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.

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