PAOLO SORRENTINO TO CHAIR ENEL DIGITAL CONTEST

The famous director will chair the panel of the international award promoted by Enel on the themes of sustainable energy. Through the backing of AzzeroCO2, the Enel Digital Contest is Italy’s first CO2 free competition for film makers.

Rome, October 24, 2008 - Paolo Sorrentino as chairman of the panel, will be leading the fifth edition of the Enel Digital Contest, the web award which has already cast the spotlight on hundreds of young creative talents from Italy and abroad.

The director of Il Divo, one of the most innovative and original talents in Italian cinema, will be judging the works of aspiring film makers together with a group of experts from the world of culture and cinema: Laura Delli Colli (journalist and President of the Italian Union of Film Journalists), Viktor Matizen (Chairman of the Russian Guild of Film Critics), Mario Morcellini (President of the Faculty of Communication Sciences at “La Sapienza” University in Rome), Silvia Toso (editor of Hollywood Party, Radio 3 Rai), Mario Tozzi (geologist, Leading Researcher at CNR, the Italian National Research Council, TV author and presenter) and Gianluca Comin (Director of External Relations at Enel).

In recent years the contest, promoted by Enel in collaboration with the Associazione Amici del Future Film Festival, has offered valuable food for thought on the subject of sustainable use of energy. Once again, the young film makers are invited to elaborate on the theme “The power of energy”, with a view to safeguarding the future of our planet’s environment.

“We are very pleased to be encouraging young people to think about energy and respect for the environment with the Enel Digital Contest,” announced Silvia Fellegara, Head of Advertising and New Media at Enel, “because these are issues which in the first instance concern the future of the new generations.”

Further confirmation of this aim is the institution of an important new special prize which Enel will award to the best short film for the environment, while CNR (Italian National Research Council) and the New Zealand Government Agency for Commerce and Investment (NZTE) are also supporting the initiative.

Enel has decided to cooperate with AzzeroCO2 in order to make the contest absolutely carbon-neutral, thus demonstrating that the short film industry can and must be sustainable. The support to a reforestation project and the distribution of a handbook to all participants containing tips on how to make sustainable videos are just some of the new features of this year's contents, which for the first time will be CO2 free.

Other exciting developments this year include the introduction of special new prizes:
the special prize for the best short animated and/or special effects film in cooperation with the Consulate General of New Zealand in Italy, and the special award for the best female creative talent, awarded to the best entry from a woman or an all women’s team, in cooperation with the magazine Donna Moderna.

Many national and international film schools and universities have also decided to cooperate with the project, by awarding special prizes.

In particular, the renewed involvement of the National Academy “Santa Cecilia” will allow the rewarding of an essential part of the production of any audiovisual work: the best soundtrack, for which there will be once again an important award presented by the Academy’s panel representative, Maestro Giovanni Bietti.

The contest’s winning formula will remain unchanged. Apart from being judged by the panel of experts, the films can be viewed and voted for online, by a people's jury made up of internet browsers.

The contest’s website will play a central role. With a completely new look and even more “web 2.0 oriented”, the site will allow you to enter the competition, vote for films and browse a database of the 300 films from the previous years.

The closing date for registration is 10 November 2008, while films must be submitted by 31 December. Further details and the notice announcing the contest are available at www.enel.it/digitalcontest.

For more information:

Press office
Giovanna Mazzarella (+39 348 3805201) & Cristina Scognamillo (+39 335 294961)
mazzarella@fastwebnet.it, cristinascognamillo@hotmail.com

Enel SpA – External Relations – Advertising and New Media
Via Regina Margherita 137 - 00198 Rome – Italy
Tel.: +39 06 83057026, E-mail: digitalcontest@enel.it

Associazione Amici del Future Film Festival
Via del Pratello 21/2 - 40122 Bologna
Tel.: +39 051 2960672; Fax: +39 051 6567133
E-mail: enelcontest@futurefilmkids.org
Eleonora Boscolo (Press Officer - Associazione Amici del Future Film Festival)
Tel.: +39 051 2960664 - E-mail: press@futurefilmkids.org

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