The Voghera Film Festival wants to promote the knowledge and the spread of indipendent cinema, in all its shapes of art and entertainment, creating a new meeting point in the international filmmaking landscape.

http://www.vogherafilmfestival.com/

Matthew Toffolo interviews Artistic Director Marco Rosson:

Matthew: What is the goal of your film festival?

Marco: Our goal is to create a new meeting spot for international independent cinema. Voghera is a small town, and we love the idea of creating an event which could involve everyone, from the young people to the adults.

Matthew: How has the festival changed since its inception until your upcoming 2015 festival?

Marco: In respect to the first two editions, we’ve added a new prize, dedicated to animation movies, because we were interested in this genre, and we would like to give prominence to it.

This year, we received almost the 30% more of submissions. Moreover, we have big late-breaking news: the Voghera Film Festival will take place at the multiplex The Space (one of the main trademarks in Italy), which counts 160 seats. It would be great if they weren’t enough!

Matthew: How many films are you showcasing at your Film Festival?

Marco: That depends, from time to time, on how may works we receive. We don’t have a fixed number of films that have to be chosen. The selection is perhaps the most difficult part of the whole process, but also the most interesting and exciting. We really like to show to our audience films that are diffcult to be seen otherwise.

Matthew: Can you give us a sneak peak of what to except for the 2015 Festival?

Marco: I won’t say anything more than that we have high expectations of the animation section: we selected very interesting works we’ll sure the audience will enjoy.

Matthew: Is there going to be an overall theme for the 2015 festival?

Marco: There won’t be an overall theme, as there wasn’t in the past editions. We want both the authors to feel free to tell us whatever story is in their mood, and the public to be prepared to see an unpredictable variety of films.

Matthew: Where do you see your festival in 5 years?

Marco: I really hope that Voghera Film Festival will turn out be one of the most important Indie festivals in Italy, with more than 3000 submissions per year. I don’t have a crystal ball, but I can tell that we’re working hard to achieve this aim. So, fingers crossed! 😉

Matthew: What’s the current status of the Film Scene in your city?

Marco: Not one of the best you could find, actually. There is no such big flow to the cinemas, especially in the last years, and many of the historical ones we used to have are closing.

We believe in cinema as an art, that has to be respected and carried on. This is what we try to do with our film festival, that we consider a way to give visibility and space to new ideas.

Matthew: What film have you seen the most in your life?

Marco: My favourite movie is Once upon a time in America by Sergio Leone. I’ve seen it a thousand times!

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Matthew Toffolo, Interviewer BIO

Filmmaker of over 20 short films and TV episodes, Matthew Toffolo is the current CEO of the WILDsound Film and Writing Festival. He had worked for the organization since its inception in 2007 serving as the Short Film Festival’s moderator during the Audience Feedback sessions.

Go to http://www.wildsound.ca and submit your film, script, or story to the festival.

Go to http://www.wildsoundfestival.com and watch recent and past winning writing festival readings.