| Christian Tommasini Vice President of the Province of Bolzano |
 |
| Sabina Kasslatter Mur City of Bolzano Council Member, Chair of the Professional Training and German Culture Committe |
 |
Our aim is to provide professional training for active and aware citizens in a plurilinguistic geographical area. We want to give everyone the tools they need to play an active role in our area’s autonomy. We support development projects that focus on people’s individual passions and talents, and create spaces for their expression and opportunities for working together. Our efforts especially target young people. ZeLIG is a prime example, providing students of new media with an extraordinary training experience based on optimum professional knowhow and over two decades of dedication, in the making of tomorrow’s documentary film directors, editors and camera operators. Our financial support of ZeLIG reflects our determination to see an increasingly important role for the professional training sector as a means for personal growth and qualification.
Vice President of the Province of Bolzano
Councilor for Housing Construction, Culture, Education and Professional Training in Italian Language Sections
Today’s world is mostly based on a visual perspective. Images in motion, whether at the movies or on TV, for entertainment purposes or outlets such as videogames. We get the lion’s share of our information from television and the Internet, while the services offered by print media are often lacking in iconic components. For a huge segment of the public, documentary films – offering a visual format that blends entertainment and information – represent the best way to get in touch and stay in touch with the world. Making documentary films that work requires special skills. Documentary filmmakers must know how to win over heterogeneous audiences and provide clear insight into specific themes, while, if possible, underscoring and transmitting a critical attitude. The ZeLIG School for Documentary, Television and New Media has taken on the task of transmitting these skills to aspiring documentary makers, and has been doing so since 2001. Prior to its focus on documentary films, ZeLIG offered more generalized training in the filmmaking and television sectors. Today ZeLIG is a leader in professional training in the region of Alto Adige thanks to the school’s intelligent, committed and competent management, as well as to continued and substantial support from the public administration. ZeLIG has earned European-wide acclaim as a high-quality training center with an international outlook, attracting students from throughout the world to Bolzano. The reasons for such success are many. One of them is the excellence of ZeLIG’s teaching staff, made up of highly committed, internationally recognized individuals. Then there’s the school’s combined approach that blends theory and hands-on training. Lest we forget ZeLIG’s unique tri-lingual approach – courses are held in Italian, German and English. To top it all off, ZeLIG prides itself in its collaborations with film schools in Italy and abroad. ZeLIG is dedicated to training people to make their contribution to the professional sector. Since 1995, an overwhelming majority of the school’s graduates have gone on to careers in the audiovisual sector or have continued audiovisual studies in Italy and abroad. Many ZeLIG graduates have founded their own production companies right here in Alto Adige. What’s more, many of ZeLIG’s film projects have received awards and recognition internationally, leading not only to furthering and enhancing ZeLIG’s worldwide reputation, but indeed to the promotion of Alto Adige on an international level. I send heartfelt congratulations to the ZeLIG School for Documentary, Television and New Media, its entire staff and student body, in wishing ZeLIG a successful future. May ZeLIG remain a key player on the European scene, and at the center of media evolution internationally for many years to come.
Sabina Kasslatter Mur
City of Bolzano Council Member, Chair of the Professional Training and German Culture Committee
