Cartoons on the Bay, the cross-media animation and children’s TV festival promoted by RAI and organised by Rai Com, offers a selection of short films filmed and produced by the Department of Animation of the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (Experimental Cinematography Center) in Turin as graduation projects by emerging Italian talent.
Since 2001, the three-year course in Animated Film at the Experimental Cinematography Center in Turin has been a reference point in Italy for training young artists in order to nurture and develop talent, creativity and skills both for industry and the art of animated film.
This is the selection of shorts, already presented and awarded in selected industry festivals, presented for Seven insights into Italian cinema:
- The Age of Rust
by Francesco Aber and Alessandro Mattei (2014), 7′ 17″
An extraordinary documentary on the discovery of the Petramosaurus Cavator in the Alps. Viewers will learn about the amazing life cycle of this threatened yet threatening species, with special attention to its relationship with humans and with our planet. - Imperium vacui
by Linda Kelvink and Massimo Ottoni (2014), 5′ 6″
In a dystopian future, a man fights against a regime that has lost all trace of humanity, but even the revolt seems to be part of the mechanism and those who oppose it can do nothing but be part of the power game. - Office Kingdom
by Salvatore Centoducati, Eleonora Bertolucci, Giulio De Toma, Ruben Pirito (2014), 6′ 54″
What the hell must the municipal office clerk be doing when she disappears for hours in the back with your important document in her hands?! In a quiet office, a customer is waiting for his file to be approved, but getting that stamp won’t be easy for the employee on duty. - Cosmoetic
by Martina Scarpelli (2015), 4′ 46″
What was there before the birth of the universe? Does reality exist because we are able to perceive it? A girl tries to answer these big questions. To do this, imagine emptying the universe to get to the first portion of the cosmos. She finds herself alone. - Pircantaturi
by Alice Buscaldi, Angela Conigliaro, Lorenzo Fresta (2015), 5′ 41″
Sicily, 1930. The job of a “pircantaturi”, a figure who has long since disappeared, was to stand in front of the house of an insolvent debtor. Their silent, continuous presence outside of the house labelled the victim as a man without honour. One bad day a pircantaturi takes position in front of the house of Pino and his ruthless wife. - Merlot
by Marta Gennari and Giulia Martinelli (2016), 5′ 40 ”
In a fairy-tale forest, a gruff old woman loses a bottle of wine. This will start a chain of events where all the characters will play their part in a funny game of question and answer between vignettes and frames, leading to an unexpected development. - Humus
by Simone Cirillo, Simone Di Rocco, Dario Livietti, Alice Tagliapietra (2017) 7′ 22″
This short film revisits the theme of the sorcerers’ apprentice: a curious and clumsy kid struggling with the botanical experiments of a lanky Master Cervo. One night the little boy, taking advantage of his master’s sleep, plays with his magic pot, experimenting with every possible formula and ingredient and eventually causing a real disaster that he will have to face alone. - The Eel
by Silvia Bassoli, Giacomo D’Ancona, Maria Virginia Moratti (2018), 7′ 37″
The friendship between two children who grew up together in the countryside of the Po valley is lost when one of them has to move away with his family. They will meet again as adults, thanks to the eel: a call from the depths of the earth. The film is dedicated to the land and the people of Emilia, shaken by the earthquake of 2012. - Service Inc.
by Isac Amisano, Guglielmo Audenino, Leonardo Tacconella, Gabriele Tonsi (2018), 7′ 14″
Waiter and Vacuum Cleaner are two human-serving robots in a space station. A sudden catastrophe occurs in the station: humans try to save themselves by hibernating, with no regard for the robots. The two robots stubbornly try to stay true to their assignment. - New Neighbours
by Andrea Mannino, Sara Burgio, James Rinaldi (2018), 5′ 50″
Donald, a white nationalist, resents the arrival of new neighbours, while his little girl can’t wait to play with her new friend. In the light-hearted setting of the 1930s, this short film asks questions about our capacity for integration and peaceful coexistence. - Fine dust
by Alessandra Boatto, Gloria Cianci, Sofia Zanonato (2018), 8′ 3″
The land is definitively invaded by pollution, submerged by a sea of fine black powder. A young woman has managed to climb aboard an improvised raft and survives thanks to the food she gathers in the abandoned city, immersing herself in the sea of dust. - Pilgrim
by Andrea Berardi and Matteo Ricci (2019), 5′ 40″
A man moves away from the civilisation with which he no longer identifies. In search of himself he faces the wilderness, becomes a hunter, studies his prey and finds that he can identify with them. - Whatever happened to Darwin
by Leonardo Altieri, Sara Crippa, Giulia Manna, Maria Nocerino (2019), 6′ 38″
The rising sea levels are now unstoppable. A fox, with its feet in the water, frantically tries to find a way to save itself. From the writings of Charles Darwin it will come to realise that it must undergo a process of reverse evolution.
In the proposed selection the following films will also be shown:
- The ballad of the homeless
by Monica Manganelli (2015), 8′ 50″
Poetic and surreal journey through the lands devastated by the earthquake in Emilia Romagna in May 2012, through the eyes of a child and his friend, a snail; together they will discover the values of solidarity and hope and will see the rebirth of a land. Tommaso and his friend (symbol of the slowness and tenacity that advances and does not give up) will face an educational journey where they will witness the rebirth of a territory and its community. The characters are entirely made and animated in 3D. - Red hands
by Francesco Filippi (2018), 30′
This medium-length film deals with the delicate issue of domestic abuse, in particular towards minors. Ernesto is an intelligent boy, but also coddled and lonely. One day he discovers some wonderful red murals, made by a mysterious girl named Luna. She has the special power to emit a vivid red colour from her hands, with which she expresses her talent. But behind this gift there is a painful reality: Luna’s father, Furio, is a violent man. Ernesto will have to muster all his courage to save the life of the strange girl he fell in love with. - Leo da Vinci. Mission Mona Lisa
by Sergio Manfio (2018), 85′
A film about the enigmatic and fascinating figure of the young Leonardo da Vinci who manages to recreate his world of brilliant discoveries, intelligent inventions, moments dedicated to enjoyment and an ambitious dream: to be able to fly. In this adventure alongside Leo we meet old and new friends, including the strong and determined Lisa, with whom the boy is in love without knowing it. There’s also a gang of fearsome pirates who resort to harsh measures to achieve their goal: to retrieve the treasure under the sea near the Island of Montecristo. Thanks to his futuristic inventions, in particular his diving suit, Leo is the first to find the treasure… But the pirates aren’t watching! - Hanukkah – The festival of lights
by Maurizio Forestieri (2019), 10′
In post-war Rome, among the Jewish community that wants to start living freely again after years of racist persecution, a young pastry chef named Anna fights to save the family shop from the clutches of Antioco, a mean and ruthless man. In a time when there is not enough, on the eve of Hanukkah, friendship and solidarity will make all the difference… - The star of Andra and Tati
by Alessandro Belli and Rosalba Vitellaro (2018), 26′
The true story of Alessandra and Tatiana Bucci, two sisters aged 4 and 6, who in 1944 were deported to the Auschwitz concentration camp together with their mother, grandmother, aunt and cousin. The girls were only saved because they were mistaken for twins. - Giovanni e Paolo e il mistero dei pupi (Giovanni and Paolo and the mystery of the puppets)
by Rosalba Vitellaro (2009), 26′
In Palermo the preparations for the feast of Santa Rosalia are upset by the arrival of the Magician Nìvuro. Giovanni and Paolo will try to free their fellow citizens from his spell, which transforms those who ask him for favours or money into wooden puppets. Dedicated to the judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, a tale of adventure that deals with the theme of the mafia without neglecting humorous effects but also insights on the issues of the code of silence and bullying. Solidarity and the union of the group, as happened in the antimafia Pool, will eventually pay off. The magician, however, was not completely defeated and one day he may return… - Children without fear
by Michel Fuzellier and Babak Payami (2015), 79′
Determined to find the money to buy medicines for his sick brother, Iqbal meets Hakeem, who offers to buy him the medicines, but Iqbal will have to work in a carpet factory where he then meets other children of different ages but with similar stories. When he realizes that the debt will never be repaid, he devises a plan to escape and free his little friends. The film is inspired by the true story of Iqbal Masih, the young Pakistani worker who was able to bring his testimony before the General Assembly of the United Nations, before being assassinated aged just 12, in 1995, in Lahore.
