.