SACRAE SCENAE

Film Festival dedicated to popular devotions
Vivi Ardesio, with Cinema e Arte Association, organize “SACRAE SCENAE”, a Film
Festival dedicated to popular devotions. In 2025 the Festival will be held from 17th to
19th October, at Cinema of Ardesio (BG).
The objective is to enhance the Ardesio Sanctuary on a national level, already
destination to walks and pilgrimages in devotion to the Madonna, with a unique
cultural event in Italy which will raise awareness, through cinema, of the various
popular initiatives linked to the world of devotions in all its forms and peculiarities.

FILM COMPETITION

Critics associate the "popular devotions" to an antiquated scientific thought, which
gave to the term an irrational, almost magical aura. Some people consider the
expression vague, meaningless, and alluding to a state of things that don’t
correspond to reality. Others associate it with a feeling of reverence that is
substantially different from “official" devotion. The locutions "popular religiosity" and
“religious folklore” have been proposed as an alternative to the current term.
Popular religiosity, understood as the set of values, beliefs, attitudes, and expressions
derived from the Catholic religion, is a privileged area of dialogue between the
gospel and cultures. It constitutes the wisdom of people. The adjective "popular" that
accompanies these forms of devotion and faith is not a diminutive, popular devotion
is the allegory of the journey of God’s People.
Deadline: 31st May

For the sixth edition of the competition, the 2025 edition, the Jubilee Year, a new film
section entitled 'Hope as a horizon of Life' in which films can be submitted has been
established. The films will deal with the theme of Hope, Hope that implies a tension
towards the good, Hope as a force that pushes society towards a better future.
The films entered in this section are subject to all the articles of the regulation and this
section will compete for a special prize from the Jury.

Awards & Prizes

Awards and plaques.

Rules & Terms

REGULATION

Vivi Ardesio, with Cinema e Arte Association, organize the second edition of
“SACRAE SCENAE”, a Film Festival dedicated to popular devotions.
Art. 1 - The competition is open to all Italian and foreign producers (companies,
associations and private). Art.2 - Participation in the competition is free.
Art. 3 - Prizes: awards and plaques.
Art. 4 - Prizes are awarded during the final day of the festival.
Art. 5 - Movies/documentaries, animated films, feature films, short, medium, or fulllength movies may be registered for the competition. Popular Devotion must be the
subject. By Popular Devotion we mean religious recurrences, customs and traditions
in the events dedicated to the Saints, to the patronal feasts. Tales and episodes of
popular events related to the sacred. Stories of miracles, pilgrimages, religious paths,
and various demonstrations of faith of all the religions of the world.
Art. 6 - Each director/producer may participate in the competition by submitting one
or more movies.
Art. 7 - The festival appoints its own Jury in charge of selecting the winning films.
Art. 8 - The selection of the winners and any special mentions is at the sole discretion
of the Jury. The best film set in the Orobic Prealps area will also be awarded.
Art. 9 - The works must be sent in MPEG4 - H264 - MP4 format (the weight of the file
must not exceed 5 GB) to the address:
info@cinema-arte.it
using sites such as www.wetransfer.com, www.filemail.com or any other program for
sending heavy files.

Documents and materials to be attached:
- Form filled in in all its parts;
- Italian subtitles are appreciated if the film is in a foreign language;
- Synopsis maximum 500 characters (spaces included);
- At least 5 photographs of the film in digital format (maximum weight 5 MB, 300
DPI);
- Direct link to download the movie and the trailer of the movie.

Art. 10 - The Organizing Committee will communicate by email to all participants the
titles of the selected films that will be screened during the evenings of the festival.
Among them, only the authors of the award-winning films will be informed of the win.
Art. 11 - There will be no refunds of any kind related to the screening of films.
Art. 12 - The author authorizes the publication of his data on the website of the
involved organizing bodies and on communication materials. He also authorizes the
screening and distribution (TV, radio, web) of short parts of the film for promotional
purposes.
Art. 13 - The films received for selection will become part of a Film Library, which has
as its objective the conservation of its film heritage. The circulation of the works of the
Film Library for commercial purposes is excluded, with the absolute prohibition of
video reproductions and of partial or total transfer to third parties.
Art. 14 - Participation in the Film Competition implies the full acceptance of the
Regulation.
Art. 15 - In the event of disputes not covered by these Regulation, the Organizing
Committee will be competent.