The collateral competition CINIT Music Video Competition, organized this year in collaboration with CINIT - Cineforum Italiano, reaches its seventh edition, once again presenting a selection of the best music videos made by students of universities and film schools from all over the world. The ten selected finalists represent nine countries, from Australia to South Africa. The winner will be chosen by a professional jury composed of producer and director Giovanni Bedeschi, journalist Alice D’Este and CINIT board member Giordano Giordani.
Directors: Julie Černá, Johana Novotná
Czech Republic, 2’02”
The Academy of Fine Arts in Prague
Synopsis: This animated music video by Johus Matus calmly takes us into his rural pop world, full of nature, horses, dogs, and polypores. As we travel by train, we witness *Songsinging* as an attempt to capture a brief moment that may or may not last forever.
Profiles: Julie Černá was born in 2001. Coming from a large family, she draws inspiration from gardens, widespread wheat fields, animals, direct sunlight, TV, cheap jokes, and the safety of home. With a background in graphic design, she is currently studying Animation and Film at the Academy of Arts, Architecture, and Design in Prague. Her animated films have been screened at various festivals across Europe, and she received the Prague Music Video Awards for Best Music Video. Johana Novotná, born in 1993, studied photography at FAMU (2013-2017) and new media at AVU (2018-2022). Her work is characterized by the diversity of media and intermediality. She uses humor, exaggeration, and absurdity to communicate serious existential themes and life ambitions that exist in the duality of city and countryside, center and periphery, rationality and mysticism, purity and corruption.
Directors: Benjamin Geyer, Elisabeth Geyer
Germany, 3’08”
Bauhaus Universität Weimar
Synopsis: *Galion* is a collage animation accompanying Benshi’s song of the same name. Stormy images move in a wild dance over fiery soundscapes, in a visually suggestive game of constant discovery. The video captures the unifying feeling of "Sehnsucht" in its collage imagery of diverse countries and cultures.
Profiles: *Studio Liebe* is a young duo of German artists comprising Elisabeth and Benjamin Geyer. The two playfully explore the vast fields of film, animation, and music and their presentation in space. Their paths first crossed while studying communication design at THWS Würzburg with Henning Rogge Pott, where they developed their interdisciplinary understanding and playful approach to animation. From there, they moved together to Weimar for a master’s in media art and design at Bauhaus University. Their first animated film, *Ermo* (2021), received significant recognition and was screened at ITFS, Kurzsüchtig, and various festivals in Germany and abroad. The film-music project was funded by *Initiative Musik*, a program by the German Ministry of Culture for aspiring young artists. A year abroad at the Escola das Artes at Universidade Católica Porto further strengthened Studio Liebe’s artistic direction, where they participated in two major exhibitions in Portugal. Their second animated film, *Galion*, takes place this time in the Atlantic Ocean.
Director: Nicco Nn
Poland, 4’05”
University of Łódź
Synopsis: A family of war refugees from Ukraine tries to escape reality, caught between past and future.
Profile: Nicco Nn is an independent filmmaker. He explores philosophy, but his main focus is humanity. His passion for music videos stems from the fascination of interpreting lyrics and music, seeking additional meanings, and experimenting with form. He also paints oil paintings and composes music.
Director: Luyanda Sosibo
South Africa, 3’47”
University of Kwazulu-Natal
Synopsis: Life is a journey, often emphasizing wandering to make it seem like progress. However, this is about the meaning of each individual’s personal journey. It doesn’t have to appear as something other than what it is and what it means to that specific person. *Remember* is a pilot episode of a series in development, creatively exploring these themes and sharing the journey and stories of our province.
Profile: Originally from Durban, South Africa, Luyanda Sosibo is an emerging filmmaker with experience primarily in supporting roles within the industry. Usually an event art director/curator, Luyanda is also a stylist, set designer, and installation artist.
Director: Anastasiya Lisovets
Russian Federation, 3’54”
HSE Art and Design School
Synopsis: Do you hear it? Snow and icy sparks are outside. The winter bird sings, the reindeer screams, winter blows, and the edges of the sky howl. The girl raises her voice tenderly because her breath could frighten the fire.
Profile: Nastya Lisovets is a Belarusian artist. She graduated this year in Animation from HSE Art and Design School (Moscow, Russia). During her studies, she made four films, which are currently being screened at international festivals.
Directors: Rike Malottke, Manuel Tröndle
Germany, 4’58”
HAW
Synopsis: It captures the fine line between desire and feeling loved in a relationship. With *Orchards Lie*, Melting Palms sought to translate feelings of sweetness, longing, and nostalgia into music. The music video for the single transports viewers into a scenario oscillating between isolation and fantasy, as memories pull the main character deep into the woods and away from himself, trapping him in his own mind.
Profiles: Rike Malottke was born in 1993 in Düsseldorf. In 2018, she began studying media engineering at university in Hamburg. She entered the media and music industry as an electrician and gaffer, later working on music videos for producer and singer Kuoko, Swutscher, and Anna Wydra. In 2021, she began directing for local Hamburg bands Dunya and Melting Palms. Manuel Tröndle is a young cinematographer and editor based in Hamburg, Germany. After studying audio engineering and mixing, he completed an apprenticeship as an audiovisual media designer and now works as an editor and cinematographer. While his focus lies in visual storytelling through cinema, photography, primarily documentary, remains a continuous passion.
