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The climax of the 9th annual Italian Film Fest is "Viva la Liberte", a brilliant political satire/comedy starring actor Toni Servillo in a dual role.
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feStival 2015--What’s nice about the days
surrounding Columbus Day in San Diego is that we all get to be Italian. But why celebrate by just going to a favorite
Italian restaurant (plenty of those in North Park)? Expand our horizons instead of our waistlines
to include the ninth annual San Diego Italian Film Festival showcases the best
of new Italian film and culture with a series of premieres ranging from
engaging dramas and entertaining comedies to documentaries telling unique
stories. All but one of the films were produced in Italy in 2013 and 2014, and all
but one are San Diego premieres, with several regional premieres and one U.S.
premiere.
“Going into
our ninth year, this lineup of films is very exciting,” says SDIFF president
Victor Laruccia. “We are reminded that the San Diego Italian Film Festival is
about more than just movies. It is about history, identity, and a shared
appreciation of great Italian cinema and culture—in a word, community. The San
Diego Italian Film Festival fulfills the role of Italian piazza or town square,
for a diverse audience of film lovers and those who appreciate Italian
culture.”
feStivale 2015 begins on October 13, 2015, at the
Museum of Photographic Arts, with O’mast. The festival continues with 11 more
Italian films, all but one of which have never been shown in San Diego,
including incisive documentaries reflecting life and society in Italy today.
Venues include the Museum of Photographic Arts, La Paloma Theatre, and
UltraStar at Hazard Center.
Details of
all feStivale 2015 events and films
can be found on the website: www.sandiegoitalianfilmfestival.com.
All tickets
are $10 ($8 SDIFF Members/Students/Military), at the door, cash only, except
for the Gala presentations, which are included in the Gala ticket.
ROSTER OF FILMS:
O’mast
Documentary
by Gianluca Migliarotti
October 13 @
7:30 pm
Venue:
Museum of Photographic Arts
Balboa Park
Details: This San Diego premiere is not the fashion of
blazing lights and runways. This is the quiet, generations-old culture of
private spaces and the fabrication of a second beautiful skin for a client who
aspires to high taste. The work of Neapolitan tailors is justly recognized
throughout the world, not only as a very special craft but one that requires no
fanfare. In this film we see the hands of masters who stitch melodies into
gorgeous fabrics and who make art at once heavenly and human.
Zoran, il mio nipote
scemo (Zoran, My Nephew the Idiot)
Comedy by
Matteo Oleotto, Italy/Slovenia, 2013
October 14
and October 15
Venues:
--Hazard
Center, Mission Valley, October 14 @ 7:30 pm
--La Paloma
Theatre, Encinitas, October 15 @ 7 pm
Details: San
Diego Premieres: Far in the northeast corner of Italy, where border changes
made this spot orphan territory, Paolo, a grumpy cook in an old folks’ home,
spends his time drinking local wine, until he learns of an inheritance in the
neighboring town in Slovenia. Instead of wealth, Paolo gets Zoran, a gawky teen
with no redeeming qualities as far as Paolo can see. But then Zoran finds a way
of teaming up with Paolo. Can Zoran survive his adventure? This Italian dish is
all sweet-and-sour delicious!
Perez
Drama by
Edoardo De Angelis, Italy, 2014
October 15
Venue: MoPA,
Balboa Park @ 7:30 pm
Details: Regional
premiere depicts a smart man on the edge of society who knows his talents but
not himself. A woman who uses him. Dark streets and dark moments. It all adds
up to Noir, which never have happy endings. This one has a stunning setting in
Naples, great acting, and choices between bad and even worse. Is there
salvation in this film? Is there redemption for a man who has never understood
redemption? This is a breathtaking look at the dark insides of human frailty
and the horns of a dangerous dilemma.
Il venditore di
medicine (The Medicine Seller)
Drama by
Antonio Morabito, Italy/Switzerland, 2014
Venue:
October 16: MoPA, Balboa Park @ 7:30 pm
October 22,
La Paloma Theatre, 7 pm
Details: Previous U.S. screening: only in San
Francisco.
A worthy
exposé of a pressing problem, both in Italy and the U.S.A.: Corruption in the
pharmaceutical industry. Bruno is a drug rep for Zafer. He bribes doctors,
deceives colleagues, betrays the trust of close friends. He is the last link in
illegal and widespread practices. The movie feels like a Hitchcock suspense
when Bruno pulls out all the stops to keep his world from imploding. Claudio
Santamaria delivers a multi-dimensional performance, mastering the character’s
irritability as pressure increases to the point where he trembles with stress.
Il nome del figlio
Drama by
Francesca Archibugi, Italy, 2014
Venues:
October 17 at La Paloma Theatre, 7 pm
October 23
at MoPA at 7:30 pm
Details:
This San Diego area premiere has everything: secrets. friendships. lies. music.
Fights and generations. Families are stuffed with these. What makes an Italian
family different? Is it the shadow of their Jewish patriarch’s wartime tragedy?
In a single night everything changes for the Pontecorvos, beginning with a
teasing joke, ending with powerful revelations, and ultimately with a
reaffirmation of both the people and their relationships. It’s a comedy, deeply
Italian. And maybe this is all you need to know. An incredible cast, a great
story, and a vision of love, hate, and ultimately hope.
Two Films:
October 18
(both)
Virtuosity
Documentary
by Christopher Wilkinson, U.S.A., 2014
Venue: MoPA
4 pm
Film #1: The
Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, held every four years in Texas, is
about to begin. Running 17 days, the Cliburn invites 30 of the world’s finest
pianists to battle it out for top honors. At stake are prizes worth millions,
and the winner is practically guaranteed a performing career. This delightful
documentary is an engrossing, well-rounded portrait of some of the world’s most
talented (and nervous) musicians. And among them there are a few incredible
Italians. Come see who is going to win!
Smetto quando voglio (I can quit
whenever I want), I
Comedy by
Sydney Sibilia, Italy, 2013
Venue: MoPA
7:30 pm
Details: San
Diego premiere. Brilliant researcher Pietro is laid off when cuts are made at
his university. What a common story in contemporary Italy! But Pietro reacts
boldly. He decides to put together a gang with the best of his ex-colleagues,
who are by now all underemployed. Macroeconomics, theoretical chemistry,
anthropology, and classics all turn out to be perfect for climbing the drug-dealer
career ladder. Success is immediate, with money, power, and women. But when you
go up too fast, falling down loudly yet with great humor seems to be
inevitable.
Maicol Jecson (Moonwalking Distance)
October 19
Comedy by
Francesco Calabrese and Enrico Audenino, Italy, 2014
Venue: MoPA
7:30 pm
Details: U.S.
premiere,
It’s the
last week of June 2009. Sixteen-year-old Andrea decides to skip summer camp
while his parents are on vacation. The boy’s plan is clear: He schemes to be
alone with Eva, a beautiful girl who wants to make love for the first time, and
with him! His plan, though, is hampered by his younger brother, Tommaso, a
smart and introverted kid whose idol is Michael Jackson, and Cesare, an old man
who pretends to be their grandfather. Ready for a hilarious adventure on the
road?
I nostri ragazzi
(The Dinner)
October 20
Drama by
Ivano De Matteo, Italy, 2014
Venue: MoPA,
7:30 pm
Details:
Regional premiere. Pediatrician Paolo and lawyer Massimo are brothers who
seemingly enjoy all the trappings of bourgeois success, dutifully meeting once
a month for dinner with their wives at an expensive restaurant despite the
women’s mutual dislike. However, when a tape reveals that Paolo’s son and
Massimo’s daughter may have done something potentially very wrong, heavy
resentments boil to the surface. The tension is intense and the acting is
superb: All the players show great intensity and De Matteo adds humanity to
Koch’s dark story.
La nostra terra
(Mafia & Tomatoes)
October 21
Comedy by
Giulio Manfredonia, Italy, 2014
Venue: MoPA,
7:30 pm
Details: Politics,
humor, irony and the beauty of the Italian countryside. What else should we
wish from an Italian comedy? Planting tomatoes may seem a safe enough activity,
except when it is conducted on a land confiscated by the State from Mafia
bosses. Determined to work the land, a group of dreamers is undeterred by the
fact that they don’t know how to farm. Unseen powers, orchestrated by the boss
from behind bars, obstruct them at every turn. Nonetheless, the co-op members
find ways to muddle through, and they finally produce a fabulous harvest. Is
this victory or just the beginning?
L’arbitro
(The Referee)
October 22
Comedy by
Paolo Zucca, Italy/Argentina, 2013
Venue: MoPA,
7:30 pm
Details: Regional
premiere. In a Sardinian setting as iconic and timeless as the Old West of
Monument Valley, Montecrastu and Atletico Parabile fight it out on all levels
of life: work, romance, class, sheep, and most of all—calcio (soccer). It’s a
blood sport, with Parabile always loosing, with the local boss (and captain of
Montecrastu) lording it over all. Into this world come two outsiders: l’Arbitro
Cruciani, rising star demoted for getting caught, and striker Matzutzi,
Argentine with feet of gold. There are, however, other rules in this world than
those of the sport—there’s irony, vendetta, and winning, period.
Viva la libertà
(Long Live Freedom)
October 24 (Closing gala presentation)
Comedy by
Roberto Andò, Italy, 2013
Venue: MoPA,
5:30 pm. This night only. $100 per
person ($85 for Members, Students, and Military) includes heavy appetizers and
movie.
Details: Enrico
Oliveri is an important politician on the verge of a breakdown: Unwilling to
face the failure of his party, he vanishes. His assistant Andrea finds out that
there is a twin brother, Giovanni, who has been in an institution. Andrea’s
plan to have Giovanni pose as Enrico takes a turn when the supposed “crazy”
stand-in turns out to have bright ideas wildly embraced by the electorate. A
bold political satire with an extraordinary performance by Toni Servillo, who
plays two roles,filling each character with brilliant nuance.
About the San Diego Italian Film
Festival
A complete
lineup of SDIFF events, dates, venues, tickets, and more details, can be found at
www.sandiegoitalianfilmfestival.com.
Now in its
ninth season, the San Diego Italian Film Festival (SDIFF), a not-for-profit
501c(3) organization, has quickly made its mark on the local landscape, joining
ranks among the most beloved film festivals San Diego has to offer. Each year
it brings the passion, love, comedy, despair, and hope of the best of Italian
film to San Diego, affording audiences the opportunity to learn about Italian
film from scholars and directors who continue to influence filmmaking throughout
the world.
The San
Diego Italian Film Festival is about more than just movies—it is about
identity, history, and a shared appreciation of Italian culture and great
cinema. In a word, it is about community, a place for a diverse audience of
film lovers and those who appreciate Italian culture. Movies or events such as
CineCucina or Dine on the Docks are presented year-round, celebrating Italian
film and cuisine. The annual SDIFF Gala brings people together in lively
Italian style providing guests with great film and food for the senses.
San Diego
Italian Film Festival
Victor
Laruccia, Executive Director
3593 Fifth
Ave., Suite A, San Diego, CA 92103
www.sandiegoitalianfilmfestival.com
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