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A dream of Himera

Sicily. A wizard roams the desolate plain where the ancient Greek colony of Himera once stood. The man’s power brings life to the Greek spirits for a short time. An illusion of beauty against the devastation of a territory carried out by contemporary society.

  • Gianfrancesco Iacono
    Director
  • Gianfrancesco Iacono
    Writer
  • Gianfrancesco Iacono
    Producer
  • Gianfrancesco Iacono
    Drawings, animation and editing
  • Alessandro Arrigo
    Music
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Un sogno di Himera
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    Archeology, Culture, Ecology, Environmental, Historical, Art, Silent movie, Fantastic
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 54 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 10, 2022
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • AmiCorti International Film Festival
    Peveragno
    Italy
    June 12, 2022
    Italian Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Festival BCT - Benevento Cinema Televisione
    Benevento
    Italy
    July 12, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Inventa un Film
    Lenola (LT)
    Italy
    August 3, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Milazzo Film Festival
    Milazzo
    Italy
    July 22, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Himera Art Festival
    Termini Imerese
    Italy
    July 15, 2022
    Special Screening
  • SiciliAmbiente Film Festival
    San Vito Lo Capo
    Italy
    July 12, 2022
    Official Selection
  • RAM film festival - Rovereto Archeologia Memorie
    Rovereto
    Italy
    September 30, 2022
    Official Selection
  • ANIMASYROS International Animation Festival
    Hermoupolis, Syros, Cyclades
    Greece
    September 20, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Chania Film Festival
    Chania
    Greece
    October 22, 2022
    Official Selection
  • Animation Marathon
    Athens
    Greece
    November 28, 2022
    Official Selection / Music Award to Alessandro Arrigo
  • Costaiblea Film Festival
    Scicli
    Italy
    December 15, 2022
    Official Selection / "Premio Guccione - Giovane Cinema" for the Best Short
  • Firenze Archeofilm
    Firenze
    Italy
    March 1, 2023
    Official Selection
  • International Film Festival of Larissa
    Larissa
    Greece
    October 30, 2023
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Gianfrancesco Iacono

ITA
Gianfrancesco Iacono è nato a Palermo nel 1986. Laureato in Lettere Moderne, lavora come consulente nel settore dell’audiovisivo. È autore dei cortometraggi d’animazione “Turno di notte” (2019, Pesaro Film Fest) e “Il tuffo di Marianna” (2020, Animasyros/IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival/Miglior corto d’animazione allo Sciacca Film Fest XIII). Nel 2020, insieme a Michele Scimè, ha diretto il cortometraggio documentario “Terramorta” (Visions du Réel/Cinemambiente/Miglior corto doc a Spaesamenti 2021).

FILMOGRAFIA
Turno di notte (2019) - animazione, b/n, 4’12’’
Il tuffo di Marianna (2020) - animazione, b/n, 6’42’’
Terramorta (2020) - documentario, col, 4’39’’

ENG
Gianfrancesco Iacono was born in Palermo in 1986. Graduated in Modern Literature, he works as a consultant in the field of audiovisual works and cinema. He is the maker of two animated short films: “Night shift” (2019, Pesaro Film Fest) and “Marianna’s dive” (2020, Animasyros/IN THE PALACE International Short Film Festival/Best Animated Short at Sciacca Film Fest XIII). In 2020, along with Michele Scimè, he has directed “Terramorta/Wasteland”, a documentary short film selected, among the others, by Visions du Réel (Film Market) and Cinemambiente Torino.

FILMOGRAPHY
Night shift (2019) - animation, b/w, 4’12’’
Marianna’s dive (2020) - animation, b/w, 6’42’’
Wasteland (2020) - documentary, col, 4’39’’

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

ITA
“Un sogno di Himera” è la prosecuzione ideale della mia mostra personale di pittura intitolata “Himera/Nostos”, un ciclo di tele interamente dedicato al mondo greco con particolare riferimento al sito dell’antica colonia ellenica dallo stesso nome, 50 km a est di Palermo. L’area di Himera è un’oasi di struggente bellezza confinante, purtroppo, con ciò che resta dell’area industriale di Termini Imerese: una testimonianza di come la mancanza di attenta pianificazione territoriale possa condurre alla devastazione ambientale e alla mortificazione di un patrimonio archeologico di straordinaria ricchezza. “Un sogno di Himera” è dunque un tentativo di “risarcimento” interiore per una terra umiliata e, allo stesso tempo, un segnale di speranza rivolto al futuro.

ENG
“A dream of Himera” is the ideal continuation of my solo painting exhibition called “Himera/Nostos”, a canvas series dedicated to the Ancient Greek World and especially to the ancient Hellenic colony of the same name, located 50 km east of Palermo. Himera is an oasis of heart breaking beauty and, unfortunately, next to what remains of the industrial area of Termini Imerese: an evidence of how the lack of a careful spatial planning may lead to environmental disaster and to the mortification of an amazing archeological heritage. Then, “A dream of Himera” is a sort of “compensation” for a land that has been humiliated and, at the same time, a hopeful sign for the future.