Addis Ababa – Five Best Short Film awards and eight semifinalist selections at international festivals: Great Games – Grandi Giochi continues to build an increasingly significant record. The short film was conceived as a project by Andrea Gris and directed by Daniele Gobbin, and was shot entirely in Addis Ababa with the support of the associations Emma’s Children and Nuovo Fiore in Africa. Officially presented at the 21st edition of Cortinametraggio, the film subsequently entered several international festival circuits, receiving recognition in the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan. In particular, it has won five awards for Best Short Film: Los Angeles Short Film Award, Ottawa Film Award, New Orleans International Film Award, Amura Festival and Tokyo Film & Screenplay Awards. These have been joined by eight semifinalist selections at the Washington Movie Makers Awards, Portland Movie Makers Award, Edinburgh Film Awards, Stockholm Short Festival, San Jose Independent Film Festival, Santa Barbara International Movie Awards, Oslo Independent Film Festival and Calgary Indie Film Awards. The achievement is particularly meaningful for a project born outside the traditional production circuits and built around a clear idea of cinema: giving a voice and a face to young people who had never before stood in front of a camera, transforming their experiences into a story capable of reaching audiences beyond Ethiopia’s borders. One of the film’s most significant jury citations captures its spirit: “Per aver raccontato con autenticità e straordinaria forza umana una storia di riscatto, amicizia e speranza. Attraverso lo sguardo di giovani protagonisti che portano sullo schermo la propria esperienza di vita, Great Games dimostra come il cinema possa diventare un autentico strumento di inclusione, crescita e trasformazione, capace di accendere nuove possibilità anche nei contesti più difficili, come in uno dei Paesi più poveri del mondo”. “Great Games è nato da un sogno di Andrea che da 14 anni è in missione in Ethiopia nella comunità di Bosco Children con i ragazzi di strada. Un sogno che, dopo alcuni mesi di preparazione, è diventato un esperimento sociale per dare spazio ai ragazzi e alle loro capacità, con una direzione di Daniele esemplare”, explain the film’s creators, Andrea Gris and Daniele Gobbin. “At the heart of the project was the desire to give a face and a voice back to an adolescence caught between poverty and the rapid, at times dehumanising, expansion of a capital city such as Addis Ababa. We chose to approach their lives quietly, without putting their hardships on display. Beneath those clothes, which we later gave to all the actors who were appearing in front of a camera for the first time, lie poverty, loneliness and marginalisation by a society that seeks to push these young people to the margins.” For Daniele Gobbin, the most important challenge was to find an audience capable of recognising the protagonists’ humanity before seeing their social circumstances. “Trovare un pubblico capace di riconoscere l’umanità era la nostra sfida più importante. I riconoscimenti che stanno arrivando, oltre a meravigliarci, ci dicono che questo incontro è possibile e danno valore all’impegno di tutti i ragazzi che hanno costruito il progetto insieme a noi e a chi ha creduto in questo sogno producendo il cortometraggio”. Shot entirely in Addis Ababa and in Amharic, Great Games retains an Italian identity in both its writing and production, while its international reception has become one of the clearest signs of the project’s reach. From the awards it has won to the semifinalist selections at festivals in different countries, the short film continues its journey, carrying with it the stories and faces of the young protagonists of the Ethiopian capital. The journey continues with new selections and further opportunities to meet international audiences, highlighting the strength of a project born from the meeting of cinema, social commitment and a desire to tell the story of a reality that often remains far from the spotlight. (9colonne)