2014 Italian film fest includes Asian premiere of ‘The Great Beauty’

The 2014 Italian film festival, set to open formally on July 23, Wednesday via the invitational gala screening of Fernan Ozpetek’s “Allacciate le Cinture” (Fasten Your Seatbelts), boasts of the Asian and international premieres of two equally important Italian cinematic works.

First, Paolo Sorrentino's “La Grande Belleza” (The Great Beauty), winner of the 2014 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and of the 2014 British Academy Film Awards for Best Film Not in the English Language.



Second, that of the short documentary about life in Tondo, “A Tutto Tondo,” by Andrea Bosca.

This year’s MovieMov 4: Italian Cinema Now, as the Italian film festival is formally known, showcases 11 all-Italian full-length films plus Bosca’s 15-minute documentary from July 24 to July 27 at the Shangri-La Plaza Cineplex.

The films to be shown during the festival represent some of the most awarded Italian movies in the last 12 months, with their directors, actors, and actresses coming over to Manila to talk about their cinematic works.

MovieMov artistic director Sen. Goffredo Bettini said the festival especially addresses the young Filipino generation, paying particular attention to the educational component and involving college and university students for the evening screenings as well as special screenings dedicated to them.

Bettini, a former writer for Italian cinema journals who was just elected to the European Parliament, said in a speech that this year’s MovieMov films “will again give the Filipino audience not only an idea of how entertaining Italian cinema is, but also of how good the season was after the success of 'Great Beauty' at the Oscars.”

“This year we decided to give the festival a more popular and young feature. I am confident that this choice will bring new nourishment to our event, which has been characterized as one of the cinema appointments in Manila,” said Bettini in a speech read for him by a representative of the Italian Embassy.

Alfonso Tagliaferri, deputy head of mission of the Italian Embassy in Manila and first secretary at the embassy's Office of Political and Economic Affairs, said the 2014 MovieMov will be noted for featuring several comedies.

Comedies were instrumental in cementing the international standing and popularity of Italian cinema globally, Tagliaferri said in a media briefing.

“Italian comedy is not only something fun or comical. It’s more of the bittersweet kind,” said Tagliaferri, noting the Italian comedy genre has a way of “liberating” and “cleansing the hearts” of negative emotions and passions.

The Smokey Mountain Project

Sorrentino’s “La Grande Belleza” leads the pack as it takes the viewers on a trip to the Eternal City of Rome using the introspective gaze of the 65-year-old journalist-novelist Jep Gambardella.

“La Grande” is described by critics as the “La Dolce Vita” of the present, for its coruscating reflections about life set against the sublime sights of Rome. Behind the decadence and decay of everyday life in the city, Rome perpetually evokes somewhat a desperate beauty and charm.

One novel aspect of this year’s MovieMov is the Smokey Mountain Project, a fundraising campaign to assist about 20,000 Filipinos who live in the dumpsite.

The initial step in the fundraising is the international premiere of “A Tutto Tondo,” which is the debut work of Bosca as director and as a screenplayer. Among the Italian talents featured in the documentary area Giorgio Colangeli, Paola Minaccioni, and Salvatore Striano, with the support of Gioco del Lotto Lottomatica and Terna.

“A Tutto Tondo” is the story of a young but shy Italian who analyzes sketches and drawings and eventually encounters the family of a Filipino helper with a past.

The colliding of seemingly two distant worlds is full of surprises and irony, evolving into a diverse dialogue enriched with tragic and comic moments.

Schedule and film synopses

As in the past editions of MovieMov, there will be a spotlight on the works of a featured director.

This year it is the turn of screenwriter and director Ettore Scola, whose rich and extensive filmography will be introduced to Manila through three of his films:

• “Dramma della Gelosia” (The Pizza Triangle) - a classic tragi-comedy about a love triangle, the film garnered Scola a Palme d’Or nomination in the 1970 Cannes Film Festival;
• “C’eravamo Tanto Amati” (We All Loved Each Other So Much) - the 1970 César Award winner for Best Foreign Film, it is about three friends who go their own separate ways after spending time in the trenches fighting the Nazis, only to discover the disillusionments of life; and
• “La Cena” (The Dinner) - set in an Italian restaurant, the film features the diners—various people, young and old, tourists and regulars—who come to the restuarant to eat, talk and argue.

The opening film, “Allacciate,” is a romantic rollercoaster ride into the world of Elena and Antonio, lovers who are irrevocably attracted to each other despite their many differences. Elena is engaged to Giorgio, and Antonio to Silvia. However, an unexpected event dismantles the foundation of their relationships.

The consequence of silence is the focus of “Il Sud è Niente” (South Is Nothing), where young Grazia decides to search for her brother Pietro, who disappeared years ago. This causes strain in her relationship with her father, who has maintained a rule of silence about the disappearance.

In “Anni Felici” (Those Happy Years), a wife finds the courage to discover her own calling despite a self-absorbed husband who believes that a woman should stay home.

Family takes the center stage in “Il Capitale Umano” (Human Capital), where a cyclist is bumped off the road by a jeep on the night before Christmas Eve. The incident connects the rich Bernaschi family with the the near-bankrupt Rovelli family, and changes their destinies.

In “Sotto Una Buona Stella,” an emotionally distant father takes on caring for his two children and granddaughter after he loses his wife and job in just two days. Help comes in the form of his new neighbor, who also has issues of her own.

“Smetto Quando Voglio” (I Can Quit Whenever I Want) follows a recently-fired university researcher who decides to produce drugs with the help of his former colleagues.

“Benur - Un Gladiatore in Affitto” is about an out-of-work stuntman whose life is overturned when he meets an illegal immigrant from Belarus who takes over his work as a dress-up centurion at the Colosseum while he’s on holiday. — BM, GMA News

MovieMov 4: Italian Cinema Now is screening 11 all-Italian full-length films at the Shangri-La Plaza Cineplex from July 24 to July 27.