THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL IMPACT ON THE COMMUNITY
Amantea is a small town of 14,000 residents on the Tyrrhenian coast of Calabria, in southern Italy. This September, forty-seven filmmakers arrived in our small town for Kino Guarimba, where we encouraged them to explore the town and its people. We want the film residents to engage with the locals, the places, and the stories that Amantea has to offer, turning its streets, squares, historic centre, and beaches into large outdoor sets. It’s important that they embrace Amantea as their host rather than forming an isolated bubble to work within. By directly involving residents in the making of their short films, filmmakers not only grow as artists, they also help strengthen the community. The skills they hone in organizing a production crew, communicating with their local actors in Italian, and building relationships with them, are something the filmmakers will carry with them forever.
During the Kino, Amantea undergoes a process of urban revitalization. The filmmakers explore the town and see beauty in it, turning even abandoned and run-down places into the backdrop of their films, and inviting residents to see their town in a new light. These places become active protagonists in their stories, giving new meaning to these locations.
Kino Guarimba helps re-establish a connection between residents, culture, and art through cinema. This creates a sense of belonging and pride in the community, as people from all over the world come to Amantea for the experience of making a short film. This process allows the residents of Amantea to see their town and their stories projected on the big screen. This year, 21 of the 42 films (51%) involved local actors, and some children from Amantea became filmmakers in their own right.
The survey shows that participants felt welcomed: asked “did you feel welcomed by the town and its people?,” the average rating was 4.7 out of 5, with 26 of 36 responses at the highest score. In their comments, participants described Amantea as “big enough for everyone to make a film, but small enough to feel like home within two weeks,” and recalled neighbours who offered them local dishes, strangers who stopped to help even without a shared language, the sunsets over the sea, and the beach club staff. One participant highlighted the impact that La Guarimba and its library have on the town’s children, describing it as a safe space. Communication with the local population was rated an average of 3.8 out of 5, a figure that confirms the importance of having Italian speakers within the crews.
For two out of three participants (28 of 36), it was their first time in Calabria, and for one in three (11 of 36), their first time in Italy. All 36 participants who answered the survey have shared, or intend to share, their experience in Amantea: most had already done so publicly, on social media or on a blog.
During the 12 days of the residency, the residents of Amantea share their town with the filmmakers; some of them act, while others open their businesses or homes for filming.
