"Anything can happen, anything is possible and probable. Time and space do not exist; on a minimum basis of reality, the imagination draws new motifs: a mixture of memories, experiences, inventions, absurdities and improvisations. The characters split, double, split, vanish, take consistency, dissolve and recompose. A conscience, however, dominates everything, that of the dreamer: for it there are no secrets, inconsistencies, scruples, laws. He does not condemn, he does not absolve; he reports".
(A. Strindberg -1901)
OFF presents itself in its new edition offering the participants a wide, multifaceted and fascinating theme: the world of the oneiric.
Since ancient times, everything related to dreams has been the subject of research and interpretation.
The dream is divinatory, prophetic, bearer of archaic symbols and generator of new dimensions.
It is precisely on this last aspect that we wish to dwell, in order to provide more detailed ideas to participants who decide to present their works at OFF.
We like to observe the dream as a creative workshop where stories are generated, other worlds where - above all - the fears and darkest sides of ourselves and of the world in which we live blend with contexts of light, of open and proactive visions, in short, utopian.
Onirica Film Festival will carefully welcome and evaluate all the cinematographic works that will present dreamlike contents in different forms.
"While we sleep we do not bother to bend the outside world to our ends. We are helpless and therefore sleep has rightly been defined "brother of death"; but we are also freer from the burden of work, from the obligation to defend ourselves or to attack, to monitor and dominate reality. We must not look to the outside world, but to our inner world. In sleep, the realm of necessity is followed by the realm of freedom in which the "I am" is the only system to which thoughts and feelings refer. Experiences lived during sleep are not devoid of logic, but subject to different logical laws, fully valid in that particular psychological state".
(E. Fromm – 1962)
Depending on the theme chosen, a further inspiration to the dream world is the one deriving from the impressive work on dreams carried out by the famous Swiss psychoanalyst C. G. Jung. He made the dream one of his main themes of study throughout his life.
According to Jung, the dream is an opening to a transcendent, wider reality in which the individual can immerse himself and draw insights from his profound unconscious wisdom. Therefore, in this sense, the dream becomes a phenomenon of extra-human experience that, as such, goes beyond any imposed limit, social conventions, personal and relational: while you dream you are free to be.
And this is precisely what we encourage to express through OFF: to show the most varied nuances of oneself, of one's own reality.
Therefore, the participants are called to dream big, immersing themselves in the boundless land of Utopia: the non-place par excellence and therefore everything to be built! Or, according to other interpretations, Utopia understood as the perfect kingdom of happiness.
In harmony with the dreamlike theme, the theme of Art and Nature is well connected.
As far as the artistic field is concerned, the dream was taken as a leit motif by the surrealism that tried to express - through painting - the most disparate impossible realities. Think of the well-known paintings of Salvador Dalì, one of the main exponents of Surrealism. The unconscious expressions that are manifested thanks to and through the dream become works of art around which you can compare. Moreover, this type of pictorial expressiveness acts as a driving force to generate criticism of the social reality of the time and to identify alternative ways of thinking also in relation to important community issues (divergent thought and dream ).
As far as Nature is concerned, remembering the great attention paid today to environmental issues, it is transformed into a powerful means of perception of human feeling of spaces, colors, sensations, emotions that unfold when you immerse yourself in contexts characterized by a powerful wild naturalness (we invite you to observe Impression at the rising of the sun by Monet).
Moreover, Nature - through its phenomena - becomes a dense and significant metaphor of the human essence: restless and in continuous evolution and change.
On the basis of what has been said so far, it becomes spontaneous to draw a thread that connects Dream, Art, Nature and Human Being.
Good work!!
"[The dream] as an infinite shadow of the True." (G. Pasoli - 1904)

Onirica Award
Best Experimental film Award
Best Animation Award
Best Cinematography Award
Best Photography Award
Best leading actor
Best costumes award
Emerging Talent Award
Screenplay Award

Photography Contest Award

Best artificial intelligence video

Files for public projections have to be sent via DropBox, Wetransfer or similar in .HPG or .mp4 Full HD (1080p) or max 2k.
The winners will be announced on the evening of the screenings and their prizes will be awarded.
Selected people are required to confirm their presence in the hall before the date of the event.
The winners will be published on all relevant OFF platforms, on all local national newspapers after the award ceremony through dedicated article and on the mobile app of the festival.
To present the awards evening will be a jury composed of different professionals every years.
(Directors, actors, set designers, journalists, photographers and prominent figures on the international art scene)
The prizes awarded may be multiple and of different nature for each selected film.
The finalists may be invited to take the stage during the prize-giving evening.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Daniele De Muro

    Honoured to have my short film"Horizon" at this beautiful Festival. I hope to submit a new project next year.

    September 2024
  • What a privilege it has been for our film to have been selected and awarded at this marvelous festival. The organization and communication were brilliant: thank you Alessandra for your hard work and attention to every detail. Onirica is a festival that respects its filmmakers and demonstrates a true love and passion for cinema. As a celebration of film and dreams, Onirica is indeed a dream come true.

    September 2024
  • Flavio Papa

    Un evento imperdibile per gli amanti del cinema d'autore e delle narrazioni fuori dall'ordinario. Una nota di merito anche per la comunicazione. Grazie per aver premiato il mio cortometraggio GA-ME!

    September 2024
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    Ciao Flavio grazie mille!!

  • Alessio Leombruni

    Un Festival da sogno! "In tutti i sensi". Io e il mio cast di "Ace of Spades" ci siamo trovati benissimo. Ottima comunicazione, bellissima location e organizzazione generale della serata. Faccio in particolare i complimenti ad Alessio Bonini per l'impegno e il coraggio di portare avanti questo progetto. Vi faccio un grande augurio di crescita e speriamo anche noi di ritornare.

    September 2024
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    Grazie ragazzi e’ stato un onore avervi con noi e sicuramente rinnoviamo l’invito ad avervi per l’anno prossimo.
    Un abbraccio grande!!

  • Onirica was a Beautiful festival and experience!

    September 2024
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    Grazie Gioele e’ stato un piacere averti con noi e avremmo piacere a mantenerci in contatto anche per il futuro.
    Sarai sempre il benvenuto ad ogni edizione di Onirica.
    Un abbraccio grande!!