The festival dei Popoli will run in Florence, Italy between December 2 and 8.

The competition section proposes thirteen films; all Italian premieres, all representative of the new trend of the contemporary documentary cinema for style, language and content. Over 900 titles, which came from 65 different countries, participated at the pre-selection: these figures established an absolute record for our festival and we consider this a tangible sign of the extraordinary attention that Festival dei Popoli receives from the authors and the production houses from all over the world. The International Jury will award a prize of 5,000 euro to the best documentary and the “Gian Paolo Paoli” shield to the best anthropological film.

Italian Competition
Over 200 Italian documentaries enrolled for the pre-selection testify the strength of this type of cinema in our country. The thirteen films that composed the 2005 Italian competition, in our opinion, offer a significant view on the Italian production that is waiting still for improvement and greater investments - both for productive and promotional purposes. The Italian Jury will award a prize of 2,500 euro to the best documentary. The winning film, furthermore, will be included within the next edition of the N.I.C.E. festival, which will be held in Russia (April 30 – May 8, 2006).

The Family of the III millennium
During 2005, the family has been at the center of heated debates at both a national and international level. The selected documentaries – all being recent productions – bring witness to different cultures and styles of family life all over the world at the beginning of this millennium: The films recount some of the family’s stories which become representative of the social, political, and historical matters, thanks to the peculiar point of view of documentary cinema. Wednesday, December 7th, at the Stensen Auditorium, a convention will be held by the chairman Professor Paul Ginsborg, who will offer a focus on the theme and support to the vision of the documentaries.

Jørgen Leth Retrospective
In collaboration with the Vivo Film and with the Danish Film Institute, seven titles of the great Danish director, also present in Florence as a member of the jury of the International Competition. Rare and important films, ironic and profound; from them a complete personality emerges which has inspired a good part of today’s Danish cinema, beginning with Lars Von Trier. The films are presented in the original edition with Italian subtitles.

The Present Documented
The most shocking and often least-known events of the international scene, taken just as they happen. This section with its generous contribution of films, inquiries and reports produced by internationally-renowned documentary-makers and journalists is for all those who appreciate independent, first hand information. China in transformation, the profaned childhood of the baby soldiers, the crude reality of the emigration from Latin America to the United States, and the indigenous threatened populations of Chile by the arrogance of the multinationals are some of the themes confronted this year.

Filming Music
Music as a vehicle for communicating which goes beyond geographical confines and cultural and political barriers, but also as an instrument for recognizing the identity and cohesion of a community, generation, group, and a country: Philip Glass, Cesaria Evora, Piero Ciampi, the history of punk and that of mambo, the musical research of the new film of Fatih Akin.

The Screen of Art
In collaboration with Cantieri Goldonetta, a wide section composed of eleven films of recent production, dedicated to the documentary films on contemporary art, tells the story of some of the major protagonists of art of our time: Matthew Barney, Daniel Buren, Christo & Jeanne-Claude, William Kentridge, Jannis Kounellis, Giulion Paolini, Richard Serra. The camera reveals nuances, originality, unedited aspects of their personalities and the respective creative processes. The films are presented in the original edition with Italian subtitles.

Space Architecture Image – (Post) Urban Scenario
In collaboration with the Department of City and Territory Planning of the University of Florence, a section with two aspects: together with films dedicated to famous architects (Le Corbusier, Aldo Rossi); and also a selection on urban theme that tells the conditions of life to the boarders of the metropolis: the banlieu of Paris on the brink of explosion, the miserable outskirts of Buenos Aires, and the number of building going up which is changing the image of Beijing. Last but not least, the wonderful mud houses of Mali.