Documentary on the Family of Francis Ford Coppola getting International Attention

Update May 12, 2016

"The Family whistle" will be shown at the 69th Cannes Film Festival on May 19 in the "Classic" section. The Lucana Film Commission will be on hand to present the film along with the director Michele Russo. According to Paride Leporace, the director of the Lucana Film Commission, the film is "an 'epic that from Augustine to Carmine - reaches the last generation of the Coppola family to Sofia through the genius of Francis Ford Coppola, the most famous and influential living testimonial of Basilicata. The film features photography by Basilicata-born Ugo Lo Pinto, who for this work has just won the Indie Spec Best Cinematography Award at the Boston International Film Festival. Furthermore, historical documentaries made in Lucania by Cinematheque. - American Zoetrope and Cultural Ulysses have proved once again, that Basilicata is a land of Cinema internationally recognized."

Directed by Basilicata-born filmmaker Michele Russo, "The Family Whistle" is the story of the famed Coppola family of filmmakers and musicians that descends from Agostino Coppola, a poor immigrant from Bernalda, an impoverished village in Southern Italy. Interviews and archival footage portray how the family history has inspired these artists, and how they continue to renew their ties to the land of their origin.

The film made its U.S. premiere in April at the Boston International Film Festival and earned an award for its cinematography. It will be available for viewing at Cannes on May 19 at the Majestic Hotel between the hours of 10:30am and 17:30pm in the Italian Pavilion. in addition to the Lucana Film Commission, representatives from the numerous Italian film commissions will be present.

12 Maggio 2016

La Lucana Film Commission, con il patrocinio e il contributo di Sensi Cinema e della Regione Basilicata, sostiene il film “The Family whistle-Il fischio di famiglia”, selezionato al sessantesimo Festival di Cannes nella sezione Classic, organizzando il 19 maggio, giorno della proiezione del documentario, all’Italian Pavillon un incontro di promozione di questo significativo progetto cinematografico.

"Sosteniamo il regista Michele Salfi Russo, lucano di Bernalda, che con cuore e talento ha ricostruito la storia della sua famiglia oltreoceano incrociando l’epica artistica dei parenti Coppola". Così dichiara il direttore della Lucana Film Commission, Paride Leporace, che aggiunge: "un’ epopea che da Agostino a Carmine - continua Leporace- giunge all’ultima generazione di Sofia, attraversando il genio di Francis Ford Coppola, il più celebre e autorevole testimonial vivente della Basilicata. Con la fotografia del lucano Ugo Lo Pinto, che proprio per questo lavoro ha appena vinto l'Indie Spec Best Cinematography Award al Boston International Film festival, e i documentari storici della Cineteca lucana- conclude Leporace- American Zoetrope e Ulisse Cultural hanno realizzato un documentario che anche sulla Croisette, ribadisce, ancora una volta, che la “Basilicata è terra di Cinema riconosciuta a livello internazionale."

L'agenda della Lucana Film Commission a Cannes, si arricchisce di altri importanti appuntamenti. La fondazione cinematografica lucana parteciperà alle iniziative dell’Italian Film Commission, cui aderisce. Tra le principali si segnalano il meeting “Cosa offre l’Italia all'audiovisivo internazionale?”, che si terrà il giorno 19 maggio all’Hotel Majestic, dalle 10,30 alle 17,30, nell'area business del Padiglione Italiano, dove saranno presenti tutte le film Commission italiane.

Stretta collaborazione anche con il Centro del Corto italiano, che a Cannes presenta la nuova Italian Short Films Video Library, il primo catalogo digitale volto a promuovere sul mercato internazionale i cortometraggi realizzati nel nostro Paese. In questa ottica, la Lucana Film Commission, ed in virtù dell'importante produzione di cortometraggi che contraddistingue la cinematografia made in Basilicata, ha comprato degli spazi che ha offerto ai produttori e autori lucani per favorire occasioni di diffusione delle loro opera.

Comments

The Timeless Talent of Stefania Sandrelli

On screen since the tender age of 14, she has captivated audiences for more than 50 years with a compelling combination of strength and vulnerability. She achieved stardom at just 14 years old playing the angelic cousin of a love-struck Marcello Mastroianni in Pietro Germi’s “Divorce Italian Style.” More than half a century later, she is still going strong and remains one of Italy’s most esteemed actors. Stefania Sandrelli was born on June 5, 1946, in Viareggio in the province of Lucca in northern Italy. As a child, she studied music and dance. Then in 1960, she won a beauty pageant and was featured on the cover of Le Ore magazine. Her purity captivated the country and shortly thereafter, movie offers began pouring in. Just one year later, she made her cinema debut in three feature films: Mario Sequi’s Gioventù di notte , Luciano Salce’s The Fascist, and Pietro Germi’s Divorce Italian Style . She instantly became a star and before long was a key figure in Italy’s legend...

'Salvatore Giuliano' blends documentary realism with dramatic storytelling

"Salvatore Giuliano" is a 1962 Italian crime drama directed by Francesco Rosi that dramatizes the real-life events surrounding the life and death of the legendary Sicilian bandit and folk hero. Giuliano rose to notoriety after the liberation of Sicily from fascist control in 1943, when he formed a gang that joined a separatist army. When the army dissolved, he and his gang intensified their outlaw activities. One of their most significant crimes was the Portella della Ginestra incident, during which dozens of men, women, and children were killed or wounded. This act prompted the authorities to launch an all-out war against Giuliano. His defenses slowly crumbled, and on July 5, 1959, his body was discovered in the courtyard of a house in Castelvetrano. That moment serves as the starting point for Rosi's film. Giuliano's fame is tied to his involvement in the Sicilian independence movement and his battles against both the Italian government and the Mafia in the 1940s a...

"Roma 11:00" – The Tragic True Story of Desperation in a World of Poverty

There couldn’t have been a more perfect couple than Lucia Bosè and Raf Vallone in Giuseppe De Santis’ 1952 “Roma 11:00.” A tragic story based on true events, the film follows several young women in post-WWII Rome as they answer a job listing for a typist. When 200 women are in line on one staircase over several floors, a crack leads to the collapse of the entire staircase. Dozens were injured and one was killed. The tragedy spoke to the poverty and desperation that existed for so many Italians in the early 1950s before the ‘58 industrial boom began. Cesare Zavattini was one of the screenwriters. Elio Petri was the assistant director who interviewed many of the victims and cast a few in supporting roles. In addition to Bosè and Vallone, the film stars Carla Del Poggio, Massimo Girotti, Maria Grazia Francia, Lea Padovani and Delia Scala. The film is set in Largo Circense 37, while in reality the collapse took place in via Savoia 31, in the Salario district, on J...

Gianfranco Rosi to premiere 'Sotto le nuvole' at Venice Film Fest, exploring Naples' history

Documentary filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi will premiere his much-anticipated latest film at the upcoming 82nd Venice International Film Festival , which runs August 27 - Sept. 6. "Sotto le nuvole" (Below the Clouds) takes a deep dive into the rich history and culture of Naples and the area surrounding Mount Vesuvius. There has not been much information revealed but so far, we know that the film will focus on themes similar to those explored by Rosi in his previous works, such as the examination of Roman culture in "Sacro GRA" (2013) and Lampedusa's refugee crisis in "Fuocoammare" (2016). The film's synopsis reads, “The land around Vesuvius is a vast palimpsest. On the surface, underground and even beneath the sea of the modern city of Naples and its surroundings, the memory of history is etched into tunnels, walls and fissures, the remains of women, children and men — statues, buried cities. Only thin layers separate contemporary and ancient life, an...

Federico Fellini: A Look into the Life and Career of an Icon

A Fellini family portrait “The term became a common word to describe something on the surface you can say is bizarre or strange, but actually is really like a painter working on a film,” said Martin Scorsese when asked to define “Felliniesque,” an adjective inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The oldest of three children, Federico Fellini was born in the seaside town of Rimini in 1920. His father was a traveling salesman, so his mother was left to do the bulk of raising the children. One can argue that Fellini was born for his destiny. “You could tell that even as a child, he was different and unique. He was very intelligent, well above average. He was always the one to organize things, direct the others, make up games. He could control the other kids with just a look, said Fellini’s sister, Maddalena, in an interview with journalist Gideon Bachmann. Not only was Fellini directing the children, but he was also putting on shows and charging ...

Italian Cinema Today

Search This Blog