2009 Lavazza Italian Film Festival presented by Palace Cinemas information from modmove

LAPDANCE LARRY

SEVENTIES SIMON

PHOTOGRAPHY

COMIC ART

INTERVIEWS

Sub-menu 1.2.1.1

FESTIVALS

EXHIBITIONS

2009 Lavazza Italian Film Festival presented
by Palace Cinemas
Celebrating 10 years of passion, romance and thrills don’t miss the 2009 selection of highly acclaimed and multi-award-winning contemporary Italian films from the Cannes and Berlin festivals plus Italy’s major Rome and Venice Film Festivals; and rediscover some of the finest films of the last decade in the 10th Anniversary Selection of under-seen gems.

This year's Opening Night Gala features the Australian Premieres of the critically acclaimed, Cannes-nominated new drama VINCERE from auteur Marco Bellocchio (Good Morning, Night), which tells the little-known but heartbreaking story of Ida Dalsar, the first wife of Benito Mussolini, starring the ravishing Giovanna Mezzorgiorno (Facing Windows) in a career-best performance. VINCERE is a film that will haunt you long after the credits have rolled.

Other highlights include new films from auteurs Marco Risi FORTÀPASC, Gabriele Salvatores AS GOD COMMANDS and Pupi Avati GIOVANNI’S FATHER, major works from rising talents Gianni Di Gregorio MID-AUGUST LUNCH and Maria Sole Tognazzi THE MAN WHO LOVES starring the eternal Monica Bellucci, Ferzan Ozpetek’s compelling ensemble drama A PERFECT DAY, luminous Hollywood-Italian star Valeria Golino in GUILIA DOESN’T GO OUT AT NIGHT, and Massimo Ranieri in the touching fable THE LAST PULCINELLA, plus box office smash hit MANY KISSES LATER and THE 1000-EURO GENERATION.

Here are some of the festival highlights...

Vincere
The Festival is delighted to open with the powerful new film from acclaimed auteur Marco Bellocchio (My Mother’s Smile – IFF02, Good Morning, Night – IFF04, The Wedding Director - IFF06), a compelling new drama based on the little known story of Benito Mussolini’s first wife.

Ida Dalsar (Giovanno Mezzogiorno in a career-best performance) and Mussolini (Filippo Timi) begin their liaison in 1914; she is a well-to-do beauty salon owner and he is an impoverished young Socialist and union activist. When Ida sells all her possessions to fund her lover's new newspaper, the rise of Fascism is set into play…

While the history is fascinating, it's the film's mesmerising style that takes the breath away, alternately theatrical, spectacular, intimate and resounding. Screening direct from Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival, VINCERE is a gripping film that combines drama, archive footage, and music creating a highly cinematic oratorio of enormous rhetorical force.

Giovanna's Father
Prolific writer/director Pupi Avati’s compelling and emotional new drama tells the story of a protective father besotted by his daughter who he treats like a princess, only to discover she’s not the shy girl he thought.

Bologna, 1938. Michele Casali (Silvio Orlando, The Caiman-IFF06) is an artist and a teacher at his teenage daughter Giovanna’s (Alba Rohrwacher, Riprendimi – IFF08) school. Giovanna is a shy and insecure teenage girl who doesn’t fit in at school, so her father does his best to help her - even by using the little authority he has as a teacher to favour a handsome male student (Antonio Pisu) only because he’s the first boy to pay Giovanna any attention.

Avati’s handsomely produced new film is marked by tremendous performances: Silvio Orlando was awarded Best Actor at Venice for his moving and emotionally charged turn; Rohrwacher received the Best Actress Award at this year’s David di Donatello's, whilst Francesca Neri and Ezio Greggio bring great dignity to their supporting roles.

A Perfect Day
Based on the popular novel by Melania Mazzucco, A PERFECT DAY is the stirring new film from celebrated writer/director Ferzan Ozpetek (Facing Windows IFF03, Saturn in Opposition – IFF07) and captures the 24 hours before the lives of a group of people are irreversibly connected.

Antonio (Valerio Mastandrea) is a bodyguard. He refuses to accept that his marriage to Emma (Isabella Ferrari, Her Whole Life Ahead – IFF08) is over. Their two children Valentina (Nicole Murgia) and Kevin (Gabriele Paolino) welcome reconciliation but Emma knows this can never be. Meanwhile, his boss, MP Fioravanti (Valerio Binasco), tries frantically to salvage his political career, unaware that he is destroying his personal life. Then there is Mara (Monica Guerritore), a lonely and complicated professor who re-discovers her long lost love.

Woven against the frenetic backdrop of Rome, their stories inspire a compelling contemporary mixture of love and politics. Ozpetek, a master of subtle, involving ensemble drama, constructs a sensitive atmosphere, which is tender and touching about the characters' emotions, whilst inexorably building up the suspense to a shattering, powerful denouement.

The Sicilian Girl
THE SICILIAN GIRL (aka The Sicilian Rebel) is a gripping crime-drama, inspired by a true story of a young girl who broke ranks to testify against the Mafia.

On November morning in 1991, 17-year-old Rita Atria (Veronica D'Agostino) approached the chief prosecutor of Palermo (Gerard Jugnot), intent on vindicating her father and brother's mafia-related deaths, and ready to tell all. It was the first time that the daughter of a mafia family openly rebelled against the traditionally male-dominated organization and from then on, she knows her days are numbered…

Recounting a major turning point in Sicily’s war against organised crime with a palpable, angry passion, THE SICILIAN GIRL is the evocatively captured debut feature of former documentarian Marco Amenta, led by the mercurial title performance by Veronica D’Agostino. Eloquent and potent, this is a compelling portrait of the power of organised crime.

2006 Lavazza Italian Film Festival presented by Palace Cinemas
Dates and Venues:
Melbourne 16/09-05/10/09 Palace Cinemas Melbourne
Sydney 23/09-12/10/09 Palace Cinemas Sydney
Brisbane 30/09-18/10/09 Palace Cinemas Brisbane
Adelaide 04-28/10/09 Palace Cinemas Adelaide
Perth 15-28/10/09 Palace Cinemas Perth
Canberra 15-25/10/09 Palace Cinemas Canberra
Official Site: www.italianfilmfestival.com.au


other festivals
Audi Festival of German Film 2012 The Audi Festival of German Films is back with a bang in 2012 with more than 30 feature films and a premium crop of short films screening over 2 weeks. Read more >> FLiCKERFEST – 21st International Short Film Festival Tour Bite size chunks of great cinema! Read more >>


Stay up to date with modmove news
about modmove
What to know how we got started? Read more >>
read the modmove blog
Check out all the random stuff that didn't make it to the website! Read more >>
contact Us
If you have any queries or if you would like more information about modmove, we would love to hear from you! Read more >>
join our mailing list
subscribe to the mailing list and receive the modmove newsletter. Full Name Email Address Enter Word Verification in box below
search
search modmove for previous news and reviews.