Giancarlo Zappoli has been Artistic Director of the Castellinaria – Bellinzona Youth Film Festival since 1998. After 28 years of selecting and presenting films targeting not only young audiences but also the general public, his companion Filippo Demarchi (Head of Industry at Castellinaria) felt the time was right for a hymn of praise.
Thanks to his experience as a primary school teacher and his current role as film critic and editor-in-chief of MyMovies.it, Giancarlo Zappoli perfectly combines school pedagogy with a careful selection of films that address important social issues. The hallmark of his artistic direction has undoubtedly been the films of the Dardenne Brothers, from ROSETTA to TORI ET LOKITA, presented in the presence of the directors, who were awarded the Castello d’Oro on that occasion. Attentive to socially committed cinema, Zappoli thanked the Belgian masters for “reminding us that the dignity of every human being is an absolute value, which everyone attacks, but must always be defended”.
Over the years, Ken Loach’s films have also been widely presented at Castellinaria. Eva Birthistle attended the Festival to present AE FOND KISS and share her experience as an actress, moving the entire audience.
Among other renowned filmmakers honoured by Zappoli were Wim Wenders, Xavier Koller, Sir Christopher Lee, Edgar Reitz, Pupi Avati, Milena Vukotic, Margarethe von Trotta and Umberto Orsini. For Castellinaria, he selected Edgar Reitz’s entire HEIMAT series, pioneering the importance of quality television series made by great directors, capable of enhancing the history and memory of a human being, a territory, and a culture. His extensive knowledge of cinema was passed on to younger generations not only through the biographies he wrote on well-known directors (Louis Malle, Eric Rohmer, Woody Allen, Marco Bellocchio, Claude Lelouch, Hou Hsiao-Hsien), but above all through his tireless work as coordinator of the youth jury (Cinema & Gioventù; Castellinaria) and as presenter of films and masterclasses at the Locarno Film Festival.
Since 2000, Zappoli has shaped the outlook of countless young film buffs who, thanks to him, have chosen to study cinema or have learned to observe the world with a critical, more humane gaze. Among the faces known throughout Europe, we can cite two film buffs who were ‘born’ at the Locarno Festival thanks to their experience on the youth jury: Elly Schlein developed a passion for cinema thanks to that experience and returns to the Locarno Film Festival every year; and Douglas Mandry replied in his second year as a juror to Zappoli’s question “Why did you come back this year?” with the words: ‘For you! I want to know more about cinema from your point of view.’
Giancarlo Zappoli is a keen observer of the present who doesn’t forget the past, always in step with the times. He has made a decisive contribution to making Castellinaria an authoritative festival and point of reference for entire generations of viewers.