Creating space for connection, creativity, and community

Written By Niccolò Montanari

In conversation with Videoclip Italia Founders - Alessio Rosa & Nicola Marceddu  

 

Words by Katie Huelin

Videoclip Italia stands out as a space where real creativity, craft, and community are still the driving forces. Since its launch in 2016, the platform has become a centre point for Italy’s music video scene, a hub for directors, producers, and visual storytellers committed to pushing the boundaries of what a music video can be. In 2022, their mission expanded with the birth of the Videoclip Italia Awards (VIA), a long-awaited moment of recognition and celebration for an often-overlooked art form.

In our conversation with founders Alessio Rosa & Nicola Marceddu, they reflect on the platform’s growth, the evolving state of Italian music videos, and why the awards - more than a competition - are ultimately about connection and sparking the next wave of bold visual voices.

Videoclip Italia has become a cornerstone in celebrating Italian music video artistry. What inspired you both to create this platform and eventually launch the Videoclip Italia Awards? Was there something you thought was missing in the industry?

ALESSIO: The platform was born at the end of 2016. Having written a thesis on music videos, I was following international websites like Promonews, Videostatic, and Booooooom.tv on a daily basis. It seemed to me that there was nothing comparable in Italy, and since I had plenty of time on my hands, I ventured into creating this blog. Little by little, it grew, becoming a point of reference for many industry professionals in Italy.

Through discussions with them, it became clear that there was a lack of an event similar to the UKMVAs in the United Kingdom — an occasion that could offer a much-needed moment of gathering and celebrate the work being done. That’s where the idea of creating the Awards came from. I believe it was already late 2019 when we first started talking about it among ourselves.

NICOLA: I joined the project in 2019, when I started writing articles and columns for the web magazine, as well as managing content for our social media channels. From that point on, we focused mainly on building a community, with a strong emphasis on networking — expanding our reach and spreading our core message, which has always been to promote music video culture in Italy.

When the pandemic hit, we began having more serious conversations about creating an event that could actively involve the industry, in line with similar formats already established abroad. From that moment, we never looked back — even though, year after year, our ambitions constantly clash with the harsh reality that we’re not yet able to fully achieve what we envision.

We’re not where we want to be just yet, but we’re working on it.


Music videos are where sound, style, and storytelling collide. How would you describe the current state of the Italian music video scene, and how have you seen it evolve since the Awards began in 2022?

ALESSIO: In Italy, the state of music videos largely depends on the activity of the best directors. Unlike other major European markets, there are no production companies with a strongly defined identity, and — with a few notable exceptions — musicians themselves have rarely provided particularly meaningful input.

Generationally speaking, I hope I’m wrong, but it seems to me that turnover is not going particularly well (and I would say this is an even bigger problem abroad). For instance, when we launched the award in 2022, the category dedicated to directors under 25 was perhaps even more stimulating than the over-25 one; today, however, we struggle to find enough submissions.

For all these reasons, the health of Italian music videos depends on how much the best creatives are producing, in what contexts, and under what conditions. And lately, the best creatives are producing very little — if at all — and when they do, they are forced to work wonders with tiny budgets. In short, the situation is quite critical.

NICOLA: Over the past few years, I’ve had the impression that — although still too rarely — there’s been a shift toward rewarding more original concepts, rather than the typical iconic video centered around the star. We’ve seen the rise of several young directors, some of whom have later found recognition abroad as well, who have helped expand the visual language traditionally used in Italy.

There are definitely bolder productions now, but they still struggle to gain visibility — often due to the limited vision of the artist or label involved, which can compromise the final result. It’s not an industry that leaves much room for purists, yet music videos remain the most vibrant space for visual experimentation. We’ve seen clear examples of this in previous editions of Videoclip Italia Awards.

The awards span a wide range of categories - from cinematography to styling, from rap to electronic. How do you curate and judge such a diverse mix of visual languages and aesthetics?

ALESSIO: Our goal is to create the fairest and most comprehensive award possible. For this reason, we strive to include all noteworthy Italian music videos in the competition and work extensively to assemble a large, diverse jury made up of recognized professionals in their fields.

Months before the opening of submissions, we start reaching out to potential jurors, selecting them from videos that have received acclaim in recent months, from the shortlists of international industry awards, and through our own network. Over the years, the number of jurors has grown, surpassing 80 in the most recent edition: this is necessary to ensure a sufficient number of jurors for each category.

Jurors cast their votes independently and remotely. In the future, we would like to organize a voting session following a live discussion or videocall, but coordinating something like this is very complex given the resources we have and the limited free time available to our jurors.

NICOLA: The jury is composed of carefully selected professionals who are active and respected within the industry itself. Over the years, we’ve had the satisfaction of involving some truly high-profile figures — people who initially seemed far removed from our small, independent reality, but who, to our surprise, turned out to be incredibly humble and enthusiastic about joining the project. This, to us, is a sign that the Videoclip Italia Awards is on a path of continuous growth.

As for the selection process, we do our best to promote the open call for submissions through our channels and the network we’ve built over the past four years. Sometimes, we also directly reach out to directors or production companies to make sure the jury gets a well-rounded picture of the national output from the past year. That way, we can avoid having strong, deserving works go unnoticed simply because they weren’t submitted.

Are there any trends or standout entries that have particularly caught your eye this year that you can share with us?

ALESSIO: The music video scene is so vast and heterogeneous that it often feels impossible to grasp clear trends, with contradictory waves emerging simultaneously. For instance, in recent years we’ve seen a growing number of Italian music videos shot on film, while at the same time videos shot on iPhone have become a trend — thanks to the launch of the iPhone 16 Pro Max and, I assume, a general cost-cutting attitude from both labels and production companies. Could there be two more opposite trends than these? By the way, we’ll be discussing the iPhone trend during one of the talks before the awards ceremony.

Italy is always a bit slower in catching up with global trends, so I think we still see less "eyecandinism" — a term I use (borrowed from Jacobi’s curatorial work at Eye Candy, which I believe is currently the most trend-defining platform) to describe videos edited for the zero-attention-span era we are living in. Nevertheless, mixed-media fast edits are becoming increasingly widespread.

Speaking of trends, it's also worth mentioning how the production landscape around music promotion is shifting more and more toward content creation, where music videos remain relevant, but are now just one element among many. In the rap scene, for instance, album trailers have become a must in just a couple of years, and the same can be said for the production of reels — closer to TV sketches — used to announce albums, special editions, or tours.

On the other hand, for smaller, more alternative and independent projects, it's no longer just about making a music video: expanding the project into a hybrid form, closer to an art-house short film, is becoming more important. A good example is Non Chiamarmi Bella, Lamante’s video directed by Nicolò Bassetto, where the music is interrupted by extended narrative sequences, or the paradigmatic Chiamare Casa Sempre Lo Stesso Posto, directed by Giada Bossi.

Before we get to the awards, I don’t want to comment on any of the nominees yet. Instead, I’ll take this opportunity to highlight a couple of music videos that, despite not making it to the shortlist, I particularly appreciated: Paganini by Martina Pastori for Kid Yugi (who had a great run of music videos last year, including Donna and Anticristo), and Beatrice, again directed by Martina Pastori for Tedua and Annalisa — a brilliant blend of a classic duet-style playback (with the two artists filmed separately) and fantasy cinema, enriched by an inventive use of AI-based VFX.

NICOLA: Rather than talking about trends, I’d say what stands out to me in this year’s shortlist is the consistent balance between big names and emerging outsiders who’ve gained a fair amount of recognition. I’m thinking of artists like The Frog, Assurditè, and Novze – all of whom had videos that were well-received and earned multiple nominations.

As for the works that impressed me the most this year, two videos come to mind: Ti Amo, directed by Bianca Peruzzi for Prima Stanza A Destra, and Chiamare Casa Sempre Lo Stesso Posto, directed by Giada Bossi with music by Arssalendo.

The first is a “classic” music video, if you can call it that, centered on the use of a snorricam and light play that highlights the emotional state of the protagonist as she wanders through a desolate, nighttime London, overwhelmed by heartbreak.

The second is a more complex piece that tells the story of a teenage girl and, as often happens in Giada Bossi’s work, is set in small-town Italy. Having grown up in a small town myself, I’ve always felt that in places where time moves more slowly, words carry a different kind of weight and can shape your view of the world in ways completely different from life in a big city. Giada captures this sensitivity so beautifully that I often find myself deeply moved by her work.

For aspiring directors, editors, producers, cinematographers, stylists, artists etc who are interested in the awards - especially those submitting to categories like ‘Best Low Budget Video’ or ‘Director Under 25’ - what advice would you give about creating impactful work with limited resources?

ALESSIO: Many of the videos submitted in the Low Budget category have also found their way into other categories, often showcasing a level of creativity that feels fresher and more original than what we see in major categories like Pop or Rap. Ideas are king — my advice is not to settle for the first good idea, but to push it further: see how it can evolve into a second idea, a third, and beyond. Whether it’s a narrative video or not, a music video desperately needs progression within its short runtime — it should reveal new surprises and spark a sense of wonder in the viewer when they least expect it.

NICOLA: This is definitely one of the topics I care most about. Unfortunately, in Italy, there’s still no clear path for young creatives taking their first steps in the industry. As of today, there’s no real system in place that allows an emerging director to build a portfolio without having the right connections. You can be full of ideas – and maybe even have the means to bring them to life – but without the right channels, it’s very hard for those ideas to reach the people who actually have the power to give you a chance.

In this sense, looking at how things work abroad might be useful. In some countries, getting signed by a production company can be a starting point: from there, directors have the chance to pitch ideas through creative briefs, and possibly work with high-level artists and more substantial budgets. It’s a more democratic model – with its own limits, of course – but I think it offers a solid foundation, especially for younger talents trying to break through.

Until we have a clearer standard here, my advice remains the same: take advantage of events like ours. Just participating already gives you the opportunity to be seen and evaluated by professionals who would otherwise be hard to reach. Surrounding yourself with people who share your vision and creative sensitivity is also key when you’re working with limited resources.

“Ideas are king — my advice is not to settle for the first good idea, but to push it further: see how it can evolve into a second idea, a third, and beyond.”

Beyond the competition, what do you hope people take away from participating and attending the Videoclip italia awards 2025?

ALESSIO: The competition is just a pretext for a real encounter. We live increasingly isolated within social media, trapped in our bubbles, under the illusion that those exchanges are real. There is a desperate need to meet in person, to talk while looking each other in the eye. I firmly believe that this kind of human connection is a vital fuel for art and creativity. If even just two creatives meet for the first time at VIA2025 and start collaborating on a project together, we will have done our job. 

NICOLA: The awards ceremony is definitely the highlight of VIA, with the announcement of all the winners — but for us, it’s really just a small part of the overall event. What I personally appreciate the most is the chance to have conversations with the people behind the videos I’ve been watching all year, to exchange thoughts and dive into the process that led them to make certain creative choices, and to discover new talents I hadn’t come across before.

In short, it’s about sharing a passion with others who are just as enthusiastic. I hope everyone who takes part can really feel that atmosphere and connect with the kind of sensitivity — typical, yet hard to define — that artists bring with them. That’s something we care deeply about.

 
Niccolò Montanari
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