The jury will assign the Lorenzo Vecchio Award to the best film of the International Competition.

SEBASTIANO RISO – President of the Jury

Born in Catania in 1983, Sebastiano Riso graduated in Cinema and Television Art from the Free International Academy of Fine Arts in Rome and gained a Masters in Film Criticism from the French Embassy for “Cahiers du cinema”.  In 2007 he made his debut as an assistant director for the film “I Viceré”,  directed by R. Faenza and based on the novel by F. De Roberto. The film won a number of awards: 4 David di Donatello, 2 Globi d’Oro, 2 Nastri d’argento.
From 2007 to 2014 he wrote and directed several short films (“Free Flay”, set in an Alitalia flight simulator; “Uccal’amma”, selected by many prestigious festivals).
He continued his professional training by collaborating, as an assistant director to fictions that achieved great public success, such as “Il bambino della domenica”, broadcasted on Rai TV.
In 2014 he directed his debut feature film, “Più buio di mezzanotte”; starring D. Capone, V. Amato, M. Guerritore and M. Ramazzotti. The film was presented  in competition at the Semaine de la Critique at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.
In 2017 he directed his second feature film, “Una famiglia”, starring M. Ramazzotti, P. Bruel and F. Cerlino. The film was in competition at the 74th edition of the Venice Film Festival. It deals with the delicate subject of the lack of legislation allowing homosexual couples to adopt a child.
In 2021, shooting is scheduled for “Audrey La Mer”, the story of a friendship between two outcasts during the Nazi occupation of Rome in 1943, and the series “Paradiso Perduto”, a thriller set on the backstage of Non è la Rai. Riso will also be involved in a consultancy for the American series “Django”

DAVID COCO

He graduated from the School of Dramatic Art of Teatro Stabile in Catania and alternated theatre, television and cinema work. In 1997 he met Dario Fo, who directed him in “Il Diavolo con le zinne”, starring Giorgio Albertazzi and Franca Rame. In 2001 he gained the Domenico Danzuso Award (Prose) interpreting the role of Leonardo Barini in Brancati’s “Gli anni perduti”, directed by Walter Pagliaro. 
Directed by Paolo Benvenuti in the feature film “Segreti di Stato”, in 2003 he received a special mention from the jury at “Marcello Mastroianni Award – new artists of Italian cinema” for his interpretation of Gaspare Pisciotta. In 2007 he won the award for best leading actor at the Annecy, Bastia and Grenoble festivals for his performance as Leonardo Vitale in the film “L’uomo di vetro” by Stefano Incerti.
In his career he has played real characters several times. In addition to the already mentioned Pisciotta and Vitale: Pio La Torre in ”Placido Rizzotto”; Ninni Cassarà in ”Giovanni Falcone, l’uomo che sfidò Cosa Nostra”; Bernardo Provenzano in ”L’ultimo dei Corleonesi” and Leoluca Bagarella in ”Il Cacciatore”, a TV series aired on Rai 2 which has received considerable critical and public acclaim. 
In “Il delitto Mattarella”, a film directed by Aurelio Grimaldi, he plays Piersanti Mattarella, the President of Sicily who was assassinated on 6 January 1980.

DENISE SARDISCO

Originating from Monreale, after practising dance for several years she made her theatre debut with “Don Gesualdo e la ballerina” at the age of 14. Feeling the need to express this vocation, she moved to Rome after finishing the Linguistic secondary school. She studied acting with Gisella Burinato, Filippo Gili and Stefania De Santis. In 2015 she played Emma in Harold Pinter’s “Tradimenti”, directed by Saverio Deodato. The following year, alongside Miriana Minichino, she played the double role of actress and director of the performance “IO, un tour teatrale indipendente”.
Her debut on TV took place in 2017 with “Prima che la notte”, directed by Daniele Vicari, and in 2018 she starred in “Carlo & Malik”, directed by Marco Pontecorvo.
In 2019 the director Pietro Marcello chose her for the role of Margherita in “Martin Eden”, his feature film in competition at the 76th Venice Film Festival. She also starred in “Il Primo Natale”, directed by the comedy duo Ficarra e Picone, and gained a nomination “Italian Excellence Award – Film Industry”, sponsored by Sinergitaly, an association focused on promoting the best Italian talents around the world.
Next, she interpreted Maria Majorana, the protagonist of “La Particella Fantasma”, directed by William Lombardo.

Magma 2020 is made possible with the support of Regione Siciliana and Acireale Town Council, and also with the help of sponsors (Costarelli, De Simone, MCA Group), partners and other organisations working in close connection with our festival.

This year the short films will be streamed on the digital platform STREAMCULT.

To create an account –> https://www.streamcult.it/register/ 

To access –> https://www.streamcult.it/login/ 

To watch the screenings –> https://www.streamcult.it/streaming/  

The jury will assign the Lorenzo Vecchio Award to the best film of the International Competition.

SEBASTIANO RISO – President of the Jury

Born in Catania in 1983, Sebastiano Riso graduated in Cinema and Television Art from the Free International Academy of Fine Arts in Rome and gained a Masters in Film Criticism from the French Embassy for “Cahiers du cinema”.  In 2007 he made his debut as an assistant director for the film “I Viceré”,  directed by R. Faenza and based on the novel by F. De Roberto. The film won a number of awards: 4 David di Donatello, 2 Globi d’Oro, 2 Nastri d’argento.
From 2007 to 2014 he wrote and directed several short films (“Free Flay”, set in an Alitalia flight simulator; “Uccal’amma”, selected by many prestigious festivals).
He continued his professional training by collaborating, as an assistant director to fictions that achieved great public success, such as “Il bambino della domenica”, broadcasted on Rai TV.
In 2014 he directed his debut feature film, “Più buio di mezzanotte”; starring D. Capone, V. Amato, M. Guerritore and M. Ramazzotti. The film was presented in competition at the Semaine de la Critique at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.
In 2017 he directed his second feature film, “Una famiglia”, starring M. Ramazzotti, P. Bruel and F. Cerlino. The film was in competition at the 74th edition of the Venice Film Festival. It deals with the delicate subject of the lack of legislation allowing homosexual couples to adopt a child.
In 2021, shooting is scheduled for “Audrey La Mer”, the story of a friendship between two outcasts during the Nazi occupation of Rome in 1943, and the series “Paradiso Perduto”, a thriller set on the backstage of Non è la Rai. Riso will also be involved in a consultancy for the American series “Django”

DAVID COCO

He graduated from the School of Dramatic Art of Teatro Stabile in Catania and alternated theatre, television and cinema work. In 1997 he met Dario Fo, who directed him in “Il Diavolo con le zinne”, starring Giorgio Albertazzi and Franca Rame. In 2001 he gained the Domenico Danzuso Award (Prose) interpreting the role of Leonardo Barini in Brancati’s “Gli anni perduti”, directed by Walter Pagliaro. 
Directed by Paolo Benvenuti in the feature film “Segreti di Stato”, in 2003 he received a special mention from the jury at “Marcello Mastroianni Award – new artists of Italian cinema” for his interpretation of Gaspare Pisciotta. In 2007 he won the award for best leading actor at the Annecy, Bastia and Grenoble festivals for his performance as Leonardo Vitale in the film “L’uomo di vetro” by Stefano Incerti.
In his career he has played real characters several times. In addition to the already mentioned Pisciotta and Vitale: Pio La Torre in ”Placido Rizzotto”; Ninni Cassarà in ”Giovanni Falcone, l’uomo che sfidò Cosa Nostra”; Bernardo Provenzano in ”L’ultimo dei Corleonesi” and Leoluca Bagarella in ”Il Cacciatore”, a TV series aired on Rai 2 which has received considerable critical and public acclaim. 
In “Il delitto Mattarella”, a film directed by Aurelio Grimaldi, he plays Piersanti Mattarella, the President of Sicily who was assassinated on 6 January 1980.

DENISE SARDISCO

Originating from Monreale, after practising dance for several years she made her theatre debut with “Don Gesualdo e la ballerina” at the age of 14. Feeling the need to express this vocation, she moved to Rome after finishing the Linguistic secondary school. She studied acting with Gisella Burinato, Filippo Gili and Stefania De Santis. In 2015 she played Emma in Harold Pinter’s “Tradimenti”, directed by Saverio Deodato. The following year, alongside Miriana Minichino, she played the double role of actress and director of the performance “IO, un tour teatrale indipendente”.
Her debut on TV took place in 2017 with “Prima che la notte”, directed by Daniele Vicari, and in 2018 she starred in “Carlo & Malik”, directed by Marco Pontecorvo.
In 2019 the director Pietro Marcello chose her for the role of Margherita in “Martin Eden”, his feature film in competition at the 76th Venice Film Festival. She also starred in “Il Primo Natale”, directed by the comedy duo Ficarra e Picone, and gained a nomination “Italian Excellence Award – Film Industry”, sponsored by Sinergitaly, an association focused on promoting the best Italian talents around the world.
Next, she interpreted Maria Majorana, the protagonist of “La Particella Fantasma”, directed by William Lombardo.

Magma 2020 is made possible with the support of Regione Siciliana and Acireale Town Council, and also with the help of sponsors (Costarelli, De Simone, MCA Group), partners and other organisations working in close connection with our festival.

This year the short films will be streamed on the digital platform STREAMCULT.

To create an account –> https://www.streamcult.it/register/ 

To access –> https://www.streamcult.it/login/ 

To watch the screenings –> https://www.streamcult.it/streaming/