Busy day for MASO during the Industry Day of the Bolzano Film Festival Bozen (BFFB). Everything revolved around the short film: the second production workshop and the pitch for the participants of MASO#2, as well as the launch of MASO#3.
From April 7th to 13th, 2026, the second workshop as part of MASO#2 took place at the ZeLIG film school in Bolzano. The focus was on production, continuing the work on the short film projects that had already begun in Norway during the first workshop on script development. During the MASO Industry Day, on April 14th, the participants had the opportunity to present their ideas to an audience of experts from the audiovisual industry. Among the participating projects is "Still," a short film from South Tyrol by author/director Gabriele Fusaro and producer Francesco Biscaglia.
MASO#3
On April 14th, the official launch for MASO#3 took place at the Filmclub Bolzano. This is now the third edition of the Short Film Training Programme, in which 18 participants can take part to turn their short film ideas into reality with professional guidance: interested parties have until June 30th to apply for the programme. The third edition is under the artistic direction of Zsuzsanna Kiràly. With a degree in communication studies, she was head of the development department at Komplizen Film Berlin and has been producing artistic feature and documentary films with her own production company, Flaneur Films, since 2017. She also teaches at various film schools and universities.
What is MASO?
At MASO – Short Film Training Programme – up to nine creative teams (18 participants in total) are given the opportunity to realize their short film project under the guidance of international experts. An advisory board of international short film experts selects the participants. The third edition of MASO is kicking off this year.
The project is funded and organized by the IDM Film & Music Commission Südtirol and the Bolzano Film Festival Bozen, and supported by the Departments of German, Italian, and Ladin Culture of the Autonomous Province of Bozen/Bolzano. In addition, there is collaboration with the ZeLIG film school, PFX Italy, and the Centro Nazionale del Cortometraggio, as well as numerous international partnerships, such as with FilmCamp Norway, where the first workshop takes place.
How MASO works:
- In the first phase of MASO, the Open Call, creative duos consisting of a writer/director and a producer can submit their concept for a short film.
- In the next phase, the selected creative teams work on their projects from development to production. Internationally renowned experts accompany the process throughout two workshops and several mentoring sessions.
- Furthermore, the teams are supported in developing a financing plan, and they receive professional advice in all phases of their project, while exchanging ideas and networking with the other participants.
- Once the second workshop is over, they have the opportunity to pitch their short film projects to an audience of industry professionals during the Industry Days of the Bolzano Film Festival Bozen.