Josefine wins best short film award at this year’s Messina Film Festival – Cinema & Opera

Josefine, our first ever animated opera short, produced in partnership with Maestro Broadcasting, has won the Emi Mammoliti Award for best short film at this year’s Messina Film Festival – Cinema & Opera!

Congratulations to director Antonia Bain, our resident filmmaker, and animation director Sophie Bird, who attended the festival in Sicily this weekend to receive the prize. The competition was open to Italian and international works, with a maximum duration of 15 minutes in which there are stories inspired by operas, their characters or composers or which use music, choruses or arias taken from operas or a setting in an opera house. 

The 14-minute film, inspired by Franz Kafka’s last short story ‘Josefine the Singer’, is composed by former Emerging Artist Composer-in-Residence Samuel Bordoli, with a libretto co-authored with Antonia. The executive producer is Gemma Dixon.

Taking place in a desert world where a creature’s unearthly voice attracts sprites who are enthralled by it, the piece explores the complicated relationship between the singer and audience and the ever-more-relevant question of art’s place in times of crisis. The recording features 2022/23 Emerging Artist Zoe Drummond, a chorus and The Orchestra of Scottish Opera conducted by Susannah Wapshott, Scottish Opera’s Chorus Director.

Artistic director of the Festival, Ninni Panzera, said the jury had awarded the prize to Josefine ‘for being able to tell the story of the power of art and beauty in connecting souls and triumphing over danger and isolation, with a magical and poetic use of a cinematographic technique, that of animation, excellently handled by the director.’ Chosen from 1400 entries, he added that Josefine was ‘an original work, skilfully written and sung in a perfect marriage of cinematography and opera.’ 

This award adds to the growing list of laurels for Josefine which was the Mannheim Arts and Film Festival Winner for Best Family and Children Friendly, and received an Honourable Mention in Animation. It has been screened at festivals all over the world, including Vienna’s Rathausplatz and the Venice Biennale at the Palazzo del Cinema. It will soon be coming to a screen near you! 

Another UK filmmaking team scooped a short film prize in Messina: director Chiara D'Anna won the Special Jury Award for Brainland. This opera, composed by Stephen Brown, brings together three interlocking stories from the dark history of 20th century brain science. The story is by Andrew Platman, Ken Barrett and Heather Angus Leppan. Well done to all involved!

For more information about the festival visit www.messinafilmfest.it/2