Mission
Mission & History
The Beginnings...
The Cinema Novo Festival was founded in 1983. It was then called
the Third World Film Festival, an initiative of the Brugge Third
World Council, which provided the town with advice in matters of
development aid.
The aim of the 'founding fathers' - Jan De Clercq and Georges
Micholt - was to use a film event, one of the most popular cultural
expressions, to contribute to the construction of a new image of
the developing countries. The first edition featured four films and
attracted 700 viewers. During its initial years, the festival
started growing steadily: more means, more staff and more visitors.
The Third World Film Festival was officially recognized by the
Ministry of Development Aid and received financial support from the
Flemish Community, the province of West Flanders and the Brugge
town council.
Expansion
The expansion of the festival and the ensuing financial implications, all the specific aspects inherent to the organization of a film event and the growing experience in the cinema environment led to the setting up of a separate and autonomous organization, the Third Film. The core of the original mission statement remained unchanged, but a few aspects, typical of film events, were added. Feature films from the developing countries were to be put in a wider context. The festival now encompassed the three continents: Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Since 1991...
The festival has been organized under the name of the Cinema
Novo festival.
In the mid-nineties the festival gained momentum: the team of
volunteers grew rapidly; the amount of films and the number of
times they were screened were raised considerably (we introduced
screenings in the morning and in the afternoon); more financial
means created growing scope for fringe activities and professional
support; the number of visitors doubled etc. More attention was
paid to the young: a jury of 16-to-18-year-olds was set up and
youngsters were offered the possibility to run as trainees at
Cinema Novo.
Growth
Today there is more emphasis on what we call our Focus on a
certain aspect ( a country, a theme, a director etc...) and the
range of fringe acrivities has grown considerably resulting in
activities such as exhibitions, concerts, lectures, debates and
workshops. Cinema Novo also tries to cater for specific genres and
remarkable film talent. There is a more intense international
cooperation with other film festivals (the Rotterdam film festival
is a good example) and the event has been renamed : vzw Cinema
Novo.
The festival has grown into a festive and wide-ranging film event
featuring over 60 films, 180 screenings, which attract almost
20,000 visitors from Belgium and abroad.
Mission Statement
The main purpose is still to confront western audiences with
southern and oriental cultural expressions and thus to enhance the
understanding and the appreciation of these cultures. The festival
wants to present the film directors from the three continents as
skilled world artists and to offer them a platform for their
artistic expression. Due to the growing concentration in the world
of film production and distribution it is increasingly difficult
for independent film directors to reach large audiences. The film
directors from the southern continents, who do not go in for
American-style streamlined scripts, direction and casting, are
especially affected. All the more so, as they do not have the
financial means to set up huge promotion campaigns or to wait long
for the release of their films.
In its own modest way, the festival wants to contribute to the
introduction and the promotion of films from Africa, Asia and Latin
America in Belgian film distribution. That is why a competition
section has been added to the festival: an independent jury awards
a prize to one of a selection of nine films that have not been
released in Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg. The prize
consists of a grant awarded to the Belgian distributor who
purchases the winning film and releases it in Belgium.
Education is an important part of our mission as well. Each year some 4,000 pupils (from 5 to 18 ) come and see a film from one of the three continents. In 2009 there were 10 films schools could choose from. The teacher can download a study aid.
And today...
The identity, vision and aims of Cinema Novo stand as firm today as ever before and consequently the festival is today considered to be a substantial asset in the Belgian film scene.
In 2008, we celebrated the 25th edition. There were lots of festivities, cooperation with various cultural actors in Bruges, and - last but not least - interesting films.
In 2011...
... we hope you will join us for the 28th edition: from 17 to 27 March 2011, Focus on Brazil.
