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Showing posts from October, 2015

Interview with Producer Angelo Troiano on Basilicata: Terra di Cinema - "Thriller" the Phenomenon

Angelo Troiano, Sergio Ragone, Giuseppe Marco Albano Born in Bernalda, a small town in the province of Matera, Angelo Troiano grew up watching the work of American directors like Francis Ford Coppola, whose grandfather is from the same town. When he was a child, Troiano’s mother took him to the local Cineplex to see cinematic masterpieces. However, he didn’t hear his calling to be a filmmaker until he was well into his teens. In 2008, he started Basiliciak, a small production company funded solely by contributions from supporters. He produced three films with Basiliciak, including the highly acclaimed short film, AnnA , which was directed by his friend and business partner, Giuseppe Marco Albano. That partnership has grown and flourished over the years. Their most recent production is the short film, Thriller , about a Pugliese youngster who overcomes the financial hardships of his city by impersonating his idol, Michael Jackson. The film was catapulted into the limelight after w

What dreams are made of.. Director Gianfranco Cabiddu's stunning homage to Eduardo De Filippo

The tempestuous weather in the Eternal City Wednesday appropriately set the tone for La stoffa dei  song   (The Stuff of Dreams) , the new film by Gianfranco Cabiddu, one of the most significant auteurs of Italian cinema.  La stoffa dei sogni tells the story of a modest theatre company (to say the least) that is shipwrecked with a group of dangerous organized crime mobsters on the coast of Asinara, the location of an island-prison in the middle of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The story explores the role of art in our lives, bringing to light the universal themes of guilt, revenge, redemption, and pardon.  Director Gianfranco Cabiddu and Sergio Rubini Vincenzo Carpineta's stunning cinematography sets the stage for what at first seems like a drama but quickly turns into a comedy at the hands of veteran actor/director Sergio Rubini. Adapted from The Tempest by William Shakespeare and L’arte della com media by Eduardo De Filippo, the dialogue between the characters is clever an

In Italian theaters and Nexfilx today- Suburra: a Roman western between politics and criminality

Stefano Sollima’s new film, an Italo-French co-production, will be released in Italian theatres and on Netflix in the United States and South America on 14 October. The Suburra quarter in ancient Rome was the quarter populated by taverns and brothels, where noble senators met with criminals in secret to do business and make money. Two thousand years later, not much seems to have changed in the Italian capital. Politics and criminality continue to do business and the real world is governed by laws drawn up by corrupt politicians, through brokers without scruples in the shadow of an ambivalent Vatican. These were the findings of a recent judicial inquiry by the name of Mafia Capitale, which has now been brought to the big screen by Stefano Sollima ’s new film, Suburra  at a time when Rome has just seen the resignation of its mayor, and is being plagued by ungovernability and the chaos of the upcoming Jubilee. Based on the novel of the same name by Giancarlo De Cataldo (who also w

Samantha Cristoforetti presents the docu-film "Astrosamantha la prima italiana nello spazio"

It's been a full week of star/studded premieres with four nights of events preceding the opening of the 10 th Rome Film Fest, which will be held from Friday October 16th to Saturday 24th. The events have begun at the MAXXI - National Museum of XXI Century Arts, and the Casa del Cinema, before converging to the Auditorium Parco della Musica, which has been the heart of the festival since its very first edition.   The first event took place on October 12th at the MAXXI- National Museum of XXI Century Arts, when Samantha Cristoforetti, European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut, Italian Air Force Capitan, and flight engineer for the second long-term mission of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), presented the docu-film "Astrosamantha la prima italiana nello spazio", a beautiful, inspiring documentary about the first Italian woman in space. The film, directed and produced by Gianluca Cerasola, a journalist and international reporter, was made in collaboration with ESA, ASI an

Giovanna Taviani to present work in Rochester, New York

Italian filmmaker Giovanna Taviani will be in Rochester during the second week of November participating in a film series that will take place at area universities, Nazareth College and the Rochester Institute of Technology. Giovanna Taviani is the daughter of the iconic filmmaker, Vittorio Taviani.. one half of the filmmaking duo, the Taviani Brothers. Giovanna had a part in her father's 1984 film, "Kaos" but has chosen a path behind the camera as a director. My personal favorite is her 2010 documentary film, "Fughe e approdi"  which showcases the cinematic magic of the beautiful Aeolian Islands where she grew up. Fortunately, that film will be shown in the series. I highly recommend it. Read our review and watch the trailer.   She also founded the SalinaDocFest, an annual film festival held on the Aeolian Island of Salina that features documentaries and feature films with themes of human rights and relevant social issues. I spoke with one of the or

Jacopo Benci – Débrayages a cura di / curated by Maddalena Rinaldi

See English translation below.. Sabato /  Saturday 10.10.2015, 18:30 ADD-Art via Palazzo dei Duchi 6 [Piazza del Mercato], Spoleto, Umbria fino al / until 6.12.2015 Lun-Ven /  Mon-Fri   16:30-19:30   Sab-Dom per appuntamento /  Sat-Sun  by appointment The exhibition presents a selection of photo works by Jacopo Benci from 2007 to 2011. A fully illustrated catalogue with a text by Maddalena Rinaldi will be presented at the opening. Jacopo Benci  lives in Rome. His work includes photography, video/film, installation, performance; it has been exhibited in galleries, museums, festivals in Italy, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Hungary, Russia, Thailand, United States. Benci is Senior Research Fellow in Modern Studies & Contemporary Visual Culture of the British School at Rome, where he was Assistant Director Fine Arts from 1998 to 2013. In 2012, I attended a fascinating exhibit in Rome by Benci . The Mystery of

Margherita Buy: A Road Traveled

Margherita Buy (L) and Sabrina Ferilli at the 2015 Rome premiere of Io e Lei She has been a fixture in Italian cinema for decades with an impressive range that has landed her in all kinds of zany predicaments. Whether she's discovering the secret life of her deceased husband, dealing with a coming-of-age-daughter or struggling with the effects of a depressed economy, Margherita Buy's strong presence and command of her roles makes her a spell-binding leading lady. Born on January 15, 1962 in the Eternal City, Buy studied her craft at Rome's Academy of Dramatic Arts Silvio D'Amico. That's where she met her future husband and lifelong collaborator, Sergio Rubini. The two made a number of successful films together, including Tutto l'amore che c'e , L'amore ritorna and L'uomo nero . Although their marriage didn't work out, the two have remained close friends and continue to work together.     Buy has been making movies since the mid-80&

Interview- Independent Filmmaker Alessandro Colizzi on the move with 'Crushed Lives - Il sesso dopo i figli'

Director Alessandro Colizzi has been making films for years, but his latest project has earned him a great deal of international acclaim, bringing attention to the fine art of independent filmmaking. Crushed Lives - Il sesso dopo i figli is a hilarious portrait of parenthood, the God-given gift of children and life after these little angels enter the world. The film first came to my attention this past Spring when it was shown at one of my favorite film festivals- the Rome Independent Film Festival (RIFF), a wonderful arena for independent filmmakers all over the world. The films shown at RIFF are honest, in-your-face stories made by filmmakers that refuse to stray from their vision in order to please financial backers. Upon seeing the trailer and various clips from Crushed Lives - Il sesso dopo i figli , I felt compelled to contact Colizzi to learn more about this film and his adventures as an independent filmmaker in Italy. Our interview was done in Italian, so both versions ar

Not your average love story- but maybe it is

Update May 23, 2016 Io e lei is headed to two North American film festivals and will be shown on the following dates: Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Lincoln Center Thursday, June 2 at 6:00 followed by Q&A with director Maria Sole Tognazzi Tuesday, June 7 at 1:30 Buy Tickets Canada's Italian Contemporary Film Festival June 10 @ 9:30pm TIFF - Toronto June 14 @ 7:00pm Cinematheque Quebecois - Montreal June 14 @ 5:00pm Cinema Cartier - Quebec City Buy Tickets With three high-profile Italian releases, Maria Sole Tognazzi's latest film, Io e lei took top spot at Italy's box office over the weekend, grossing a whopping 700,000 euros. Io e lei is the story of two women in a relationship together, a relationship that is tumultuous at times and carefree at others. Margherita Buy and Sabrina Ferilli portray lovers, Federica and Marina in a way that puts love first and the fact that it's a same-sex relationship second. The two actresses have made

Coming Soon: Web Series "While" - Made in Basilicata

The second trailer for a YouTube web series shot entirely in Lucania was just released. Check it out.. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6tIiIoBJJN0