Kino Guarimba is a film residency addressed to young filmmakers from all over the world who will come to our small town to shoot original short films in collaboration with the local community. At least 50% of the actors and the troupes involved in the productions of the film will be composed of local people. The project aims to create an open multicultural community where people from different countries and backgrounds will work together to realize their artistic projects.

Amantea, Calabria (South of Italy)

The project aims to create connections between the local citizens of Amantea and people coming from all over the world to overcome linguistic, identity and cultural barriers that are provoking mistrust and conflicts. The local community usually sees the “outsiders” as a treat, or - in the best case - as someone to ignore, looking at the foreign cultures with judgment or disinterest.
Similarly, inside the community, the groups of elders, kids and migrants live a marginalized life, separated from each other, with no opportunity of interaction, while cases of racism, age discrimination and poverty are increasing. They have no voice in the political debate of the community and few possibilities to reach out to the central decision-making bodies of the Region.

The main target is composed of the citizens of Amantea, with attention to the weakest social groups such as children, elders and the migrants of the refugees reception center of the town. They will take part in the film productions as actors, extras and members of the crews. We want to create a common ground where a young refugee from Subsaharan Africa, a retired farmer and a teenager from the poor area of Amantea can work together and share their stories in the films.
The participants of the film residency are young international filmmakers, in search of opportunities for expression and resources to realize their first projects. The authors will be the owners of the films realized, we will only support the production and the distribution.

1. Pre-Production Phase (April - July)
Definition of the international participants of the residency: contacts with film schools, social media promotion. Evaluations of the submissions, interviews to get to know them. - Pre-selection of 100 people.
Financing and sponsorship.
Promotion of the initiative inside Amantea and surrounding area: organization of screenings and events to announce the residency, presence in recreative circles of elders, the migrant welcoming center “Rosa Marina” of Amantea and the local schools.
Free online workshops and trainings about cinema and acting, open to the local community to incentivate a first interaction and starting the formation process.
Following to the Covid-19 situation in September, we will define the participants accordingly (in 2020 they were 25).

2. Execution Phase (10-21 September)
Arrival and welcoming of the participants.
Speed dating and first meeting with the locals. Definition of the projects and the roles.
Open casting to find the actors.
Production of films, locations scouting and shooting.
Organization of social events to incentivize the aggregations, such as film screenings, shared meals, roundtables, football matches, live music.
Free workshops addressed to the participants.
Final screening of the film realized in the public square, open to all the community

3. Evaluation Phase (October).

1. Formation and development of filming acting skills, through the direct experience on set and the free training and workshops.
2. Creation of 15 short films, entirely shot and produced during 12 days of collaboration between people from Amantea and international filmmakers. The collaborations will bring awareness and understanding between groups that never interacted before. Local people, who usually never traveled, will experience for the first time in their life the communication in English and the experience of acting or working for a film.
3. Creation of a more socially cohesive community that will coexist in the public spaces and actively interact with the policymakers and public authorities thanks to the mediation of the cultural organizations and entrepreneurs of the territory.

The films will be built around the stories of the local people in form of documentaries. In this way, they will have the chance to raise their voice and express their problems, denouncing situations of poverty, discrimination and abandonment.
The project will represent a relevant example of a community-based activity to promote the values of participatory democracy and cultural activism in the territory. Working together, people from the same territory who never interacted before will reacquire together the abandoned public spaces of the town, turning them into multicultural hubs of creation and interaction.
The collaboration with international filmmakers will give them a new positive vision on the European dimension, stimulating the exchange between foreign cultures.

The project is realized by a group of young people who worked together for many years to realize cultural initiatives related to cinema and civil rights in the region of Calabria. The core team has organized 8 editions of an international film festival in Amantea, collecting experiences in organizing events and working with the local community. The two founders of the organization grew up in Venezuela and Spain and decided to come to Amantea to realize their vision of bringing back culture to those who don’t have access and are marginalized by the mainstream offer. Other team members are young Calabrians that decided to stay in the region, in contrast with the trend of moving outside to work. We are motivated to create a project to revitalize a neglected and abandoned territory.

Project Direction & Management - €15.000
Film Production Expenses - €8.000
Technical Expenses - €9.500
Accommodation of the participants - €12.000
Communication and promotion - €2.500
General expenses (office, energy, etc.) - €5.600

We would be glad to share ideas and receive suggestions for projects that use cultural initiatives as an aggregation tool for emarginated groups. Any insight about working with children, elders and migrants will be welcome!