"Sweets" by Matteo Panebarco in the Official selection of the European Independent Film Festival and in the program of the Italian Film Festival USA
The 3d animated short Caramelle (Sweets) directed by Matteo Panebarco tells about the inextricable tie between three generations, a bond so strong as to transcend the boundaries between Life and Death, the Earthly World and the Afterlife.
It is a poetic story, without any dialogue, which develops in an atmosphere of fascinating magical realism and has a really positive final message. Inspired by an episode of family life that really happened, it is dedicated "to all the grandfathers and grandmothers of the world, whom we remember with affection with all their best and worst features" – we read in the director's notes.
It is made using 3D animation with real photographs for the backdrops which reveal some of Ravenna's less well-known areas including its industrial skyline, the Darsena docks, the companies lining its canals, and its monumental cemetery.
The work is one of the productions supported by Emilia-Romagna Region through the Emilia-Romagna Film Commission. Director Panebarco belongs to the homonymous production company based in Ravenna.
Caramelle had its world premiere in October 2022 at the Festival Alice nella Città – parallel section of the Festa del Cinema di Roma dedicated to “debuts, talent and the younger generations”, and immediately had great success, winning the Public Choice Award as Best short movie.
The international debut is in April 2023, and takes place simultaneously in France and in the United States, within two prestigious contexts: ÉCU – The European Independent Film Festival in Paris and the Italian Film Festival USA.
ÉCU – dedicated to "the discovery and advancement of the very best independent filmmakers from around the world", selected Caramelle in the 'European Animated Film' category.
The Festival - which is often referred to as the Sundance of Europe - includes 14 categories, 7 of which open to non-European filmmakers, and the films in competition were selected by an international jury according to the criteria of "quality, innovation, and creativity in both form and content”.
ÉCU takes place from April 14 to 16 at the Les 7 Parnassiens cinema in Paris; Caramelle is scheduled on April 15.
Meanwhile, the short film is debuting overseas, within the Italian Film Festival USA, the largest festival dedicated exclusively to Italian cinema in the United States.
The 2023 edition offers some of the best and most recent Italian films, both by award-winning directors and new talents, and includes a section dedicated to short films.
Caramelle is among the six short films chosen for this programming. Not only that: the choice of the guiding image of this section fell right on Matteo Panebarco's film.
Each short film is preceded by the director’s video presentation, and the audience will vote for their favourite short.
The Italian Film Festival opened on March 24 and will run throughout the month of April in many cities, coast to coast. The first screening of Caramelle was on April 6, in Madison; the following ones, between April 12 and 28, will be in Cleveland, Salt Lake City, Detroit, Edwardsville, Kansas City, Mesa, Portland, Indianapolis.