::: BNL and Cinema :::

Always careful to the opportunities of development of the film industry, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro boasts a unique experience that sets it in a leadership position in the Italian landscape of support for film production. For over 60 years, BNL has represented a valid financial backing for the whole filmmaking industry process: from the phase of ideation, all the way to production, distribution, and fruition, BNL offers competence and experience to favor film development.
In the history of cinema, Banca Nazionale del Lavoro contributed to the experimentation of new forms of production and expression, as well as to the use of innovative technologies for productive, technical, and expressive practices to better respond to the needs of the audience, the filmmakers, and the market.
Thanks to this, cinema has traveled step to step with society, at times even anticipating its progress by presenting new future scenarios. This way, we can say that BNL contributed to the development of Italy's economical and cultural life, participating with its own resources to the realization of many projects.
The important partnership between BNL and the Taormina Arte Committee for the 2004 Taormina BNL FilmFest is part of the three-year vaster cultural project entitled "Roots of the Future - conventions, publishing, exhibitions, conferences and round tables on cinema, music, economy, art" that ends in 2004, when Banca Nazionale del Lavoro celebrates its first ninety years.
Thanks to this important bond, BNL confirms its commitment to support culture, as well as its desire to be present within festivals that can rightly be considered the promoters of new creativity and languages.
In particular, thanks to the contribution of BNL, this year the Sicilian manifestation is enriched with new contents to focus on the emerging cinema through the institution of two new awards for shortfilms in two new official sections. The first section, running for the "BNL Sicilians Award" is reserved to 12 shortcuts selected among authors born or resident in Sicily for at least 5 years. The second section presents 22 shortcuts selected throughout the world and will win the "BNL International Short Film Award". The jury for the evaluation of both sections is of great prestige, presided by Abbas Kiarostami.
This year the festival will be an important moment for young authors and for all those who have something to say, a rendezvous between quality and market, trends and productions of different nationalities.