Sicily Web Fest 2018: In Gibellina They Put Smiles On Creators Faces 🤩

How was this 4th edition?

The edition of this year can be considered a new beginning. We succeeded in our goal, the one for which in 2015 I created the Sicily Web Fest: making the digital series and the SWF known to a large audience. At the same time we succeeded in what has always been our unique feature: to immerse the attending authors in the culture of the Sicilian territory. There is certainly still a lot work to do, but we can only be satisfied.

Did creators attend the festival?

Yes, almost everyone was able to attend the award ceremony in Gibellina, one of the most important centres of contemporary art. This goal has been certainly possible also thanks to the Scirocco Wine Fest and its events, but we all also know that a gimmick is always needed to bring people closer to something.

What about the Scirocco Wine Fest, that hosted the Sicily Web Fest this year?

The Scirocco Wine Fest was a successful event. An event far from our reality, but at the same time with a great common interest in promoting of the Sicilian territory. The festival, started on June 28th and ended on July 1st was rich in cultural and culinary initiatives, with the wine as center of everything. The Sicily Web Fest immersed itself in this atmosphere, involving the authors in all the initiatives of the broad Scirocco’s program.

Cast and crew of “Nemausus” (France), winner of The Best Series at SWF 2018

Let’s talk about the 2018 winners: what can you tell us about the winning projects?

Web series are, without a doubt, an existing and important production reality, and they have increased significantly in quality in these recent years. So, it is no longer a surprise to receive high-level series in our festival. This year there was a wide selection and, in the end, the winners are projects from all over the world, with original stories. At the same time, however, the Sicily Web Fest has awarded series that, in one way or another, have made an important contribution to the digital series world.

Are you already thinking to the next edition? Gibellina will be again your location or you plan to come back to Ustica?

We are already working for the next edition, but we still do not know what the destination will be. The Sicily Web Fest will be a travelling festival and will allow the next authors to discover other wonderful places of our Sicily. We’ll find out soon.

Compare the 3 previous editions with this 4th one.

This edition was the first one far from home and, as much as it may be displeasing, it is right that our reality can be experienced in more places. Whatever our past has been and whatever our future will be, we can say that all the staff of Sicily Web Fest have always put its heart and passion in every edition. And this passion has been always transmitted throgh our hospitality and care for the authors who attended the festival. This was, is and always will remain the way we create our festival , regardless of everything.

How much is changed the Sicily Web Fest since 2015?

It has grown and improved year after year. It was born with an idea and some clear objectives, that it is currently pursuing, constantly looking for new ways. The greatest satisfaction is always to hear the authors speak so positively about our webfest. Every day I receive private messages of gratitude for what we have done. And a lot of people define the Sicily Web Fest as a unique festival in the world. I think this is the maximum reward for me and for all the people who work hard every year to create the Sicily Web Fest.

What do you think is/are the main purpose/s of a web fest? Is the SWF reaching it/them?

A festival must be an immersion in a world full of events and possibilities. It must bring knowledge, create networking and, above all, must promote something. As an author, I am very critical about the festivals, even though we have been rewarded by many of them. I always want to emphasize that the Sicily Web Fest is a festival created by authors whom produce at least a series per year and try to offer in their own festival what they would like to find in others. I believe that the true purpose of the festivals, now, should be to make the web series known to the general public. There are some festivals that offer a broad comparison between the authors involved and this, if it’s well organized, can certainly be constructive. But the authors are not the spectators of themselves and I think it is therefore necessary to create an audience.

Riccardo Cannella – Founder and Director of the SWF

So, this Sicily Web Fest was kind of an experimental edition, which however respected the Sicily Web Fest’s main purposes: support and promote web series and their creators, making general public to discover them and to discover also all the nuances of the Sicilian territory. And now, what’s next? Find out all the winners here below, follow the festival on its social networks to stay updated and… See you next year! Somewhere, under the sun of Sicily at the Sicily Web Fest 2019.

Would you like to go back to the past editions of the  Sicily Web Fest? Read our past articles!

• Sicily Web Fest 2017 – the 3rd edition brought web series to the people: “You made me discover a new world”
• Sicily Web Fest 2016: tre giorni di magia webseriale [ITALIAN ARTICLE]

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SICILY WEB FEST SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

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• Author Details

Author Details

Chiara Bressa

[email protected]