Today we announced ITALY EXPORTED: Stories from the Italian Diaspora, a new initiative dedicated to short film narratives either by Italians or about Italian culture, Italian-American identity, or more broadly appealing to the Italian community.

More than 25 million Italians have left their homeland since 1875, one of history’s largest out-migrations. “Even now, emigration is once again a quiet trend in Italy while in-migrations make more news,” says Artistic Director Antonio Iannotta. “This emigration bears consideration for this reason: We no longer know who our cousins are, nor do we know the stories they tell.”

For this new short film program we are seeking innovative, original, and thought-provoking works that have been completed between 2016 and 2018.

ITALY EXPORTED will be the first international film festival based on the Italian diaspora, with a goal of encouraging sharing of stories across borders in the universal language of film.

Works may focus on Italian culture, either as fiction or as documentary, and be up to 30 minutes long. If not in English, they may have English subtitles.

The proposed project is a film festival of shorts submitted in competition, from anywhere in the world, focusing on stories that relate to Italian culture, either as fiction or as documentary.

The San Diego Italian Film Festival, with more than thirteen years of experience, will employ the highest professional standards in recruiting, judging, and showcasing selected films. We seek to become one of the world’s noted display points for shorts from the Italian diaspora.

Anyone may register their film through our submission platform on the FilmFreeway website: https://filmfreeway.com/SanDiegoItalianFilmFestival

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