Robert Redford’s renown and influential Sundance Film Festival is hailed for its vibrant energy and championship of Independent cinema. The Milanese Festival-Award event is dedicated to imparting the spirit of Sundance within the atmosphere of the world’s Fashion Capital, a place where indie films can blossom in style, creating the perfect buzz for the promotion of new, not-released, films thanks to the prestige of Da Vinci statuette Awards and establishing a stronger consumer awareness for sponsor products.
MIFF attendees are mostly from a mid to high income bracket. Althought its attendees vary widely in age, since earning the nickname “Sundance of Italy,” by the media, the Milanese Festival-Award has consistently been attracting younger, pop-culture aware audiences.
OUR MISSION
Conceived with a mission to encourage and support the progress of indie films from around the globe, MIFF Awards take place each year in Milan. MIFF Awards also hosts, “MIFF’s Best”, a high profile event to celebrate films awarded in Milan in Los Angeles and assigns the MIFF Hollywood Audience Award in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Government Office.
Since its birth, MIFF has established itself by showcasing and celebrating programs that reflect the best of Indie films in the world. Following the pattern of Sundance, Cannes, Venice and Berlin, MIFF is now the only existing Festival-Award format case distinguished as the official cinema event of Milan and has its primary goal set to facilitate the promotion and distribution of Independent Cinema. MIFF Awards mission goes further aiming to the encounter of the International Film Culture with the Milan's Fashion and High Design environment.
Through its Happening kermess and promotion of its films, MIFF Awards has among its primary objectives also Charity e Found Raising Events.
...BUT WHAT IS AN "INDEPENDENT FILM"
An independent film simply means a motion picture that has been produced and financed (at least 51%) by a non-studio production company (examples of studios: Paramount, Universal, Fox...). Over the last few years, the term “independent film” has been used erroneously to describe films that are non-mainstream in content, also known as “specialty” or “arthouse” films. In truth, independent films range from big-budget features to small alternative films.
Many of the world’s most acclaimed and awarded films in the last decade were independently financed/produced (i.e., non-studio films): The Lord of the Rings, Gangs of New York, Chicago, The Pianist, The Hours, Shakespeare in Love, Dances With Wolves, The English Patient, Braveheart, The Last Emperor, Silence of the Lambs, Gandhi, Amadeus. The confusion arises because many of these films were released or distributed in the U.S. by a studio for a fee. In fact, in the last few years about 50% of the feature films released by the studios are financed by independents.
In this sense, the studios are becoming less production entities and more marketing and distribution specialists in the U.S. marketplace using Independent films to fill up their catalogues and theater venues affiliated to their distribution network.
MILANO
Milanese cinema tradition is widely known to the world owing to Mifed (Mercato Internazionale del Film E del Documentario), an international film market which, for decades, brought to the city the major players of the movie industry.
Milan, a host to a big swarm of adv. agencies and prod. companies, is one of the most updated, dynamic and active center of production and post-production (digital and 35mm) in the world.
Milan is widely held as the international mecca of style. Whether it be on a red carpet or in a film, the haute couture of Milanese Fashion Houses such as Armani, Versace and Prada play an essential role in the whole equation. As a film festival set against the fashion capital, MIFF focuses on the union of fashion and film and embodies an element of glamour and style.
Milan is served by an accessible transportation system. Besides its two international airports, Linate and Malpensa (Italy’s hub), public transit also connects all the festival venues to the city’s center.
Milan’s dynamic energy is conducive to all trade and commerce, including fashion and film, and also attracts tourists by offering the best in shopping, nightlife, culture and fine cuisine.
