The feature films Israel, an ancient yet modern country, will be the centre of attention in the cinema section. Films by Israeli directors will help us to better understand this country, so close to Italy: its dreams and hopes for peace. The shorts Young cinema in Israel. Shorts directed or acted by students of Israeli film schools. The awards The "Mediterranean award" will be presented. It was established second year as a mark of public recognition of personal efforts for peace in the Mediterranean. There will also be "Cinema award - A key to understanding". Round table The showing of a film will provide the topic for a round table. Directors, actors, critics and journalists will take part. The logo of the Festival is a key. A simple object that opens doors. Our key opens "new doors" too. It enables us to know and hence "understand". It is the symbol of the awards presented to the winners and a souvenir gift to many of the participants. Dialogue as vehicle of understanding is still today the irreplaceable instrument for peace. Every other initiative has proven to be nothing but a vector of sorrow and death. The Festival, through its many events, continues to promote dialogue. Performances Artists have always been willing to support peace. This year again, at the Pitigliano Film Festival, they will speak out for peace with their music, theatre, movies...

A city of refuge it’s not by chance that Pitigliano was chosen as the site. Located in Tuscan Maremma, an international tourism destination with special interest for Jews, Pitigliano is known as Little Jerusalem because it's one of the most ancient Italian Jewish communities and in the past one of the most populated. The Christian inhabitants of Pitigliano valiantly defended the Jewish community from the attacks of neighboring Tuscan and Umbrian rioters who had already staged many acts of abuse and violence against the Jews. Since the 1500s in fact, Pitigliano has maintained its role as a refuge for Jews, and Biondi closed by saying that the festival commemorates the unique relationship between these two communities. By the 1800s the Jewish population numbered about 275, and then in 1861 when equal rights were granted to the Jews, most Jews left Pitigliano to study and work in the larger cities. From 1938 to 1939 there were still about 60 Jews living in Pitigliano, but with the enforcement of the fascist anti-Semitic laws, the remainder moved to Rome and Florence. Catholics rebuild Little Jerusalem The last Jew born in Pitigliano, Enrico Spizzichini - one of only two Jews living there now, his mother being the other - says that he feels a great responsibility toward rebuilding and preserving the Jewish culture and so he plays an active role in revitalizing this ancient community. The association, The "Little Jerusalem", is open to both Jews and Catholics, as is the tradition in Pitigliano, and it's the latter who largely sustain the association. The village still contains the ancient synagogue that is designated as a historical monument and sometimes used for services by an occasional visiting rabbi. There are also underground rooms and ovens where Passover matzo was baked, the oldest remaining ovens in Italy, and where we find epoch photographs.