On the weekend of December 1 and 2, the city of Florence, Italy was the spectacular setting for its annual “Strings City Festival” — an inspiring and spirited initiative organized by the Comune di Firenze, and spearheaded by Florence’s Mayor, Dario Nardella. Comprised of dozens of string musical concerts performed by hundreds of professional and amateur string instrumentalists, this first ever “Strings City” event was held at nearly 50 venues across the city’s historic center — all in one day!
At the special invitation of Mayor Nardella, the New York Film Academy (NYFA) Florence location was asked to be the filmic storytellers to capture the special day for the city’s promotion and distinguished archives.
Jim Miller, NYFA Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, was on hand for the project and noted, “Students and staff from NYFA’s Florence location woke up before sunrise to begin filming the dramatic day, and the visual results they achieved were truly ‘lyrical’ and ‘breathtaking’. The passion and quality that they brought to this unique project — as can be seen in the below short video, which was directed, shot, produced, and edited by students and staff — makes NYFA extremely proud of the creativity and passion of the students enrolled at our Florence location, and of how well they integrate into the fabric of the Italian culture.”
Faranak Moradi, who is soon to be graduating from a semester in the Filmmaking Program at NYFA Florence, elatedly exclaimed this about her experience as a crew member filming the events: “Each note that was played in those spaces… reminded me that history doesn’t belong to the people in the past; we are all residents of a place and time, restored by the power of music.”
The “spaces” that Faranak noted included concerts – ranging from the violin to the piano, from the harp to the guitar — at nearly all of the city’s dazzling famous churches, significant museums, and celebrated Palazzo such as the Baptistery of the Duomo, Palazzo Vecchio, Cathedral of Santa Croce, Uffizi Museum, and the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi. There were even performances at many of Florence’s off-the-beaten-path culture locations, such as the former prison Le Murate.
Samuel Puskas, a student from Hungary, performed as a violinist with one of the orchestras — a moment briefly captured in the video. Extremely excited about his role, Samuel stated, “Contributing to projects that celebrate art at breathtaking venues especially, that is always a memorable experience! I was honored to be a part of such an exquisite orchestra, even if just for brief seconds!” Samuel is completing his semester in the Acting for Film Program at NYFA Florence, and he and his brother David, also an actor, will be continuing their studies at NYFA’s Los Angeles Campus.
In addition to Samuel, Mayor Nardella is also seen in NYFA’s film warming up his violin in his distinguished Palazzo Vecchio office. Not only did the Mayor oversee the Strings City festival, the mayor of Florence also participated in it!
New York Film Academy was recognized in more than a dozen Italian press and news stories pertaining to the School’s support of Strings City.
Stay tuned for more exciting news from NYFA Florence!