Italian Film Focus

The Largest Showcase of New Italian Cinema in Africa
Italian
Film Focus
CAPE TOWN - PRETORIA
14 - 23 NOVEMBER 2014
The Labia Theatre
68 Orange Street, Gardens, Cape Town
Miriam Makeba Hall - Muckleneuk Campus UNISA
Preller Street, Muckleneuk, Pretoria
www.italianﬁlmfocus.co.za
Introduction
In light of the renewed partnership with the Durban International Film Festival, Controluce presented
4 recently released Italian films of high quality with prestigious guests including Silvio Orlando, Silvia
Scola and Marco Amenta. Several Italian filmmakers were invited to produce their stories in co-production
with South Africa in collaboration with the NFVF and the Kwazulu Natal Film Commission. This serves
as a clear demonstration of how, despite the economic crisis, Italian cinema remains dynamic.
In the second half of the year the city of Cape Town continues its traditional must see event, the classic:
Italian Film Focus, now in it’s 14th edition. Quite an achievement, that also shows the interest that the
city has for our cinema and the ties that have been built over the years with the local film industry.
After the signing of the co-production agreement between South Africa and Italy in 2006, five feature
films and two documentaries have been made. With this in mind, this years presence of Italian
directors and writers is not only aiming at promoting Italian film in a developing country, but also, at
finding and building stories in collaboration with local professionals.
We are therefore honored to present a variety of films this year, with the precious contribution of
the Italian Institute of Culture, from authors who with their previous works have already shown a
great sense of story, language and intellectual curiosity. It is obvious that the intrusive nature of
commercial interest into television has not been of great benefit to cinema or to itself and in a time
when the styles and instruments of filmmaking seem to merge without any certainty of a rewarding
outcome the new Italian cinema is claiming back its identity, roots and ambitions.
Fortunately this has been recognized and rewarded, not only with the Oscar for Paolo Sorrentino,
but also through the constant involvement of Italian cinema at the most important festivals, which
the films we are presenting here clearly demonstrate.
If we consider how our film industry has unfortunately substantially decreased in recent decades, this
seems like a small miracle. It is evidence that for the film industry, cultural and individual diversity
are the real and the richest starting points. So, as always, a big thank you to our guests and to the
South African public, with the great hope of other films developing between our countries.
Introduzione
Con la rinnovata collaborazione con l’Int. Film Festival di Durban, Controluce ha presentato quattro
film italiani di grande qualità dell’ultima stagione con ospiti prestigiosi tra i quali Silvio Orlando,
Silvia Scola e Marco Amenta, invitando con la collaborazione del NFVF e Kwazulu Natal Film
Commission alcuni produttori in procinto di realizzare storie in coproduzione con il Sud Africa. Una
bella dimostrazione di come, malgrado la crisi economica, il nostro cinema sia dinamico.
Nella secondo parte dell’anno non poteva però mancare il classico appuntamento con la città di Cape
Town: ITALIAN FILM FOCUS, giunto alla sua 14° edizione. Un bel risultato, che dimostra l’interesse
della città verso il nostro cinema ed i legami costruiti con l’industria cinematografica locale.
Dopo la firma dell’accordo di coproduzione nel 2006, sono stati realizzati cinque film lungometraggi
e due documentari. È con questa ottica, che la presenza anche quest’anno di registi e sceneggiatori
italiani rappresenta non solo un momento della promozione del nostro cinema in un paese in crescita,
ma la possibilità di trovare e costruire storie insieme ai professionisti locali.
Siamo dunque onorati di presentare anche quest’anno, con il prezioso sostegno dell’Istituto Italiano
di Cultura, film molto diversi, di autori che già dalla loro opera prima hanno dimostrato un grande
senso del racconto, linguaggi compiuti e curiosità intellettuale. E’ evidente come l’invadenza
commerciale della televisione, almeno italiana, non abbia arrecato grandi benefici né al cinema né
a se stessa e in un momento in cui gli stili ed gli strumenti sembrano confondersi senza alcuna
certezza che questa contaminazione sia proficua e stimolante il nuovo cinema italiano rivendica con
forza la propria identità, le proprie radici e ambizioni.
È una ricerca che fortunatamente viene riconosciuta e premiata, non solo con l’Oscar a Paolo
Sorrentino, ma con le assidue presenze del cinema italiano ai festival più importanti, come dimostrano
i film che presentiamo. Se pensiamo che la nostra industria cinematografica si è fortemente ridotta
negli ultimi decenni, ciò appare come un piccolo miracolo.
A testimonianza che anche nell’industria cinema, la diversità culturale e quella individuale sono la vera
ricchezza da cui partire. Dunque, come sempre, un grazie ai nostri ospiti ed al pubblico sudafricano,
con la grande speranza di vedere altri film nascere in collaborazione tra i nostri due paesi.
The controversial relationship between Italian
Film Authors and Film Festivals
By Antonio Falduto
According to a number of critics such as Bazin, the actor had been the central icon of the festival
showcase until 1968. The director was merely a supplementary figure; even less exposed to the media
than the producers. However, the outbreak of student protests in 1968 overthrew this hierarchy.
Film directors stepped into the festival limelight when they protested by not presenting their films at
the Festivals of Cannes and Venice. The picture of Godard, Truffaut, Lizzani, Bertolucci and Rossellini
standing in front of the Palazzo del Cinema in Venice as Chinese Red Guards, is still proudly hanging
in the ANAC (The Italian Film Authors Association) office in Rome.
Clear evidence that this cultural supremacy is on-going today can be found in the fact that the
more specialized movie goers, the so called cinèphiles, now go more to see a film by… rather then
a film with…
The film director isn’t the only new actor playing on the festival stage; from the late 60’s the film
festival director became another key figure. It’s important to highlight that film festival directors were
only in charge of the film selection from the early 70’s. Before that, the films were selected by each
of the countries producer associations. The director was merely a marginal figure of the local film
industry and government.
After political and professional recognition, the identity of a festival has not only been defined by its
cultural, historical and geographical background but also by the festival director’s aesthetics and
policies. The rise and struggle in terms of power and identity between film authors and film festival
directors gave way to the new phase of the festival history.
In the not so secret agenda of the Venice Film Festival there was an unwritten rule: a film director
should be director of the Festival every 4 or 8 years. Carlo Lizzani, Gillo Pontecorvo and Felice
Laudadio are all film directors or screenwriters who directed the “Mostra” in Venice. As film directors
took over the festival throne, they changed the role of the festival director. It’s a matter of ego; they
couldn’t stand staying behind the curtain, they had to step
onto the stage, just as they used to do when they were
introducing their own films.
They dared to do what the Cannes Festival director, Thierry Fremaux, never dared to do. He
usually accompanied all the guests as far
as the entrance of the cinema but he never
climbed onto the stage except for in some
very particular cases. This was a wise
move to have made, as a film festival
director presenting a film in competition
and neglecting another one was an unconceivable and unprofessional move.
The film directors running festivals as
directors broke this tradition and they
started to present all the films that they
had selected. Even today it’s normal
to see film directors trotting from
one cinema to another, sweating and
cursing because they are late…
Film directors changed festival procedure
to suit their own needs and then they took
over all the key roles. They centralized
the power, making all the most important
and marginal decisions, such as; selecting
the opening trailer, choosing the ceremony
guests, and the festival venues. The face of
a festival became the face of its’ director, they
personalized the festivals.
The increasing power of the film director required his
brilliant performance on the festival stage. As with all
icons of the show business the film directors’ private and
professional life have occupied a frontal position in the medias’ attention. They represent the film,
critics love to interview them, they are the only ones who can step on stage to present the film and
when they win awards they hold their prize as a king would hold his crown. They are the main stars of
a ritual that desperately needs new icons and myths and can’t help having them as deus ex machina
of the event. They became unique and irreplaceable.
I have never attended an international film festival competition where the film director wasn’t there.
Actually, it did happen once, when the Iranian director, Asghar Farhadi, couldn’t be in Cannes to
pick up his prize because he was imprisoned for his political engagement, his case still has a strong
media resonance.
Film directors are now treated by the festival as their own precious creature. Festivals love to
discover new talent, they nourish them, they promote their films and help them to make new ones.
Berlinale Talent campus and Film Fund in Berlin, Cinema du Monde and La Semaine de la Critique in
Cannes and finally the new fund for post- production Venice La Biennale, demonstrate this attitude
to tie the new promising directors to the festival label, but this process has its own risks.
We can suspect that a film that has a festival as its patron is in a better position for being shortlisted
by the festival selectors. On the other hand, will another festival, driven by natural competition, be
keen to select a film born and bred by someone else?
Another example of the new power of film directors in the festival hierarchy is found when we
analyse festival sections directly run by the film authors. The Directors Fortnight in Cannes,
established in 1969, run by SRF (Societè des Realisateurs de Films), runs at a specific venue in
Cannes in order to define its presence and new found power. It functions metaphorically as the
shelter of the creators. Indeed this section itself isn’t just a showcase of films; it’s a part of
a much more sophisticated French cultural policy. The SRF activity runs all year
and its’ programme includes debates and discussions on various topics. Its
blog provides important information and news on Cinema. It is the web
headquarters of the French and international “Auteurs”.
Moreover the directors of La Quinzaine or la Semaine don’t have
to follow the strict procedures that the official selection films
are required to follow (just think about the strict dress code
for the official selection screenings), so they have decided
to change the ritual. Most of them now introduce the films calling the entire crew on stage and
sometimes they even run the Q&A. Following this experience, a few years ago the former director of
La Biennale Marco Muller, suggested that a few film directors such as myself set up a similar section
in Venice La Biennale. This proposal was based on the idea that a film festival should be a flexible
and interactive event. It also filled the real need that Italian authors had to experience the most
important Italian Film Festival not just as an occasion to show and see their own films but also, as a
physical place where filmmakers could meet and discuss.
In 2006 the two Italian Film Authors Associations set up Le Giornate degli Autori/Venice Days,
appointing Giorgio Gosetti as its director. His first step was to find the authors venue and he found a
villa near the Biennale Palace. It was a place where the authors and the audience could meet, discuss
ideas, argue and drink good wine… It was a new physical place dedicated to interaction.
This successful experience shows that film festivals are not a monolithic structure but rather that
they have to adapt themselves to fit the evolution of the medias, aesthetic values and current
cultural needs.
The new, secular rituals performed by the film festival directors have reinforced the frail relationship
between cinema and myth, just as Bazin, Morin and Campbell have analysed in depth. However, this
isn’t a long-term guarantee.
In order to allow festivals to survive the festival directors are obliged to extend the border of the
festival, physically and conceptually. Festival screenings are more and more wide- spread in the
cities or even in other countries (Rome hosts Cannes, Locarno and Venice special selections) and
format and contents are redefining the festival itself.
Therefore experts in other fields are welcomed to integrate the festival programme and
structure. Artists are called to design logos, photographers to show their work,
politicians and journalists join juries, debates, discussions and they never
miss an opening and closing ceremony.
However, what degree of contamination from society and
the other arts can the festival tolerate without losing its’
identity, that being an identity of an event dedicated to
cinema itself?
These are issues that perhaps need to be addressed specifically for each festival, but they are
problems that nonetheless require urgent answers. The track record of the most recent international
film festivals, like that of Rome, is exemplary. Born in 2006 through political will, the brainchild of
Mayor Walter Veltroni, (after all, all festivals are born with political purposes) the ‘festa’ that was the
Rome Film Festival was, exactly that, more of a popular cultural and social event than a festival.
Due to this it was criticised but nonetheless its formula worked. The following year it became a
real festival with international ambitions, including a large film market, generously bankrolled by
the organisers. This decision aroused the ire of the Venice Biennale organizers; they deemed that
hosting two international festivals of cinema in Italy was a suicidal cultural promotion.
alian
Focus
The organizers of the festival in Rome survived the political challenges but today they are faced with
another dilemma: the festival has a model that attracts the public and a good program, but not even
the charisma of the new director, Marco Muller, has been able to give the festival a clear direction.
With its identity in crisis, an identity, which could be described as a melange of movies and stars,
there more for the entertainment pages than for culture.
What to do? It has been proposed the film festival should merge with the fiction TV film festival
that happens a few months earlier. In this way they hope to distinguish the new trends in cinema,
because they are sure that cinema, TV and all other audiovisual formats are going to merge their
content under one hybrid, media blanket. For some this is very provoking, for others it is an urgent
cultural challenge. The only ones that remain silent are the directors, and the risk is that one day
they will discover that they have merely become “content providers” for the new hybrid media who
will have full control and influence over the contents itself.
TOWN
From Screen Writers to Drag Queens
By Claudia C J Fratini (UNISA, Dept. Afrikaans & Theory of Literature)
What do you get when you fill a room with aspiring writers for the performing arts and high profile
guest speakers from the theatre and film industry? This may sound like the opening line of a
clichéd joke but in fact it is the beginning of a successful partnership between UNISA’s Department
of Afrikaans and Theory of Literature, the Writers Guild of South Africa and the Italian cultural
association for screenwriters, Controluce represented by its president, Antonio Falduto.
Addressing a crucial ‘gap’ in the South African writers’ field, the workshop, aptly titled, Shop Talk
invited, professional and budding writers to participate in a three day skills-transfer engagement that
discussed an often forgotten type of writing, that of writing for the performing arts. From the 5th to
the 7th of November participants were put through the paces on how to write for theatre, film and
new media, how to work within the parameters of co-productions as well as given invaluable advice
on how to promote their work, legally protect themselves through clear contacts and interpretations
of current industry regulations as well as how to correctly pitch their scripts for production. Key
speakers included both local and international professionals such as Thandi Brewer, Anna Hamlin,
Johan Drotskie, Junior Makhoere, Derick van der Walt, Henning Bason and Antonio Falduto. Other
key elements such as the preservation of South Africa’s theatrical heritage were also addressed
with the presentation of the ‘Theatre Heritage Project’ of the Department of Afrikaans and Theory of
Literature at UNISA presented by Lida Kruger.
Talk Shop was attended by over forty participants who walked away perhaps a little bewildered
but certainly the wiser and more professionally prepared. Key presentations were also recorded
by UNISA Radio for future broadcasts and podcasts. However, engagements of this type are not
exclusively platforms for learning but also present great networking opportunities that in turn develop
into further collaborations and projects. One such spin-off is the presentation of Sebastiano Riso’s
debut film, Darker than Midnight (Più buio di mezzanotte) on the 19th of November at the Miriam
Makeba Hall at UNISA. This presentation would not have been possible without the interest garnered
during the community engagement workshop and the support and collaboration of Controluce, the
Ministero per i Beni e Attività Culturali, Italian Institute of Culture, Institute for Gender Studies and
Tirisano Centre at UNISA.
The film starts its SA tour at the Italian Film Focus in Cape Town and then moves on to Pretoria for
an exclusive screening in the presence of the film’s director, Sebastiano Riso. Presented at Cannes
in May of this year and winner of the Guglielmo Biraghi Award at the 69th Nastri d’Argento Film
Festival, Darker than Midnight interrogates strong gender questions from an LGBTiQA perspective
as well as addresses issues surrounding identity and social acceptance. The screening of this film
and Q & A sessions at UNISA will present a unique opportunity for students, academics and the
general public to engage with gender and social issues that affect all engaged audiences.
The Department of Afrikaans and Theory of Literature
in collaboration with the Institute for Gender Studies, the Tirisano Centre and
Italian Institute of Culture cordially invite you to the film screening
Darker than Midnight
(Più buio di mezzanotte)
a film by
Sebastiano Riso
Date:
Wednesday, 19 November 2014
Time: 12h00
Venue: Miriam Makeba Hall
Muckleneuk Campus
UNISA
RSVP: [email protected]
Introduction to the film by Sebastiano Riso with a Q & A session after the screening.
The film is in Italian with English subtitles
As a spin-off of the successful Community Engagement writers workshop, Shop Talk
organised in collaboration with the Writers Guild of South Africa, we are proud to
present the debut film of Italian Director, Sebastiano Riso, in collaboration with the
Institute for Gender Studies, the Tirisano Centre, Controluce, MiBac and the Italian
Institute of Culture in Pretoria. The film premiered at Cannes in May this year and won
the Guglielmo Biraghi Award at the 69th Nastri d’Argento Film Festival.
Davide is a 14 year old boy whose effeminate looks defy his father’s ideas of what a
boy should look like. His home situation is rife with conflict which soon leads Davide
to run away and seek refuge in a part of town no one wants to acknowledge exists. It
is here, on the periphery of society, that he finds acceptance amongst the misfits and
outcasts. Loosely based on the early life of, Fuxia (Davide Cordova) who after a
turbulent adolescence in Sicily finds fame on the Roman stage, this film interrogates
issues of gender, identity and society acceptance.
An education in Italian culture and cinema
By Catey Carson
Italian cinema has always played a fundamental role in the cultivation of the Italian language and
Italian culture around the world but more than that it has inspired new ways of thinking about global
cinema and inspired numerous filmmakers. One needs only to see one of Fellini, De Sica or Leone’s
films to understand why Italian cinema has garnered a global appreciation as well as a large and
unfailing following of cinephiles.
As such the cinema that Italy has produced over the years has a lingering presence in both
Italian and film studies and serves as a platform to convey cultural identity and ideas through
the universal language that is cinema. The unique aspects of the cinematic form is such that it
transcends cultural barriers, though one may not understand the language used or subtle cultural
references, the visual stimulation, imagery, expressions and emotions conveyed by a thrilling
piece of cinema allow for an audience to step into another cultural world, regardless of their
cultural background.
I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to study both Italian language and literature and film
production and film theory at the University of Cape Town. Thanks to this unique combination I
was able to apply the lessons learnt from the Italian culture classes into my own films and the
exotic bouquet of themes, stylistic choices and subject matter that Italian cinema and Italian culture
offered, became direct influences in my film work at UCT. Once you have experienced the Italian
cinema movements such as neorealism, it is hard to not be influenced by their daring break away
from traditional cinema and as a South African student I was particularly inspired by this cinema that
allowed for a lower budget and more realistic subject matter.
Indeed I found myself watching more Italian cinema in my film lecturers than I did in my Italian
course. I learnt that the study of cinematic theory included the observation and understanding of
many Italian classics that paved the way towards new forms of cinema. I found it remarkable that
one was being taught about the Italian cinema masters at a university in Africa decades after they
had made their films in Italy, it was then that I realised that Italian cinema has truly left its’ mark on
the world and that we have much to learn from it.
Having said this, the glory of cinema is such that one does not need to be a film student or a student of
Italian culture, to be influenced and inspired by an Italian film. It is therefore imperative that initiatives
such as the Italian Film Focus Festival continue to screen in Africa, the cultural exchange that the
festival promotes is unlike any other and it is invaluable to an African audience. We owe a lot to Italian
cinema which in part influenced the way we make films today and continuing the tradition of bringing
Italian cinema and culture to Africa is something that I hope will continue for many years to come.
Organisation: CONTROLUCE e IIC PRETORIA
Bettina Elten, Katey Carson, Claudia Fratini, Daniela Bonino
Design and website: Andrea Couvert (Slowdesign)
www.italianﬁlmfocus.co.za
Screenings:
FRIDAY 14 NOVEMBER:
1.45 pm: QUIET BLISS
6.15 pm: DARKER THAN MIDNIGHT (By invitation, presented by the director)
8.30 pm: SEVEN LITTLE KILLERS (By invitation, presented by the producer and screenwriter)
SATURDAY 15 NOVEMBER:
1.45 pm: DARKER THAN MIDNIGHT
6.15 pm: ITALY IN A DAY
8.30 pm: THE MAFIA KILLS ONLY IN SUMMER
SUNDAY 16 NOVEMBER:
1.45 pm: ITALY IN A DAY
6.15 pm: DARKER THAN MIDNIGHT (Presented by the director)
8.30 pm: QUIET BLISS
MONDAY 17 NOVEMBER:
1.45 pm: THE MAFIA KILLS ONLY IN SUMMER
6.15 pm: SEVEN LITTLE KILLERS (Presented by the producer and screenwriter)
8.30 pm: DARKER THAN MIDNIGHT
TUESDAY 18 NOVEMBER:
1.45 pm: SEVEN LITTLE KILLERS
6.15 pm: THE MAFIA KILLS ONLY IN SUMMER
8.30 pm: ITALY IN A DAY
WEDNESDAY 19 NOVEMBER:
12.00 am: DARKER THAN MIDNIGHT (PRETORIA)
1.45 pm: DARKER THAN MIDNIGHT
6.15 pm: QUIET BLISS
8.30 pm: SEVEN LITTLE KILLERS
THURSDAY 20 NOVEMBER:
1.45 pm: SEVEN LITTLE KILLERS
6.15 pm: ITALY IN A DAY
8.30 pm: THE MAFIA KILLS ONLY IN SUMMER
FRIDAY 21 NOVEMBER:
1.45 pm: QUIET BLISS
6.15 pm: REWINED (By invitation, presented by the director)
8.30 pm: DARKER THAN MIDNIGHT
SATURDAY 22 NOVEMBER:
1.45 pm: ITALY IN A DAY
6.15 pm: THE MAFIA KILLS ONLY IN SUMMER
8.30 pm: REWINED
SUNDAY 23 NOVEMBER:
1.45 pm: REWINED
6.15 pm: QUIET BLISS
8.30 pm: ITALY IN A DAY
La mafia uccide solo d’estate - The mafia kills only in summer
By Gianfrancesco Diliberto Aka PIF
Cinematography: Roberto Forza
Music: Santi Pulvirenti
Producer: Mario Gianani, Lorenzo Mieli
Production: Wildside,
Rai Cinema, supported by MiBACT
Cast: Pierfrancesco Diliberto aka Pif,
Cristiana Capotondi, Claudio Gioè
Annecy Cinema Italien 2014: Competition Fiction Films - Grand Prix Fiction
David di Donatello 2014: Best Debut Director, Youngs’ David
Turin Film Festival 2013: Torino 31 - Special Jury Award
The day the well-known Mafioso Vito Ciancimino is elected mayor of Palermo is also the day Arturo
is born, and this coincidence will have many more consequences on his life than one would think.
In fact, the boy has two obsessions, each of which consumes him entirely: his tormented love for
Flora, who shares a desk with him in class and who he has been in love with since elementary
school; and his obsession about the frightening connections between his city and the Mafia. This
second obsession isolates him from everybody, including Flora, until, unfortunately, current events
prove him right.
Il film narra l’educazione sentimentale e civile di un bambino, Arturo, che nasce a Palermo lo stesso
giorno in cui Vito Ciancimino, mafioso di rango, è stato eletto sindaco. E’ una storia d’amore che
racconta i tentativi di Arturo di conquistare il cuore della sua amata Flora, una compagna di banco di
cui si è invaghito alle elementari. Attraverso questa tenera ma divertente storia d’amore, il pubblico
verrà coinvolto emotivamente negli eventi più tragici della nostra storia recente. Arturo infatti è un
ragazzo come tanti altri dell’Italia degli anni ’70 ma, a differenza dei suoi coetanei del nord, è costretto
a fare i conti con le infiltrazioni e le azioni criminose della mafia nella sua città. La consapevolezza
di Arturo cresce anno dopo anno, ma nessuno lo ascolta e la sua ostinazione a interessarsi di mafia
come un fenomeno reale fa separare Arturo e Flora che si ricongiungeranno solo dopo le stragi del
1992 che apriranno definitivamente gli occhi alla ragazza
Più buio di mezzanotte - Darker than midnight
By Sebastiano Riso
Cinematography: Piero Basso
Music: Michele Braga
producer: Claudio Saraceni
production: IdeaCinema, Rai Cinema,
supported by MiBACT,
with the support of Regione Sicilia
Cast: Davide Capone, Micaela Ramazzotti, Vincenzo Amato
Annecy Cinema Italien 2014: Competition Fiction Films - CICAE Fiction Prize
Festival de Cannes 2014: Semaine de la Critique
Rio De Janeiro International Film Festival 2014: Expectations 2014
Davide is fourteen years old. His delicate and effeminate looks do not fit in with his father’s ideas of what
a boy should be like. Fleeing the constant conflicts at home, he is drawn to Catania’s biggest public
park, Villa Bellini, a world apart that the rest of the city pretends not to see and whose regulars live on
the margins of society. Davide takes refuge in the company of hustlers and outcasts who accept him
as one of them. But his double life between the expectations of his family and his new friends becomes
intolerable, and Davide is inexorably pushed into impossible choices that he has to face alone.
Davide ha quattordici anni e non è un adolescente come gli altri. C’è qualcosa in lui, nel suo aspetto,
che lo fa somigliare a una ragazza. Davide ha quattordici anni quando scappa di casa. Il suo istinto,
o forse il destino, lo porta a scegliere come rifugio il parco più grande di Catania: Villa Bellini è un
mondo a parte, che il resto della città fa finta di non vedere. Il mondo degli emarginati. Per loro la vita
di strada è una sfida continua alle convenzioni, ma soprattutto l’affermazione della propria diversità.
Quando Davide viene accettato in quella famiglia allargata, il passato da cui stava fuggendo sembra
svanire definitivamente. Ma non è così. I ricordi della sofferenza vissuta in famiglia, segnata dalla
presenza di un padre violento e di una madre amorevole ma inerme, riemergono uno dopo l’altro,
così dolorosi che in confronto le avventure di strada sembrano quasi un gioco. Fino a quando il
passato irrompe nel presente, e a Davide tocca la scelta più difficile. Di fronte alla quale si trova,
questa volta senza possibilità di fughe o rinvii, da solo.
In grazia di dio - Quiet bliss
By Edoardo Winspeare
Cinematography: Michele D’Attanasio
Producer: Gustavo Caputo, Alessandro Contessa,
Edoardo Winspeare
Production: Saietta Film, Rai Cinema, in association
with Banca Popolare Pugliese and Luigi de Vecchi,
Regione Puglia, Main sponsor Pasta Granoro,
with the support of Fondazione Apulia Film Commission
Cast: Celeste Casciaro, Laura Licchetta, Barbara De Matteis
Annecy Cinema Italien 2014: Eventi
Berlinale 2014: Panorama Special
Haifa International Film Festival 2014: Golden Anchor Competition
A playing-out of the economic crisis afflicting our ‘global village’ takes place in a small town in the
Salento, at the tip of the heel of Italy. “In Grazia di Dio” tells the story of four women from one family
who face crisis as their small textile factory on the fringe of western Europe heads for bankruptcy.
Obliged to sell their house and their factory, they have no other choice but to move back to the land to
start a new life. It is not easy for our characters to adapt to their new existence - relations between them
are already tense, they will have to get used to a complete lack of comfort and money. They find a way
to tackle their situation and begin appreciate what they have and what is actually needed to feel “quiet
bliss”. All of a sudden happiness will be unexpected, like an answer to a prayer in a moment of grief.
Questa è una storia sulla metamorfosi della crisi economica che affligge il nostro ‘villaggio globale’. Si
svolge in una piccola cittadina del Salento, a Leuca. “In Grazia di Dio” racconta la storia di una famiglia
che sta per perdere la sua piccola fabbrica tessile. Quattro donne di una stessa famiglia diverse tra
loro ma legate in modo indissolubile alla natura e ai luoghi che amano più di qualsiasi altra cosa. La
loro casa, la terra alla quale appartengono. La crisi economica sembra distruggere tutto, compresi i
legami. Ma loro non ci stanno. C’è un modo per contrastare tutto ciò. C’è da guardare davvero a ciò
che si possiede. I beni dei quali, a volte, il mondo si dimentica. Per sentirsi “in grazia di Dio”.
Un giorno da italiani - Italy in a day
By Gabriele Salvatores
Editing: Massimo Fiocchi, Chiara Griziotti
Music: Vittorio Cosma, Gianni Maroccolo,
Max Casacci, Riccardo Sinigallia
Producer: Marco Cohen, Benedetto Habib,
Fabrizio Donvito, Lorenzo Gangarossa
La Biennale di Venezia 2014: Out of Competition
ITALY IN A DAY is the Italian version of a project of Ridley Scott, directed by Gabriele Salvatores.
Italians were asked to send videos made with any device (videocamera, smartphone, photo camera)
during the 24 hours of October 26, 2013. Desires, dreams, fears, thoughts, anything which occurred
that day which they believed was of importance, or simply what could be seen by looking out of the
window. ITALY IN A DAY consists of 44,197 videos, 2,200 hours of images, 632 edited videos. ITALY
IN A DAY is a diary of the emotions and the thoughts of the Italians, some times tender, others angry,
funny or desperate.
ITALY IN A DAY è l’edizione italiana, curata da Gabriele Salvatores, di un progetto di Ridley Scott: E’
stato chiesto agli italiani di inviare dei video realizzati con qualsiasi mezzo (telecamere, smart phones,
fotocamere...) da girare durante le 24 ore del 26 ottobre 2013. Desideri, sogni, paure, riflessioni,
qualsiasi cosa considerata importante che accadeva quel giorno o anche, semplicemente, quello che
si vedeva dalla finestra di casa. ITALY IN A DAY è 44.197 video ricevuti, oltre 2200 ore di immagini, 632
video montati. ITALY IN A DAY è un diario emotivo, un censimento delle emozioni e dei pensieri degli
italiani, una confessione laica, la voglia di condividere i propri sentimenti attraverso le immagini, un
collettivo psicodramma italiano, di volta in volta tenero, arrabbiato, divertente o disperato.
Vino dentro - Rewined
By Ferdinando Vicentini Orgnani
Cinematography: Dante Spinotti
Music: Paolo Fresu
Producer: Sandro Frezza, Rosanna Seregni,
Evelina Manna
Production: Alba Produzioni,
supported by MiBACT, Moodyproduction,
with the collaboration of Trentino Marketing,
with the support of Trentino Film Commission
Mostra Internacional de Cinema 2014: Perspectiva Internacional
Courmayeur Noir In Festival 2013: In Competition
It all started with the first sip of wine Giovanni Cuttin had in his life, at the age of thirty-five. From
the day the first blood red drop met his tongue he was a different man. In only three years the shy,
married and ridiculed bank clerk transformed into the director of the bank, a tombeur de femmes
and into the most revered and popular wine expert in Italy. Just as the mysterious and charismatic
“Professor” who convinced him to taste the excellent nectar had foretold him. The only event that
the Professor with his foreign accent and piercing blue eyes hadn’t predicted, was that Giovanni
Cuttin soon would be charged for the murder of his wife Adele. Despite the rational method of
Commissioner Sanfelice, the investigation enters a slippery slope, the twilight zone, where it is
increasingly difficult to separate the facts from their dream projection.
Per Giovanni Cuttin tutto è cominciato con il primo sorso di vino della sua vita. Da quel momento in
poi la sua natura si trasforma. In tre soli anni, da timido impiegato di banca e marito fedele diventa
direttore, tombeur de femmes e il più riverito e stimato esperto di vino in Italia. Proprio come gli aveva
predetto l’enigmatico “Professore” che lo aveva convinto ad assaggiare il suo primo bicchiere di vino.
L’unico evento che il “Professore”, con il suo accento straniero e i suoi penetranti occhi blu, non gli
aveva predetto era che presto sarebbe stato accusato dell’omicidio di sua moglie Adele. Nonostante
il metodo razionale del commissario Sanfelice, l’investigazione si addentra in un terreno scivoloso, ai
confini della realtà, dove è sempre più difficile distinguere i fatti dalla loro proiezione onirica.
Eppideis - Seven little killers
By Matteo Andreolli
Cinematography: Dario Germani
Music: Pivio, Aldo De Scalzi
Producer: Lucio Gaudino
Production: Habana Film, supported by MiBACT,
with the support of Fondazione Apulia Film Commission
Cast: Gianmarco Tognazzi, Michele Venitucci, Rosaria Russo
BIF&ST – Bari International Film& Festival 2014: Officina Puglia
Chicago International Film Festival 2014: World Cinema
Cinema Italy - Miami/Atlanta/San Juan Italian Film Festival 2014
In the 80’s, in a small village in the south of Italy a group of kids enjoy their youth until in a windy
afternoon something terrible happens. Thirty years later, now adults, they have to deal with the
ghosts of their past.
“Eppideis” è un film corale, che si svolge in due epoche temporali diverse. La vicenda racconta di
un gruppo di ragazzini degli Anni ‘80 che si trova di fronte alla morte di un uomo, forse un omicidio.
Trent’anni dopo, ormai adulti, dovranno fare i conti con i problemi irrisolti della loro adolescenza.
Ministero
dei beni e delle
attività culturali
e del turismo

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