Italian Films from the 70th Venice Film Festival Reach Audiences Worldwide

Antonio Albanese and Gianni Amelio, Photo by Claudio Iannone

For the first time ever, the Italian films screened at the Venice International Film Festival will be featured in a film series in Beirut, Lebanon. The film event “Venezia Cinema a Beirut,”organized by the Biennale di Venezia with the Italian Institute of Culture in Lebanon, will run from February 20 through February 25, 2014.

According to Labiennale.org, four Italian films from the Official Selection of the 70th Venice Film Festival will be presented at the Metropolis Empire Sofil – Acharafieh in Beirut. The event will open with "L’intrepido" by Gianni Amelio. The following day, audiences will be treated to Emma Dante's "Via Castellana Bandiera" with the star Elena Cotta, winner of the Coppa Volpi for Best Actress, on hand for a discussion. Monday's screening on February 24th will feature "La prima neve" by Andrea Segre, and the closing film will be the Golden Lion winner, "Sacro GRA" by Gianfranco Rosi.

Similar initiatives have been organized in recent years by the Biennale di Venezia to promote Italian cinema around the world, including 2005 in Brazil, 2006 in Russia, 2009 in China and 2012 in Korea. In addition to Beirut, the Italian films of the 70th Venice International Film Festival were screened in other film series organized in Brazil and Korea. There are more scheduled in the coming months in China, Russia and for the first time in Croatia and Singapore.

Comments

Luisa Ranieri: A Contemporary Classic

Paolo Sorrentino’s “The Hand of God” has advanced to the short list in the 2022 Oscar race. The film is available stateside on Netflix. One of the stars of the film is actress Luisa Ranieri as the eccentric, troubled Aunt Patrizia. Luisa Ranieri Born in Naples in 1973, Ranieri hit the ground running, finding her break out film just two years after starting her acting career. That project, a made for television movie on the life of Maria Callas in which she played the starring role, immediately made her one of the country’s most popular actresses. After numerous supporting roles in both television and film, Ranieri scored the title role in Lodovico Gasparini’s 2016 miniseries “Luisa Spagnoli,” giving her another opportunity to portray a deeply complex character. The film follows the trailblazing entrepreneur who created the Perugina chocolate brand as well as a popular clothing line that still bears her name. “I was born poor like you and know how hard life can be.” That inspirin...

Golden Age Masterpiece: Luchino Visconti’s 1957 “White Nights”

Photo Credit: Archivio Luce Cinecittà Luchino Visconti’s 1957 film, “White Nights” (“Le notti bianche”), offers a thoughtful and poignant exploration of themes such as loneliness, desire and emotional vulnerability. Based on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novella of the same name, it transports the tale from 19th-century St. Petersburg to a dreamy mid-20th-century Italian setting. While Visconti remains largely faithful to Dostoevsky’s narrative, his characteristic style infuses the film with emotional depth, striking visuals, and a focus on class and societal constraints. The story follows a young man named Matteo, played by Marcello Mastroianni, who lives a solitary life in a small Italian town. One evening, he encounters a beautiful young woman named Natalia, portrayed by Austrian-Swiss actress Maria Schell, who is also feeling isolated. Although she is initially reluctant, Natalia eventually confides in Matteo about her love for a man who has promised to return and marry her, but he ha...

A Conversation with Sergio Castellitto

Sergio Castellitto has made a profound impact on world cinema, both in front of and behind the camera. Born in Rome in 1953, Castellitto graduated from film school in 1978 and credits American cinema with pushing him toward a career in acting. His work has garnered numerous accolades, largely due to his immersive, original approach to projects in film, television and theatre. Castellitto is fluent in French and English, which has contributed mightily to his international stardom. But it's the actor's trademark brown eyes and charming everyman qualities that have lent his various characters -- even the ones that are rough around the edges -- an air of dignity that other actors might not have achieved. Sergio Castellitto and Margaret Mazzantini, 2005 Films such as "Paura e Amore," "L'uomo delle stelle," "Caterina va in città," and "Bella Martha" heralded Castellitto as a versatile artist with far-reaching abilities. But it ...

Alberto Sordi Like You've Never Seen Him..

Twenty two-year-old Alberto Sordi on the set of "I tre aquilotti" Directed by Mario Mattoli, the 1942 film"I tre aquilotti" (The Three Pilots) is set at the Royal Air Force Academy of Caserta where three students– Mario (Carlo Minello), Marco (Leonardo Cortese) and Filippo (Alberto Sordi) become close friends. Towards the end of his studies, Marco casually meets and falls in love with Mario's sister, Adriana (Michela Belmonte). Mario shows his opposition to Marco and this causes the end of their friendship. Due to an accident during a training flight, Marco is demoted from the sailors role to the service role, thus not getting the military pilot's license. After the end of the course, the three friends split up for various destinations but all three find themselves in Russia, with Mario and Filippo already decorated with medals of merit, while Marco is in charge of logistics services. During a war action Mario is hit in flight and is forced to land in en...

The Life and Work of Monica Bellucci

Monica Bellucci as Malèna Born in Umbria in 1964, Monica Bellucci is one of the most recognizable faces of international cinema. But she didn't always have her sights set on the spotlight. She went to college to study law and modeled to pay her tuition. Her success in the fashion world coupled with the offers that were pouring in to appear on the big screen eventually took over, changing her fate. Bellucci made her on-screen debut in the 1990 television movie, " Vita coi figli." Just two years later, she scored her first American role in Francis Ford Coppola's "Dracula." In addition to her native language, she speaks fluent English and French, which has made for a smooth transition from Italian to international cinema. Stateside, she has acted in blockbusters such as "The Matrix-Reloaded," " The Passion of the Christ" and " The Sorcerer's Apprentice." She has also appeared in several French films, a...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog