The GFF was born in 1971 from a Claudio Gubitosi idea that is to promote and allow cinema for youngsters to develop, elevating it from a niche and marginal position to a respectful, competitive and quality genre.
"Of all the festivals, the Giffoni Film Festival is the most necessary one". This is the final sentence of a letter signed by François Truffaut which has become an important heritage with reference to his visit to the GFF in 1982.
There are two fundamental characteristics that make the GFF "concept" one of a kind:
- a Jury composed solely of youngsters
- Its setting: the little village named Giffoni Valle Piana.
In the process the number of the jurors has grown to 1500 units, whilst the countries participating in the event are now 30, from all the continents of the world. The jurors' age ranges from 6 to 19. They are divided into 4 different sections in accordance to their age. Their task is to: watch, judge, discuss, vote for the films in competition, with no interference by adults.
Robert De Niro, Oliver Stone, Meryl Streep, Jeremy Irons, Jean Jaques Annaud, Wim Wenders, Ben Kingsley, Kathy Bates, Krzystof Kieslowsky, Ray Liotta among the many International stars who have attended the GFF over its 36 editions, together with the most important Italian filmmakers and actors.
The GFF phenomena is most of all characterised by the choice of the films, the final act of an evaluation process directed towards the world of cinema for young people. The issues dealt with during the festival are always important and sometimes thought provoking and are always the centre of the Q&A sessions following the movies.
Each and every film screened at the GFF is a guarantee of quality and respect for an audience of teenagers and families.
For over ten years the GFF has affirmed itself as a quality festival but also as an efficient "cultural industry" employing tens of youngsters full time and organising events all year round. 180.000 students have visited Giffoni in 10 years for the Movie Days project.
Since four years ago the GFF has created a network of festivals in the world (Giffoni World Alliance) which, thanks to the use of the GFF format, has been able to spread worldwide great quality cinema for young people.
Film productions with schools, theatre, music, cultural events, publishing: the inimitable GFF brand goes beyond the borders of cinema.