The workshop is open to a maximum of 25 participants, selected via application, drawn from leading Italian film schools and university film departments with a practical focus (i.e. Zelig Bolzano, CSC Palermo, NABA Milan, Scuola Civica Luchino Visconti Milan, Scuola Nazionale Florence), as well as select institutions in neighboring regions (CISA Locarno).

The program is designed to guide students and young filmmakers beyond the sheltered environment of the classroom, deepening their understanding of the dynamics governing the documentary world, with the aim of developing new skills and facilitating their entry into the professional world.

This two-day workshop (November 3–4, 2026) is organized in collaboration with Cineuropa and draws inspiration from the GoCritic! training model, which focuses on a feminist approach to film history, theory, and criticism.

The workshop will take a practical approach: participants will acquire tools for critical analysis, complete a series of exercises, and write a critical piece. Selected texts produced during the workshop will be published on the “Another Story” and “Cineuropa” websites.

Participants will explore historical and contemporary documentaries from a feminist perspective, focusing on female directors featured in the “Another Story” catalogue and of the 67th Festival dei Popoli official programme. The sessions will examine the language used to write about cinema (films, filmmakers, history), aiming to identify and challenge established patterns as well as cultural and linguistic gaps.

The workshop is open to participants with any level of experience in film criticism and writing—from beginners to active professionals.

The sessions will be led by film critic Veronica Orciari, who studied filmmaking at the MetFilm School in London and film criticism at the "Sentieri Selvaggi" school in Rome. She writes for “Cineuropa”, “The Animation Journal”, “Licensing Magazine”, and “Filmexplorer”. She is an editor, contributor, and translator for the English-language edition of “Cinecittà News” and serves on the programming team for the Torino Film Festival. She also writes for “Directors Notes” and hosts “Deep Media Pulse”, a video podcast dedicated to cross-media and transmedia storytelling. Her online collaborations include “Modern Times Review”, “postPerspective”, and “Horror Movie Blog”. Additionally, she creates independent short films.

Building on the long-standing tradition linking modern documentary cinema with ethnographic practice—a tradition exemplified by the Festival dei Popoli, the world’s oldest festival of its kind, which counts filmmaker Jean Rouch among its founders—the “Visual Anthropology” study group is organizing in-depth sessions for selected films in the 67th Festival dei Popoli’s official program. These sessions will be led by anthropologists who teach in the University of Siena’s Master’s degree program in Anthropology of Contemporaneity.

The 2026 edition also features a particularly significant event: the presentation of Black Lions – Roman Wolves by Ethiopian filmmaker Haile Gerima (Ethiopia/USA | 2026 | 531’). This five-part film reconstructs the history of the Ethiopian resistance against the Italian invasion through key testimonies and extensive archival footage, challenging colonial gazes and perspectives.

As a guest of the 67th Festival dei Popoli, Haile Gerima will conduct a masterclass open to participants of the workshop.

How do you turn a large amount of footage, archival material, interviews and location sound into a solid and compelling dramatic structure? Reality Doesn’t Exist, It’s Edited is an intensive five-day workshop dedicated to the art and techniques of editing in contemporary documentary filmmaking.

The programme combines hands-on editing sessions using DaVinci Resolve Studio, analysis and practical exercises based on footage from the documentary El Número Nueve – Omar Gabriel Batistuta, as well as opportunities for in-depth discussion and exchange with industry professionals.

The course has a total duration of 40 hours and is open to a maximum of 12 participants aged 18 or over. Applicants must hold an upper secondary school diploma or a technical vocational qualification. International participants are required to have at least B1-level proficiency in Italian; a good command of English is also recommended.

The course will take place from 2 to 6 November 2026, between Manifatture Digitali Cinema in Prato and the venues of the 67th Festival dei Popoli in Florence.

APPLICATIONS
Applications must be submitted no later than 19 October 2026. To apply, please send the completed application form to iscrizioni@manifatturedigitalicinema.it. Participants will be selected until all available places have been filled, up to a maximum of 12, provided they meet the eligibility requirements.

Information:
Manifatture Digitali Cinema
Tel. +39 0574 20953
iscrizioni@manifatturedigitalicinema.it
Course information and application

The course is entirely free of charge, as it is funded by the European Social Fund Plus 2021–2027, within the framework of the Manifatture Digitali Cinema – POR FSE+ 2021–2027 project, pursuant to Regional Government Resolution No. 682 of 03/06/2024 and Executive Decree No. 22423 of 04/10/2024. Training Agency: Fondazione Sistema Toscana (Executive Decree No. 20945 of 18/09/2024, accreditation code OF0395).