Lancia and OffiCine award the winners of “Ypsilon My Stories”

02/12/2014 Lancia and OffiCine award the winners of “Ypsilon My Stories”

Lancia in support of young talents once again: two outstanding film-makers who took part in the film-making project launched by the Lancia Brand in conjunction with OffiCine - a project by Anteo and the European Design Institute - were awarded yesterday in Milan. They were picked among ten competing short films starring the Lancia Ypsilon, the fashion city car that guarantees extensive customisation, sophisticated equipment and distinctive style. After the awards ceremony, an informal get-together was held on the bond between the car world and the movie world.

The awards ceremony for the "Ypsilon My Stories" film-making competition, the initiative resulting from the collaboration between the Lancia brand and OffiCine, the film training and experimental workshop founded in Milan by Anteo spazioCinema and the European Design Institute, took place yesterday in Milan.
The event was hosted at the charming Fonderia Napoleonica Eugenia, formerly a prestigious bronze foundry and now a place of work, art and culture used as a venue for exhibitions, events and cultural initiatives.

The winners of the "Ypsilon My Stories" project are the Spaniard Daniel Pedrosa with his film "Microtheatre" and the Italian Iacopo Di Girolamo with his work entitled "An Expat in Bruxelles". The first was awarded a Lancia Ypsilon on free loan for 3 months, while the second received a shield by the Lancia brand. Specifically, the work by the Spanish film-maker was selected by the technical jury who included, among others, the director Silvio Soldini - who this year won the Silver Ribbon award for best documentary with his docu-film "Per altri occhi" (for other eyes) - and the director of photography Luca Bigazzi, who has won both the David di Donatello award and the Silver Ribbon award on several occasions and who has worked with Oscar award-winning directors the likes of Paolo Sorrentino, Mario Martone, Gianni Amelio and Silvio Soldini. The video entitled "An Expat in Bruxelles" by Jacopo Di Girolamo was instead selected by the popular jury who expressed their opinion by an on-line vote on the dedicated website between 17th September and 16th October.

After the awards ceremony, an informal get-together was held, moderated by Giovanni Ottonello, Art Director of the European Design Institute (IED), involving the participation of Antonella Bruno, Head of EMEA Lancia Brand, Cristina Marchetti, Workshop Management, the director Silvio Soldini, the director of photography Luca Bigazzi and the director Paolo Borraccetti.

With the "Ypsilon My Stories" project, the Lancia brand confirms its focus on the world of Art and Design, a communication "territory" in which it has proved to be at ease. This is extensively testified by LanciaTrendVisions.com, the scouting website which since 2010 provides visibility to emerging creative talents; indeed, on the one hand, it offers a daily selection of new works by young talents, and on the other it hosts editorials and interviews with established and emerging creative minds, in an active and engaging dialogue.

Indeed, the Lancia TrendVisions web magazine selected the work entitled "Il Giardino delle Rose" (the Garden of Roses) by the young designer Rita Valente exhibited at the 21st edition of "Artissima", an International Contemporary Art Exhibition which saw Lancia participating as Partner for the first time ever. The star of the work is the new Ypsilon Elle, the special series which was only launched a few weeks ago.

For the "Ypsilon My Stories" project, Lancia and OffiCine have selected ten outstanding film-makers from various European countries. The desired qualities? Proven experience in the field, a great deal of curiosity and the ability to express the contemporary world, the city and the Ypsilon with a personal approach.

After an individual interview and a Masterclass in Milan, the chosen directors were set the task of lending creative interpretation to the unique relationship that connects the Ypsilon and urban space. The result is ten highly diverse short films, ten stories in which to discover the unseen faces of the European metropolises and the tales of the people who bring them to life. The Ypsilon is the star with its unique style, its sustainability and the equipment of a higher category like the magic parking.

The ten films were available on the dedicated website, where users who registered between 17th September and 16th October were able to vote for them.  What's more, the winner of a trip for two to one of the wonderful destinations illustrated in the short films was picked out among all the voters: the cities were Vienna, Berlin, Lisbon, Paris, Marseilles, Brussels, London, Milan, Rome or Madrid. What's more, for the entire duration of the contest, Lancia put an instant win €100 Amazon voucher up for grabs every day.

It should also be noted that the OffiCine Workshop boasts names the likes of Paolo Sorrentino and Pierfrancesco Favino, Silvio Soldini, Piera Detassis and Paolo Mereghetti as members of its scientific committee. It is therefore a prestigious concern which   offers multidisciplinary teaching programmes in film- and video-making and organises cultural initiatives, with the aim of bringing a wide and multifarious audience to the world of the cinema.

The chosen location of the awards ceremony is truly special: the charming Fonderia Napoleonica Eugenia. Its history is tied closely to that of the Isola neighbourhood and to the Santa Maria alla Fontana sanctuary. With Napoleon's arrival, it was decided that some of the amenities would be intended to build a bronze foundry, which was entrusted to the Manfredini brothers, who were expert founders and goldsmiths, called back from Paris for the occasion.

The artistic activities of the Fonderia stand out for the significant casting of monuments to Alessandro Manzoni and to Luciano Manara, which are situated in Piazza San Fedele and in the Public Gardens in Milan respectively. In 1896 the foundry completed the casting - which entailed major technical expertise - of the equestrian statue for the monument to Vittorio Emanuele II in Piazza Duomo in Milan, the work of sculptor Ercole Rosa. In the decades that followed, the artistic castings continued, with the creation of countless works of art, intended for both Italy and abroad.

The complex and articulated story of the foundry ended in 1975, the year in which it closed down.
Now the facilities have been turned into a place of work, art and culture used as a venue for exhibitions, events and cultural initiatives.

Turin, 2 December 2014