Registrations are open until 20 February.
The second edition of the 0will place during March 1 – 6, 2022, in six countries united by the 25° Eastern meridian, which are in the same time zone: Romania, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Greece, Egypt and South Africa, with simultaneous screenings in cinemas or physical venues in each participating country, and with online events and debates.
Submissions for the short film competition closed this weekend with over 90 bold productions from the past two years, from all six participating countries. Out of these, 60% are fiction short films, 24% are animation and 16% are documentaries. Romania, Egypt and Lithuania have the most entries. The films will be selected by delegates from the participating countries and the competition, which will run during the festival, will include awards from both the audience and the organisers.
The 2022 edition brings as a novelty the organisation of an introductory online masterclass on film journalism, the mission of the organisers being to extend the format in the following years. The course, which will be held by the journalist and film critic Davide Abbatescianni on Saturday, March 5th, from 12:00 to 14:00 (GMT +2), aims to provide an overview of the profession of film journalist, with a particular focus on the editorial work carried out by film publications.
“We understand that there is a real need to shed a light on film journalism and film criticism, to talk about how both are evolving and changing, to think about the challenges of the film industry in the modern world and to talk about opportunities for cooperation when it comes to film festivals.” (Mirona Radu, Director Film O’Clock International Festival)
Davide Abbatescianni is a journalist and film critic based in Cork. He currently works as a foreign correspondent for the EU-funded magazine Cineuropa, where he regularly writes about European cinema. His bylines also appeared on other international publications such as The Calvert Journal, The New Arab, Variety, New Scientist, POV Magazine, Reader’s Digest, Filmexplorer, Film Ireland, Cinemafemme.com, the Europa Distribution’s blog and the Independent Cinema Office’s blog.
He is a film curator for the project Support to EU Film Festivals, whose primary mission is to enhance the quality of festivals organised by the delegations of the European Union worldwide. Occasionally, he works as a festival consultant and as an External Examiner in Film Studies for the International Baccalaureate. He is also a PhD Excellence Scholar in Film and Screen Media at University College Cork.
He is a member of FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics), ICS (International Cinephile Society), FEDEORA (Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Mediterranean) and NECS (European Network for Cinema and Media Studies).
Young people interested in participating in this masterclass are asked to send a CV, a short motivation letter and a short answer to the question What does Film O’Clock mean to you? to office@foc-iff.com by February 20th. After receiving the applications, the organisers will select up to 18 participants from the 2022 Film O’Clock International Film Festival countries: Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Egypt and South Africa.
The course for selected participants is free of charge. More details about the content of the masterclass can be found on the festival website: https://foc-iff.com/masterclass-on-film-journalism/.
The festival is an annual, competitive and non-specialised event, and the second edition of the festival is organised and produced by Creatrix Fama and ABI Foundation.