The Silicon Festival: Glass Fuses with Cinema in Colle Val d'Elsa

Festival Silicio is the name of the showcase that brings together more than thirty years’ heritage of Cristallo tra le Mura (Glass within the walls) on 23, 24, 25 and 26 September in Colle Val d’Elsa, the Bohemia of Italy. A new face for the annual event that celebrates the artisan production of glass of this wonderful corner of the Valdelsa, a new festival that now aims to be much more: the union between glass and cinema through their shared element, silicon, which lies at the base of both glass and digital cinema technologies. Four days of events not to be missed on the last weekend in September to unite these two fragile yet precious worlds. The showcase will begin on Thursday 23 September at Teatro dei Varii with the handing out of the Microfono di Cristallo prize. The glass workstations will then begin to wind their way around the lovely historic centre of Colle, giving you the chance to discover the wonderful products and admire the artisans at work on all four days, just like the old tradition of Cristallo fra le mura. Along the route there’s a glass blowing furnace and well-equipped workshop for cold working in Vicolo della Misericordia with the moulding and engraving masters; in Piazza Arnolfo there’s the wonderful Persiana di Cristallo (glass blind) by Alessandra Tesi, which will actually be positioned in the square). There’s also the presentation beneath Ponte di San Francesco of the UMoCA installation created by Cai Guo-Quiang, the glass column in Via Oberdan and the various exhibitions of products (in the shops in the town’s main shopping street) and unique pieces in Vicolo della Misericordia, not to be missed, as well as a visit to the glass museum, of course. For cinema-related events, there are the showings run by Mediateca Toscana made by anonymous documentary makers, the Caparbio Film Festival, the presentation of 50 days of international film in Florence for the best Italian short film in HD and the people’s prize for best Italian film in HD. Last but not least, room will also be made for the social aspect with the event devoted to cinema and international cooperation and the European video contest in terms of responsible and sustainable tourism. There are two things that you just cannot miss: one for cinema and one for glass. The preview of the feature film Non c’è tempo per gli eroi (There’s no time for the heros) on Friday 24 September at 10:30 at Teatro dei Varii and on Sunday 26 September at 6 pm in Piazza del Duomo the presentation of the world’s largest crystal glasses, the Consorzio del Cristallo di Colle Val d’Elsa’s attempt to enter the Guinness Book of Records! Enjoy these four days devoted to glass and cinema in Colle Val d’Elsa.

(Portions of this article first appeared in "Toscana & Chianti News")
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