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AsoloArtFilmFestival origins date back to 1973 when, by Flavia Paulon intuition and foresight of a local government decided to support the cultural revival of the town, was born in Asolo, the Film Festival on Art and People ‘s artists, to become since the first edition, one of the most important reviews of Films on the world.

Flavia Paulon, critic, essayist and civil servant at the Cinema Festival of Venice well forty years, was upset because the Biennale, following the challenge of ’68, had left the International Exhibition of Films on Art and all other film festivals minors.
So it was that a few years later, when presented the opportunity to create an independent review of the Films on the town of Asolo, if not let out because they knew it was an important opportunity for enrichment for the entire world cinema. Asolo addition to its history and its beauty, was the place to achieve it.

The festival thus began in 1973. Flavia Paulon, besides having been the founder, was its artistic director until 1982, for a total of over 10 editions, and under his direction the review period saw a very successful internationally. The festival, sponsored by UNESCO, presented each year “the best new works in Italy and worldwide, on the specific topic of art, produced in two years.” Fulchignoni Henry, President of the International Council for Cinema and Television, became a permanent member of the jury.

To ensure the quality of el’internazionalità Festival, Paulon always had great care in selecting members of the jury, and called prominent people in the field of cinema and visual arts, take for example: art critics Perocco Guido, Umbro Apollonio François Le Targat, film critics Mario Verdone, Ivaldi, Nedo, the famous French art dealer Aimé Maeght, the Belgian director Henri Stork.

The selection of films for the competition was preceded by a thorough and systematic research work, the Paulon carried out in person, thanks to its expertise in film and contacts with those most useful in finding film thickness, accumulated over many years of work at the Venice Film Festival.

The selection was so strict and the level so high that within a few editions of his prestige was known throughout the world. In fact if you scroll the list of over four hundred titles of films that have contributed during the first ten years, are names of famous artists or directors as Alain Resnais, Andrei Tarkovsky, Jean Rouch, Henri Stork, Luciano Emmer, George Treves, Plessi, Gaetano Pesce, Luca Verdone. The Festival has already qualified from the first edition, giving the Grand Prix Asolo Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Rubliov on the life of the famous Russian miniaturist, author of some of the finest miniatures of the fifteenth century.

The main purpose of the demonstration was to show works that otherwise would not have been possible to see and know, filling the spaces left empty by the distribution and television.
Asolo Festival has succeeded fully in its intent because its quality and originality are also an important model for other reviews that have emerged subsequently in the world. If the event has been successful but was also because he could count on the support of a local authority believes it to be a resource for the area.
When this trust had failed, in the ’90s, the history of Asolo review was cut short.

The festival was reborn in 2001 under the name AsoloArtFilmFestival and 2002 was established AIAF - AsoloInternationalArtFestival, non-profit association whose main purpose is to revive and strengthen amnifestanzione. The hope was that the importance of the Festival of Films on again could be understood and supported. A good omen as still A.I.A.F. shall propose the AsoloArtFilmFestival getting achievements that increase from year to year. Suffice to say that since 2001 have reached more than 5000 works from 86 countries around the world.