The new symbol of the FEFF, designed by Tomas Marcuzzi, pays homage to one of the most recurring and important symbols of Asian iconography.

Always keeping a keen eye on pop aesthetics, a reliable mirror of a cultural vocation that is not averse to playfulness, the Udine Far East Film Festival (April 19^th to 27^th) is readying itself for its fifteenth change of image. An image that, while affectionately paying all due respect to a classic dot-to-dot, aims to celebrate one of the most recurring and important symbols of Asian iconography: the snake.

After 1999’s dragon, held very dear to many of our spectators, it is now the turn of another reptile-icon to fly the FEFF flag (brochures, flyers and every other promotional tool). Not a casual choice, of course, seeing as 10 February saw the inauguration of the year of the snake, according to the Chinese calendar.

Twelve months in which “it will be possible to glide around any obstacle”, as the Far Eastern astrologers predicted, and it is most certainly a good omen for the start of Far East Film 15! Not to mention how glorious pages of history were written under the sign of the snake: the fall of the Berlin Wall, while people who rewrote history were born under the sign, like Lincoln, JFK and Mao himself.           

5 metres long and 3 metres high, the installation which the new image is based upon was designed by Tomas Marcuzzi (aka Uolli) - in cooperation with Sara Bertolini e Claudio Cescutti -. painstakingly created by hand using gypsum board, over 200 nails and just as many sheets of cardboard, to craft a consistent design with a 3D effect.

The overall result is one of a work in progress which revolves around the slogan Join Us: indeed, we see an Oriental girl who, joining the dots with a knowing look on her face, tries to encourage the FEFF public to gather around the auspicious snake design!

Starting off as a graphic designer in advertising and then moving on to animation and directing, Tomas Marcuzzi has for years been experimenting

new creative methods of communication, creating sets and sceneries entirely by hand, crafted from paper, cardboard, wool, polystyrene and a host of other materials. His tactile graphics and his animations, often made in stop motion, have led him to working for various festivals and for important companies. He has also made two music videos, including Il tempo più importante for the band from Friuli, Amari.