Skip to main content

The Rochester Global Short Film Series

UPDATE (JULY 17, 2025) Now in its sixth year, the Rochester Global Short Film Series is a celebration of world cinema. The first edition was held in Rochester, New York in March of 2020 just before the world paused for the global pandemic. We have come a long way since then!

We pride ourselves in providing a platform for the voices and perspectives of independent filmmakers.

Home of Eastman Kodak and nicknamed "The World's Image Center", Rochester has a long history of supporting the performing arts. It is the birthplace of numerous renowned artists including Oscar-winning actor Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Oscar-nominated actor John Lithgow, Oscar-nominated actor Robert Forster, actress Kristen Wiig and soprano Renée Fleming. 

Silent film star Louise Brooks spent the last years of her life in Rochester writing her memoir, “Lulu in Hollywood.” Known for her independent spirit and displeasure with pretentiousness, she is one of the influences behind the event. The other influence is Susan B. Anthony, a women's rights activist who played a key role in the women's suffrage movement. She moved to Rochester with her family in 1845 and was partly responsible for women being granted the right to vote in the United States.

The sixth edition will take place on Dec. 30, 2025. Click here to submit your film on FilmFreeway. 

Looking back at festivals past.....


Conversations with the Women Directors of the 2021 Edition

It was such a pleasure to curate the Italian Section of the 2021 edition of our short film series. The final lineup featured six films, four of which were directed by women. Below are links to interviews with the filmmakers, which are posted on YouTube.

Veronica Spedicati

Veronica Spedicati's short film "Il Nostro Tempo" (Our Time) was her final project for film school at Rome's Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. The film was a huge success for her, making its festival premiere at the 2019 Venice Film Festival in the Settimana della Critica section where she was awarded Best Director.

The film follows nine-year-old Roberta who just wants to enjoy the last days of summer on the beach playing with her friends. Instead, her father forces her to stay at home to help with household chores. When Roberta realizes that her father's health is declining, she stops resenting him and begins to appreciate their time together.

In this interview, I talk with Spedicati about many aspects of the film, including the location, casting and plot. She is a very young director but mature beyond her years. It was such a pleasure to talk with her. 

Watch our interview..



Emanuela Mascherini 

Emanuela Mascherini works as an actress and director. She graduated in Acting at the Experimental Center of Cinematography in Rome and earned a Diploma in Digital Filmmaking as a director at the New York Film Academy in New York. She also earned a degree in Theories and Techniques of Film Language at the University of Florence and has written several books.

Her works have been selected and awarded in several national and international film Festivals, including the selection of the Nastri D’Argento and the selection of David di Donatello Shortlist. In 2019, she won the RIFF - Rome Independent Film Festival with the feature's script "Between the Lines" and she was selected by EFA European Film Award and Toscana Film commission for the Residency, “A Sunday in the country.” 

She also collaborates and has been member of the jury or president of the jury in several international festivals, including the Mostra del Cinema di Venezia for the Lino Miccichè Award and many others. She is the founder of the Festival CineAtelier, which showcases first and second feature films. 

Her latest film, "Come la prima volta" (Like the First Time) is the heartfelt story of a devoted husband who is trying to preserve the memory of his wife who no longer recognizes him. She is suffering from dementia and he sees her fading away.

In this interview, Mascherini and I talk about this reoccurring theme in her films of interpersonal relationships and her innate ability to empathize with people of all ages. She also talks about the true stories that inspired the film.



Emanuela Ponzano

Born in Brussels, Emanuela Ponzano is an actress and director in both cinema and theater. She divides her time working mainly between Rome, Paris and Brussels. 

In 1995, having completed her degree in Political Science at the ULB in Brussels, she decided to dedicate herself completely to theater and film. She studied dramatic arts at the Conservatoire Royal in Liège with Jacques Delcuvellerie (Groupov- Rwanda 94-Ecole des Maitres) and Max Parfondry, where she attained the diploma de Premier Prix in June 2000. 

In 2008 she won the National Artistic Prize for theatre "Filomena Carrara" in Abruzzo, Italy with her show "The Stronger" by August Strindberg dedicated to Ingmar Bergman. Then in 2008, she directed two short films "Bagnasciuga" and "Riflessi" that have since been shown at many national and international festivals. 

Ponzano's 2016 film, "The Sled," is the story of Alfred, a young boy who lives with his family in the mountains of Italy.  His parents have strong prejudices against immigrants. Bored and unhappy, they often quarrel, and they pay little attention to their son, usually disregarding his needs for affection. One day, during a journey through the woods, Alfred comes across a wooden sled and its owner, a young boy from another country who seems strange and different. After an initial clash, in which they project the prejudices of their parents and society onto each other, they start to relate to each other and understand each other’s problems. 

We spoke a number of times about this film and I saw it in the region of Basilicata in 2016 where it was shot. During our recent conversation, we talked about social issues that inspired her to tell this story and the physical attributes of Basilicata that led to her to shoot there. 



Angela Bevilacqua

Born in Naples in 1996, Angela Bevilacqua studies cinema and television production at the Accademia Delle Belle Arti Di Napoli but even before enrolling, she was well on her way to becoming a gifted storyteller and filmmaker.  She made her first short film when she was just 17-years-old. "Il teatro dei ricordi" (The Theater of Memories) stars Alessia Alciati and veteran French actor Jean Sorel who is known for his role opposite Claudia Cardinale in Luchino Visconti's 1965 "Sandra." An ambitious first effort, the film premiered as a Special Event at the 2014 Giffoni Film Festival.

Three years later, Bevilacqua published her first novel La Città del Vizio (The City of Vice), a thriller that explores a personification of the Seven Deadly Sins as they are misguided by the Devil to a supposed place of material and spiritual delight called, The City of Vice. 

Last year, she released her second short film, "L'Attesa," (The Wait), the suspenseful story of a mother who is frantically trying to locate her son after she hears about a terrorist attack in London where he is studying abroad. The 24-minute film is carried entirely by actress Lucianna De Falco who gives an articulate performance filled with a whole host of emotions that reels you right into the fear and dread she is experiencing.

Watch a clip from our brief interview at the 2019 Rome Independent Film Festival where we first saw "L'Attesa."

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Federico Fellini: A Look into the Life and Career of an Icon

A Fellini family portrait  “The term became a common word to describe something on the surface you can say is bizarre or strange, but actually is really like a painter working on a film,” said Martin Scorsese when asked to define “Felliniesque,” an adjective inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The oldest of three children, Federico Fellini was born in the seaside town of Rimini in 1920. His father was a traveling salesman, so his mother was left to do the bulk of raising the children. One can argue that Fellini was born for his destiny. “You could tell that even as a child, he was different and unique. He was very intelligent, well above average. He was always the one to organize things, direct the others, make up games. He could control the other kids with just a look, said Fellini’s sister, Maddalena, in an interview with journalist Gideon Bachmann.  Not only was Fellini directing the children, but he was also putting on shows and charging ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ornella Muti: Four decades of Acting and Still Going Strong

Ornella Muti was born Francesca Romana Rivelli in Rome in 1955 to a Neapolitan father and an Estonian mother. She began her career as a model during her teenage years and made her film debut in 1970 with La Moglie più bella (The Most Beautiful Wife).  Her follow-up role was in the 1971 film, Sole nella pelle (Sun on the Skin) in which she played the daughter of wealthy parents who runs off with a hippie they don’t approve of. The film offers a telling journey through Italian society in the seventies with the political climate, the breathtaking seaside as well as the styles and cars of that time.  Much of the film is set amid the sunny Italian seaside and succeeds in capturing the innocence and beauty of first love.   Muti made her American film debut in 1980 with Flash Gordon . She played the role of Princess Aura.  She’s appeared in two other American films, including, Oscar , which was directed by John Landis and featured Don Ameche, Chaz Palminteri, and...
Post a Comment
Read more

Iconic scenes from 'Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina' highlight Italy's North-South divide

If you’re in the mood for a quintessential old-school Italian comedy, look no further than “Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina.” Directed in the mid-1950s by Camillo Mastrocinque, the film has stood the test of time. Starring two of Italy’s most beloved comic actors, Totò (Antonio De Curtis) and Peppino De Filippo, it is widely regarded as one of the country’s most iconic comedies, showcasing mid-century Neapolitan humor. The film also features a young Nino Manfredi at the beginning of his prolific six-decade career. “Totò, Peppino e la malafemmina” is the story of two simple, old-fashioned brothers from Naples, Antonio and Peppino Caponi (Totò and De Filippo respectively), who embark on a trip up north to check on their young nephew Gianni. Gianni has moved to Milan and fallen for a seductive nightclub dancer named Marisa (Maria Luisa Mangini, aka Dorian Gray), whom they refer to as a “malafemmina,” meaning a “bad woman” or femme fatale. Believing she is corrupting him, Totò and Peppino ...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Conversation with Actor- Luca Calvani from Warner Bros. Upcoming Release "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."

The cast and filmmakers of The Man from U.N.C.L.E.  in Rome  A few years ago, I interviewed actor, Luca Calvani on the occasion of his U.S. release, When in Rome . Today, we are revisiting our conversation as he is promoting his much anticipated spy thriller, The Man from U.N.C.L.E. Directed by Guy Ritchie, the all-star cast includes Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Debicki, Jared Harris, and Hugh Grant. Based on the television series by Sam Rolfe, the story is set in the 1960's and follows CIA agent Napoleon Solo and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin as they participate in a joint mission against a mysterious criminal organization, which is working to proliferate nuclear weapons. The U.S. release date is set for August 14, but the cast recently did some press for the film in the Eternal City, where much of it was shot. Luca Calvani Born in Tuscany, Calvani has traveled the world following his career. He began working as a model in the 1990's...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Timeless Vision of Pier Paolo Pasolini

Pondering his films and poetry, I wonder if the uniqueness of Pier Paolo Pasolini's films was rooted in his unconventional childhood. Born in Bologna in 1922, Pasolini's father was a lieutenant in the army, and his family was always moving. He grew up in various small towns in Northern Italy. After his parents separated, he spent most of his time in his mother's hometown of Casarsa, in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. There, he grew to respect the area's peasant culture and began to write poetry in the region's dialect. He studied literature and art history at the University of Bologna and was drafted into the army during World War II. The war proved to be especially tragic for his family as his younger brother was executed by Communist partisans. Following the war, he returned to Casarsa where he worked as a teacher and ironically became a leading member of the Communist party there. Pasolini was later expelled from the party due to allegations of homo...
Post a Comment
Read more