Vertical Talent 2026 - Powered by Canon | Vertical Film Call
TECHNICAL PARTNER
If you live in Italy, this is your opportunity.
Section reserved for authors residing in Italy, regardless of their nationality.
A unique opportunity to transform a project or an idea into a real work,
supported by industry professionals and by the power of the most advanced technologies.
Vertical Talent – Powered by Canon: ecco i cinque progetti che gireranno con la Canon EOS C50
Si è conclusa la selezione di Vertical Talent – Powered by Canon, la sezione del VerticalMovie Festival dedicata ai nuovi progetti di cinema verticale. Tra i venticinque finalisti, la giuria ha individuato i cinque progetti che riceveranno in comodato d’uso una videocamera Canon EOS C50 per realizzare la propria opera.
I cinque progetti selezionati sono:
- HYPE di Valerio Maria Sessa
- LUCIANO E CELESTE di Domenico Gazzo
- IL VUOTO NEL MURO di Franco Bertini
- CIUCCIO di Emanuele Matera
- A DOMANI di Chiara Bertini
La selezione, di livello particolarmente alto, ha premiato progetti capaci di coniugare forza narrativa e piena realizzabilità con la strumentazione messa a disposizione. A tutti gli autori vanno i complimenti del Festival, con l’augurio di un buon lavoro: le opere realizzate saranno al centro della IX edizione del VerticalMovie Festival, in programma dal 29 settembre al 1° ottobre 2026 alla Casa del Cinema di Roma.
CANON EOS C50
What you concretely get
The 5 selected authors will receive a Canon EOS C50, complete with lens and battery, on a free loan basis: everything needed to shoot their film without having to bear any equipment costs.
The camera is available for a maximum of 3 consecutive days, to be scheduled within the period from July 1 to August 31, 2026 (excluding the period from August 7 to August 16). Filming must take place in Italy, in 9:16 vertical format, with a maximum short film duration of 10 minutes (excluding end credits).
The short film produced will be automatically entered into future editions of the VerticalMovie Festival — with no additional submission required and no entry fees.
FROM TRAINING TO PRODUCTION
The Vertical Talent – Powered by Canon program was created to support emerging authors in developing a vertical audiovisual project.
A selection of 25 projects will gain access to an exclusive online masterclass focused on vertical video language and the professional use of the camera Canon EOS C50.
Il percorso formativo sarà realizzato insieme a Canon, partner tecnico del festival, e guidato da Paolo Ferrari Direttore della Fotografia e David Metalli Senior Product Business Developer Canon Italia.
THE VERTICAL FORMAT
THE MASTERCLASS
On 7 July 2026, at 7:00 PM, streaming live on Zoom from the INFORMASISTEMI studios, Vertical Talent hosts a masterclass on cinematography. Paolo Ferrari, director of photography, will explore the role of light and image in cinematic language. He will be followed by David Metalli, Canon expert, who will present the technical features of the Canon EOS C50, the camera at the heart of the Vertical Talent programme. An encounter that brings together authorial vision and the tool to achieve it.
PAOLO FERRARI
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Paolo Ferrari is among the first in Italy to experiment, since 1998, with digital camera techniques applied to the language of cinema and light. Trained in the school of Vittorio Storaro, he has collaborated with some of the most important auteurs of Italian cinema — including Bernardo and Giuseppe Bertolucci, Marco Bellocchio, Mimmo Calopresti and Michele Pennetta — serving as director of photography on over sixty documentaries and feature films.
His filmography has earned him numerous awards for cinematography, from the Lecce European Film Festival to the Valencia Film Festival, as well as the A.I.C. Award. In 2013, together with Carmine Amoroso and Patrizia Zoratti, he co-founded the independent production company Zutfilm, producing Porno & Freedom (winner of the 2017 Nastro d’Argento and distributed in more than thirty countries), Happy Winter (screened at the 74th Venice International Film Festival), and Drive Me Home. In 2021, he served as Director of Photography for Il mio corpo (My Body) by Michele Pennetta, which won the SIMA Award in Los Angeles and was selected for Camerimage.
DAVID METALLI
SENIOR PRODUCT BUSINESS DEVELOPER – CANON ITALIA
Senior Product Business Developer – Canon Italia – Imaging Technologies & Communication Group
He has worked for many years in the field of digital imaging, with a particular focus on professional audiovisual production and digital cinema.
E’ coinvolto nella diffusione e divulgazione delle soluzioni imaging avanzate dell’ecosistema Canon, dalle videocamere Cinema EOS alle tecnologie PTZ per produzioni multi-camera.
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THE PROJECT
Cos’è un progetto: nessuna barriera, solo idee
To participate in Vertical Talent, it is not necessary to submit a completed work. The project may take any form capable of communicating an idea: a narrative story concept, a screenplay, a treatment describing the creative vision, or even a video draft filmed simply with a smartphone.
Ciò che conta non è la perfezione tecnica, ma la chiarezza dell’intenzione creativa e la capacità del formato verticale di diventare una scelta espressiva consapevole. Vertical Talent è pensato per autori che hanno qualcosa da raccontare e cercano gli strumenti per farlo — non per chi ha già tutto.
COMPOSE YOUR SHOT
PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS
- Submission open: April 26, 2026
- Project submission deadline June 30, 2026
- Equipment usage duration: up to 3 days
- Production period: from July 1 to August 31, 2026
- Exclusion period: from 7 to August 16, 2026 (inclusive)
- Delivery of completed short films: by September 29, 2026
- Shooting location: Italian territory
- Schedule: to be defined in agreement with the organization
- Important note: the equipment is provided under a completely free loan agreement, with no costs for the participants, and exclusively for the production of the short film.
SET UP YOUR SHOOT
A STEP INTO THE FUTURE
Vertical Talent is not just training: but an immersive experience that offers real production conditions, providing professional tools, practical skills, and opportunities for visibility.
An opportunity to experiment, grow, and take your vertical vision to a professional level.
As this is an out-of-competition section, no awards will be granted.