Fashion film festival Milan 2023:9 short films to watch in streaming

The founder of the Milan Fashion film festival Constanza Etro talks about the "For green" category, dedicated to fashion that is reconciled with the Planet.

• The ninth edition of the Fashion film festival Milan begins from 12 to 19 June, an event that makes over 270 fashion films from all over the world available to the public in free streaming.At the same time, it organizes special screenings in person and, from this year, even in the metaverse.
• The festival has always paid special attention to short films that address issues related to sustainability, the environment, rights, sustainable and responsible fashion.
• We have selected 9 fashion films from the "Fashion film festival Milano for green" category together with the founder of the festival Constanza Etro.Category winners will be announced on June 19.

There are those who show an ancestral dance inspired by Brazilian capoeira to talk about borders.Others focus entirely on a glossy aesthetic that recalls, to criticize, that of fashion magazines and advertisements.Still others are inspired by the world of science fiction.All are, in reality, gods fashion short films selected for the sustainability category of the Fashion film festival Milan, now in its ninth edition thanks to his tenacity founder Constanza Etro (wife of Kean Etro, creative director of the men's line of the Etro brand).“Since 2015 we have wanted an ad hoc selection that paid attention to environmental issues, rights and sustainable fashion”, declares the founder of the festival.At the bottom of this article we have chosen with her the 9 most significant short films in the category Fashion film festival Milan for green.These nine, like the over 270 selected this year, can be viewed for free online from 12 to 19 June (the winners of all categories, including the "for green" one, will be announced on 19 June).

Fashion film festival Milan:what is a fashion film?

“For those who are not familiar with this form of film, I would like to point out that it is a fashion film a true cinematic art form, not an advertising video, although sometimes fashion brands are involved", underlines Etro, "it has a direction, a script, focuses everything on emotion and can include other art forms, such as dance or music.Fashion films tend to have a maximum duration of 15 minutes and there are no limits to expressive or technical means.They can also be shot with a smartphone."Most of those selected from around the world by FFF Milan last from 30 seconds to 7-8 minutes.“The role of fashion in the film is variable, sometimes there is a brand, sometimes a designer is involved, sometimes it is styling work.Surely aesthetics are fundamental and the story must be connected to fashion in some way”, continues Constanza Etro.

A platform with no access costs

The spirit of the Fashion Film Festival Milano has always been that of "the big helps the small", as Etro explains.That is, the important names in fashion and cinema who participate in the jury (over the years Giorgio Armani, Pierpaolo Piccioli, Luca Guadagnino have been presidents) serve to give visibility to young creatives, directors, art directors from all over the world who have a great opportunity to show themselves to the world from the Milanese square that the festival makes available to them.“For this reason, unlike other festivals, We do not ask for a registration fee to submit your fashion film for selection, we watch them all", underlines Etro, "nor do we ask for an entrance ticket for in-person events and feature film previews, which we prefer to organize in collaboration with schools to involve young students".

This year, among the special events, a screening of the Slay movie, out of competition, a documentary that investigates the world of animal materials in fashion and their impact on the planet and on people.Present at the screening will be Emma Hakansson, also a member of the 2023 jury, who founded the non-governmental organization Collective Fashion Justice.In previous editions, films such as River Blue, which shows the growing pollution of rivers by the textile industry, have passed through the festival.

From Iran to Italy, creativity at the service of responsible fashion

Among those selected this year in the "for green" category there is also the Iranian filmmaker Anahita Sahar Babaei, who created the dreamlike short with a flashy aesthetic Born to stay to tell our relationship with plastic:“Plastic for me serves as a symbol of detachment from the environment and our psychological way of dealing with our mistakes.It all starts with a seemingly innocent and naive consumer mentality, but evolves into an age where we turn a blind eye to the repercussions of our actions, thus perpetuating a devastating problem that we choose to sweep under the rug of nature, especially the ocean, instead of taking responsibility and looking for the solution.The fashion industry, like any system that is unable to adapt to the passage of time, is destined to collapse.Perhaps what fashion needs today is not just a small adjustment, but a real revolution."

Nature, however, is the absolute protagonist of the film Reconnecting:a voyage through nature and fashion by Virginia Brancaccio, Nicolò Quartarulli, Xin Alessandro Zheng, a trio of former students of the Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan.“Fashion is passion, life, choice, it's politics”, states Brancaccio on behalf of everyone, “we selected the costumes with the stylist Martina Noto as an allegory of the weight by which the protagonist is crushed.What we would like to contribute to spreading is a culture of ethical fashion and environmental responsibility.Environmentalism can no longer remain just a "subculture" and sustainability a choice reserved for a few, because the truth is that it is no longer a choice but an obligation.What creatives can do is bring skills and talents into play to stimulate reflection and action in those who are not yet aware of practicing sustainability".

Selection of 9 fashion films “Fashion film festival Milano for green” 2023

1.HER:A Disintegrated Notion by Sikhanyisiwe Sebata

Created by a multifaceted and award-winning director, this film aims to bring to light the true story of an everyday Zimbabwean woman.Supported by Accountability Lab.

To see it click here.

2.Yet we continue to flourish at Wundercamera Lab

“And yet we continue to flourish” is a line from a poem that tells of the power and strength of nature and flowers.The film is an imaginary journey from Parma (the city where the independent brand Wundercamera Lab was born) to Pyongyang, during which flowers bring rebirth and change.

To see it click here.

3.Born to Stay by Anahita Sahar Babaei

This short is a dark comedy that reflects the self-destruction of human beings under the name of modernism.The narrative tells a superficial love story between a careless girl and a plastic lover.A relationship that will soon be our downfall, because plastic was born to stay.

To see it click here.

4.Pay Later by Clara Bricard, Irene Lema, Leonard Rokita

A critical film that investigates our fashion consumption habits.At the center is a textile industry that multiplies its platforms and offers virtual trends and digital-only clothes to buy.Inspired by the fairy tale "The Emperor's New Clothes" by Hans-Christian Andersen.

To see it click here.

5.Save the Future by Barbara Fedez

A 1990s thriller reminds us that the end of the world is just a few days away and that the only option left is to bury ourselves.Through contemporary dance, we will listen to a love letter to what pollutes our bodies and therefore our souls.Among the costumes, two sustainable brands:Bukit & Soul and KUMI Sneakers.

To see it click here.

6.Terra Cene by Nono Ayuso, Rodrigo Inada

This film is a reminder of things past and an observation of the interconnected nature of time on Earth.Through a carefully crafted narrative that unfolds between past time, present time and future time, Terra Cene urgently asks:who and what will remain to remember?“Terra Cene” conveys a message of hope, reminding us of our duty to preserve the beauty of life on Earth.

To see it click here.

 7. Reconnecting:A Voyage through Nature and Fashion by Virginia Brancaccio, Nicolò Quartarulli, Xin Alessandro Zheng

The short is a visual metaphor of the path of awareness that man must undertake to combat the environmental impact of the fashion industry on the planet.The protagonist experiences a journey of primordial reconnection with nature, going through various phases, from the bubble in which she is initially trapped, in the sleep of reason, up to the gradual reunion with herself and the surrounding environment.

To see it click here.

8.Soguem (Salt) by Furqat Davlatyorov

Sea salt produced in the sea of ​​Korea, especially from Sinan Begumdo, is known for its purity.After holding the sea water, the sky and people work together and slowly create salt.The bag containing the salt can carry up to 900 kilograms.Unfortunately, this robust material is only used once and discarded completely due to logistics costs.The collaboration began with the fashion brand Darcygom, which transformed these salt bags into clothes or accessories.

To see it click here.

9.Throat by Vitoria de Mello Franco, Ian Cheibub, Marina Zabenzi for Saskia Lenaerts

Filmed in Brazil, the short aims to shed new perspectives on transnationalism, exploring and expanding the limits of territory and personal space compared to the collective one.Aware of how politically significant the act of crossing a border has become, it asks us to look beyond and imagine the possibilities that arise from intercultural lifestyles.With the participation of the Saskia Lenaerts brand.

To see it click here.