Next month, for the tenth year in a row, the Villa degli Autori will play host to European youngsters who are passionate about cinema. 28 Times Cinema is set to unspool once again thanks to the partnership between the LUX Film Prize, Europa Cinemas and the Giornate degli Autori, which, with the support of Cineuropa, are bringing 28 young cinephiles to Venice, each representing one European country.

Since 2010, the 28 Times Cinema programme has encouraged the development of a community of young Europeans who can bond over a shared passion for cinema. This year, the participants have been selected from among over 200 applicants – representing 60 cinemas and cultural institutions across Europe that are part of the Europa Cinemas network.

These 28 strangers, all aged between 18 and 25, will meet in Venice for the first time, where they will spend two weeks together, breathing in the heady atmosphere of a leading international film festival. Here they will serve as members of the jury tasked with handing out the GdA Director's Award (€20,000). During the festival, they will also report on the films and events through articles set to be published on Cineuropa's 28 Times Cinema blog.

After the festival, their journey will continue back home, where they will become ambassadors for the LUX Film Prize, helping to promote the three films from its Official Selection in their local territories.

The participants are:

Lea Rizzi Ladinser (Filmcasino, Vienna, Austria) (read more)
Evelien Van Houdt (Cinéma Aventure, Brussels, Belgium) (more)
Mladen Pechevski (Dom na Kinoto, Sofia, Bulgaria) (more)
Christina Andreou (Rialto, Limassol, Cyprus) (more)
Beata Mrazíková (Svetozor, Prague, Czech Republic) (more)
David Gašo (Urania, Osijek, Croatia) (more)
Sinead Shahrzad (Grandteatret, Copenhagen, Denmark) (more)
Henri Särekanno (Kino Sõprus, Tallinn, Estonia) (more)
Rosa Id (Kino Iiris, Lahti, Finland) (more)
Victor Courgeon (Luminor, Paris, France) (more)
Kareem Baholzer (York Kino, Berlin, Germany) (more)
Nikoletta Vaxevani (Mikrokosmos, Athens, Greece) (more)
Anna Járai (Budapest Film, Budapest, Hungary) (more)
Stephen Porzio (IFI, Dublin, Ireland) (more)
Denis Ripamonti (Anteo Palazzo del Cinema, Milano, Italy) (more)
Marta Kraujina (Kino Bize, Riga, Latvia) (more)
Martynas Kliučininkas (Skalvija, Vilnius, Lithuania) (more)
Emile Simon (Utopia, Luxembourg, Luxembourg) (more)
Mark Farrugia (Spazju Kreattiv, Valletta, Malta) (more)
Joël Audenaerde (Kino Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands) (more)
Natalia Ryba (Kino Pod Baranami, Krakow, Poland) (more)
Alexandra Guimarães (Trindade, Porto, Portugal) (more)
Maria Salomia (Elvire Popesco, Bucharest, Romania) (more)
Nikola Čabáková (Kino Úsmev, Košice, Slovakia) (more)
Gregor Rihtaršič (Kinodvor, Ljubljana, Slovenia) (more)
Pau Vall Capdet (Zumzeig, Barcelona, Spain) (more)
Amanda Feldin Hjert (Zita, Stockholm, Sweden) (more)
Yvonne Shelling (Barbican Cinema, London, United Kingdom) (more)