Kino Guarimba Film Residency

A LITTLE INTRODUCTION

Kino Guarimba is an international film training program in the form of a twelve-day artistic residency in Calabria, the wildest region of Italy.

The 11th edition will take place in Amantea (CS) from the 10th to the 21st of June 2025, and the 12th edition will be from the 10th to the 21st of September 2025.

The program includes training activities, such as masterclasses in film production, sound, editing and distribution, and networking activities.

The project aims to create a multicultural community, composed of the participants, the team, and the people who live in Amantea, exploring the local culture and promoting its traditions and natural and architectural beauties.

Calabria is a melting pot of cultures from Ancient Greek to Modern Italian, including Arbërëshë, Albanese, Sub-Saharan African and Latin American cultures. In the region, you will find dialects, folk music and dances, catholic and pagan rituals, culinary expressions, the mountain, and the sea among farmers and fishermen.

KINO GUARIMBA

A 12 days Cinema Residency in southern Italy where a group of international creatives who don’t know each other get together to write, shoot, edit, and screen short films.

The program is structured in a first part dedicated to socialization, aggregation, and training activities, where participants can get to know each other, present their ideas and form working groups. Playful-pedagogical activities, workshops on different aspects of film production, and moments of knowledge and contact with the history and culture of Amantea are planned.
The second part of the program is dedicated to the making of short films: the work teams organize themselves to freely decide the structure and production times, in compliance with the rules of the residence.
On the last evening, we organize a public screening of all the shorts made during the residency, where we invite the participants and the locals.

The goal of the residency is not to create masterpieces, but to give the opportunity to the participants to live a community experience where they can grow, learn and discover new cultures.

Despite this, some films made during the past editions of Kino have also distinguished themselves outside the residency, being selected in international festivals and winning prizes: the film “Amantea”, made by the Dutch director Laura Hermanides on Kino Guarimba 2018 won the “Best Dutch Film” award at Da Bounce Urban Film Festival 2019 and the “Best Short Film” award at Elba Film Festival 2020; the film “La Torta”, made by the Australian filmmakers Gabrielle Gregoire and Olivia Lawson on Kino Guarimba 2019, has been finalist at Roma Short Film Festival 2021 and Paris International Short Film Festival 2021, winning the “Best Editing” award at FlickerFest International Short Film Festival 2021 and the “Best Experimental Short Film” award at Berlin Short Awards 2021; the documentary “Long Live The Panda”, made by the Dutch directors Bo van der Meer and Roswitha de Boer on Kino Guarimba 2020, won the “Best Documentary” award at Shortcutz Amsterdam 2022 and “Best Italian Film” award al Reale Film Festival 2021.

TO WHOM?

This call is open to anyone, Italians or foreigners, who has already turned 18 at the time of their submission.

We are on the lookout for filmmakers, technical crew, and actors willing to learn and interact with others, to get stuck in even when communication becomes complicated.

We are not only looking for experienced professionals but also students and people who are approaching the audiovisual world with enthusiasm and a desire to help.

For the 2025 editions, we will offer scholarships to participants from Africa, and Latin America thanks to collaborations with our partners. The idea is to overcome together the economic barriers of artists who come from countries with fewer funding options and limited opportunities to network, to develop their growth.

THE PROCESS

Kino Guarimba’s educational approach is based on the nonformal pedagogical theories of Cooperative Learning and Montessori Education, based on sharing, independence and finding creative solutions to problems.

Participants’ training also involves sharing living spaces, equipment and the people they work with.

The production of projects made during the residency takes place in complete autonomy and creative freedom, according to the Montessori principles of empowerment through clear rules, freedom to choose, to make mistakes and to develop their own path in a natural and spontaneous way. Participants work as a team in a safe environment where they challenge themselves and collaborate with others in complete confidence.

We will offer masterclasses that condense knowledge and practical information on the basics of fundamental aspects of filmmaking. The masterclasses are designed for those who want to learn how to work on a new role. The residency tutors will guide participants on this path, without interfering with their personal process of learning and making mistakes.

Our residency is inspired on the Kino method, which promotes the non-competitive development of different projects, with the various teams working together to achieve common goals. This method invests more in the process than the results, to move away from the anxiety of delivering a finished product and to make people understand the importance of teamwork and learning. The role of our entire team is limited to coordination and logistics, and we will not replace production and filming organization, empowering participants and making them more independent.

SELECTION

This is how the selection process works:

• Form. Fill out the form, we will read your application and contact you via email.
• Interview. We will meet in a 15-minute informal video call on Zoom.
• Selection. If you are selected, we will contact you again via email explaining all the next steps.
• Confirmation. To confirm your place, you have to send us the participation fee.

There are 50 available places for participants which will be determined by a selection process based on portfolio, enthusiasm, and willingness to discover.

Don’t wait until the last day to send your application, because we usually fill all the places before.

Our main goal is to create a multicultural film community with professionals, students, and film enthusiasts. A community capable of engaging with the local population regardless of the language barrier. We use cinema as a tool to create an open society.

PARTICIPATION FEES

-Participation fee + shared accommodation max 3 people per room (12 nights): €429

-Participation fee + private room (12 nights): €515

Important notes:

Participation fees must be paid after being selected and no later than the 20th of April.

The program does not cover travel expenses.

Each apartment is equipped with a kitchen and bathroom.

The apartments do not have air conditioning or WIFI.

If you want to apply for September, you can fill the form now and write us in the notes to be considered for the September call.

WHAT DO YOU GET

-12 nights accommodation in an apartment in Amantea

-1 welcome kit including a tote bag and some gadgets

-1 Welcome Dinner

-1 Speed Dating + Breakfast

-1 Social Lunch

-1 guided tour of Amantea historical center

-Assistance from our tutors during the shooting, sound recording and post-production

-The use of our technical equipment for sound, lighting and editing

-Networking events with other 49 participants from all over the world

-A Masterclass on Kino Film Production and Lighting

-A Masterclass on Live Sound Recording and Sound Production

-A Masterclass on Editing

-A Masterclass on Short Film Distribution

-Mentoring for the distribution of your film after the residency

-6 month Basic Plan account on MyAirBridge.com

-An unforgettable experience

In the event of a withdrawal of the participant who has already paid the registration fee, the organization can guarantee a refund only if the withdrawal is communicated within 45 days before the start of the residency and is caused by a valid reason.

INSURANCE

It is your responsibility to seek cover for yourself and your belongings. Our organization will not take responsibility for damage or loss of personal property before, during, or after the residency.

CREDITS

All films must include 5 seconds of the following text before the opening credits and after the closing credits:

Conceived, shot, and edited during
Kino Guarimba 2025

All films will have to include logos of partners and sponsors. These files will be supplied at the start of KINO.

LEGAL ASPECTS

-Filmmakers will have to ensure they secure rights for the use of music and the actor’s image and voice. We recommend using copyright.

-Free music. If the filmmaker decides to submit the film to festivals, it will be the filmmaker’s responsibility to ensure they have not infringed any law pertaining to intellectual property.

-By participating, directors take legal responsibility for their films.

-By participating, filmmakers give rights to La Guarimba to use the finished film for promotional activities, on the understanding that this use will not damage or interfere with any festival strategy previously agreed with the filmmaker. If the film gets an award, it will go to the filmmaker.

During the residency, a photographer and a videomaker from our team will take photos and videos of the activities. By participating in Kino Guarimba, participants consent to be captured in photos and/or videos, to the reproduction and publication by any technical means of their images for journalistic and institutional-promotional use of the activities related to the event.

Individual portraits will also be taken. In case you do not want to be filmed, we advise you not to take part in the residency.

INFORMATION

For further information, you can contact the organizers directly: via email info@cinemambulante.com

ORGANIZED BY