MOVIEMOV, Italian Film Festival returns online, features tribute to director/author Pier Paolo Pasolini

PlaytownRoma Cultural Association, headed by festival directors Fabia Bettini and Gianluca Giannelli, with the support of the Direzione Generale per il Cinema, the Italian Ministry for Culture, in collaboration with the Philippine Italian Association, the Film Development Council of the Philippines, the Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines, and under the auspices of the Embassy of Italy to the Philippines, bring back to the MOVIEMOV, the Italian Film Festival happening online on March 31-April 4, 2022.

Now on its 11th edition, this year's festival sees 8 contemporary Italian movies in the Showcase section, with most of the screenings to be followed by a talk with the director and/or cast. Another highlight for this edition is the tribute to Italian author and director Pier Paolo Pasolini via the screening of 2 films and a masterclass to be participated in by various colleges and universities in the country.

Taking the role of Festival Godfather this year is actor Lorenzo Richelmy. He will present Diario di spezie, a film which he stars in that will be premiering at the festival. Also scheduled to participate at the festival are actors Carlotta Antonelli, Paolo Calabresi, Anna Ferruzzo, and Antonia Truppo and directors Renzo Carbonera and Hleb Papou who will join the talks of their respective films.

The film screenings and talks will be streamed online for free via the https://www.mymovies.it/ondemand/moviemov/ portal. All films will be in their original language with English subtitles. The films are only available for viewers in the Philippines and in Thailand.

Here is the film line up for the 11th edition of MOVIEMOV.

Ariaferma/The Inner Cage (2021)

Director: Leonardo Di Costanzo

Cast: Toni Servillo, Silvio Orlando, Fabrizio Ferracane

An old prison built in the 19th century, located in a remote and unspecified part of the Italian territory, is being decommissioned. As a result of bureaucratic holdups the transfers have been blocked and a dozen inmates are left, along with a few guards, waiting to be sent to new destinations. In a suspended atmosphere, the rules that keep them separate are slackened and new forms of relationship emerge among the remaining men.

Diario di spezie/Diary of Spices (2021)

Director: Massimo Donati

Cast: Lorenzo Richelmy, Fabrizio Ferracane, Fabrizio Rongione

Just what is the strange bond between Luca Treves, a famous chef and spice connoisseur, and Andreas Dürren Fischer, renowned restorer of Flemish paintings? Luca and Andreas belong to two different worlds, art and cuisine, and they are complete opposites. Yet when Luca meets Andreas, he senses the time has finally come to make a radical career change. The art restorer’s invite to accompany him on a short business trip to Germany represents the perfect occasion for Luca to meet new clients and say goodbye to the restaurant in the provinces that gives him security, true, but prevents him from taking his career to another level. So Luca takes Andreas up on his offer, little knowing that the affable art restorer is hiding unspeakable secrets and that he himself will be sucked into a private hell that makes short work of his morality and forces him to make appalling choices. The only thing he can latch on to as a way to preserve his sanity is his diary, the one where he jots down notes on spices and keeps his recipes.

Futura (2021)

Directors: Pietro Marcello, Francesco Munzi, Alice Rohrwacher

Futura is a truly collective work, where collectiveness is at the service of a whole project. It explores what boys and girls from 15 to 20 think about the future, through a series of interviews filmed during a long journey across Italy. It is a portrait of the country, as seen through the eyes of a group of teens who talk about the places they live in, their dreams, expectations, desires and fears.

Il legionario/The Legionnaire (2021)

Director: Hleb Papou

Cast: Germano Gentile, Maurizio Bousso, Marco Falaguasta, Félicité Mbezelé

Daniel is the only African-Italian officer in the flying squad in Rome, tasked with evicting 150 families from an apartment building that they have taken over. One of the families is his own.

Mamma Roma (1962)

Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini

Cast: Anna Magnani, Ettore Garofolo

After years spent working as a prostitute in her Italian village, middle-aged Mamma Roma has saved enough money to buy herself a fruit stand so that she can have a respectable middle-class life and reestablish contact with the 16-year-old son she abandoned when he was an infant. But her former pimp threatens to expose her sordid past, and her troubled son seems destined to fall into a life of crime and violence.

Marx può aspettare/Marx Can Wait (2021)

Director: Marco Bellocchio

Through this film with its enigmatic title, the filmmaker attempts to understand, humbly and retrospectively, his twin borther's suicide at the age of 29. A family tragedy that he has never really recovered from, both a source of guilt and inspiration. Blending excerpts from his films and conversations with people close to him, Bellocchio investigates this fraternal figure that never ceases to haunt his filmography.

Qui rido io/The King of Laughter (2021)

Director: Mario Martone

Cast: Toni Servillo, Maria Nazionale, Cristiana Dell’Anna, Antonia Truppo, Eduardo Scarpetta, Roberto De Francesco, Lino Musella, Paolo Pierobon, Gianfelice Imparato, Iaia Forte

At the beginning of the 20th century, in Belle Époque Naples, theatres and the cinema were thriving. The great comic actor Eduardo Scarpetta was the king of the box office. Of humble origin, he made his reputation with his comedies and the character of Felice Sciosciammocca. The theatre was his life and around the theatre gravitated the whole of his peculiar family, composed of wives, partners, lovers and legitimate and illegitimate children, including Titina, Eduardo and Peppino De Filippo. In 1904, at the height of his popularity, Scarpetta took a great risk: he staged a parody of La figlia di Iorio, a tragedy written by the greatest Italian poet of the day, Gabriele D’Annunzio. The evening of its première in the theatre all hell broke loose: the performance was interrupted by boos and catcalls and Scarpetta ended up being sued for plagiary by D’Annunzio himself. It was the beginning of the first ever lawsuit on copyright in Italy. The years that the case took would be draining for him and his whole family. Everything in Scarpetta’s life seemed to be falling apart, but with the act of a great thespian he would take his fate into his own hands and win in the end.

La rabbia di Pasolini (1963/2008)

Directors; Pier Paolo Pasolini, Giuseppe Bertolucci

An attempt to reconstruct the complete version of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s segment of La rabbia.

Takeaway (2021)

Director: Renzo Carbonera

Cast: Libero De Rienzo, Carlotta Antonelli, Primo Reggiani, Paolo Calabresi, Anna Ferruzzo, Camillo Grassi, Camillo Ventola, Ivan Polidoro

Maria is ambitioned in professional sports, she is a walker. Johnny, a past career as medical assistant in the GDR Olympic team, helps her with illegal substances backed by her parents. As they encounter Tom, whose health Johnny ruined through doping, it comes to a showdown.

La tana/The Den (2021)

Director: Beatrice Baldacci

Cast: Irene Vetere, Lorenzo Aloi, Helénè Nardini

In the summer of his nineteenth year, Giulio has decided not to go away: he will spend his vacation at home, helping his parents with their work in the vegetable garden. In the house next door, empty for some time, arrives Lia, a twenty-year-old girl. Giulio would like to get to know her, but she is sullen and introverted. One day Giulio is swimming in the lake and Lia plays at drowning him. Giulio is a regular guy, sensitive and polite to a fault. Attracted to her, he starts thinking about her day and night. Lia initiates him into strange and increasingly dangerous “games.” The girl won’t talk about herself though. She has told him she came alone to spend her vacation in the old family home, where she hadn’t been since she was a child. But Lia has secrets to keep and won’t let anyone set foot in the old and abandoned house

Here is the schedule of the screenings, talks, and masterclass.

March 31, 2022

11:00 AM Mamma Roma

4:30 PM Qui rido io

7:00 PM Festival Opening Encounter with Lorenzo Richelmy (actor, Diario di spezie/Festival Godfather), Antonia Truppo (actress, Qui rido io), Carlotta Antonelli (actress, Takeaway) Anna Ferruzzo (actress, Takeaway) and Paolo Calabresi (actor, Takeaway).

April 1, 2022

4:30 PM Il legionario

6:30 PM Encounter with Hleb Papou (director, Il legionario)

7:30 PM Marx può aspettare

April 2, 2022

4:30 PM Takeaway

6:30 PM Encounter with Renzo Carbonera (director, Takeaway) and Anna Ferruzzo (actress, Takeaway)

7:30 PM La tana

April 3, 2022

4:30 PM Futura

7:30 PM Ariaferma

April 4, 2022

11:00 AM La rabbia di Pasolini

6:30 PM Masterclass on Pier Paolo Pasolini

7:30 PM Diario di spezie

In the Philippines, MOVIEMOV is organized under the auspices of the Embassy of Italy to the Philippines; in collaboration with The Philippine Italian Association, the Film Development Council of the Philippines, the Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines; in partnership with the Film Institute of the University of the Philippines Diliman, Ateneo de Manila University, Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, the MINT College, College of St. Benilde-School of Design and the Arts (Digital Filmmaking program), Asian Institute of Maritime Studies (School of Heritage), Lyceum University of the Philippines Cavite, University of Science and Technology of Southern Philippines (Office of Arts and Culture), Far Eastern University, University of the Philippines Los Baños, University of the Cordilleras (College of Arts and Sciences), University of San Carlos, Ateneo de Naga University Press, Savage Mind, Ateneo Association of European Studies Students, UP Euro-Filipino Understanding and Relations Organization, and Communication Program Council of the University De La Salle of Dasmariñas; in media partnership with Art+ magazine and The Philippine Business and News.

10th Moviemov Italian Film Festival returns online, gives tribute to Pinocchio

The Moviemov Italian Film Festival marks its return this 2021 with a tribute to Pinocchio, a selection of 8 films, and more happening on February 1-6, 2021 at the My Movies virtual movie house.

For its 10th edition, and second to be held online, the festival introduces Moviemov Industry focusing on the business side of film in addition to festival mainstays Moviemov Showcase which is dedicated to the film screenings, and Moviemov for Social Issues which will deal with social issues concerning both Italy and the Philippines.

Actress Sara Serraiocco, who stars in one of films to be shown this year, is this editions’s Guest of Honor aka the Godmother of the festival.

“I’m honored to be the guest of honor of Moviemov, a festival that gives visibility to Italian movies in the Philippines”, declared Sara Serraiocco. “Especially in this difficult time for cinema, with the movie houses still closed.”

One of the main highlights this year is the tribute to Pinocchio, in celebration of its 140th anniversary since the character’s appearance in Carlo Collodi’s children’s novel, initially serialized on the weekly Giornale per i bambini (children’s newspaper), between 1881 and 1882.

Various feature film adaptations, including the 2002 Roberto Benigni starrer, lead the Pinocchio tribute. A masterclass navigating through literature and cinema will also take place organized by the Embassy of Italy in Manila in collaboration with the Philippine-Italian Association and the Ateneo de Naga University Press.

Here are the eight films of the 10th Edition of Moviemov Italian Film Festival.

Non odiare/Thou Shalt Not Hate

Director: Mauro Mancini

Cast: Alessandro Gassmann, Sara Serraiocco, Luka Zunic, Lorenzo Buonora

The son of a Holocaust survivor who lives in Trieste as a surgeon begins to doubt his actions of refusing to help a victim of a traffic accident that he encountered on his way home from work.

Volevo nascondermi/Hidden Away

Director: Giorgio Diritti

Cast: Elio Germano, Leonardo Carrozzo, Oliver Ewy, Gianni Fantoni, Andrea Gherpelli, Orietta Notari, Denis Campitelli, Guglielmo Pagnozzi, Peter Hottinger, Koch Dagny

Antonio is expelled from Switzerland to Italy against his will. For years he lives in poverty in the Po floodplains, but he never gives up his passion for drawing. The story of Antonio Ligabue, a revolutionary loner in modern art.

I predatori/Predators

Director: Pietro Castellitto

Cast: Massimo Popolizio, Manuela Mandracchia, Pietro Castellitto, Giorgio Montanini, Dario Cassini, Anita Caprioli

This is the story of two households that are complete opposites: the Pavone and Vismara families. One bourgeois and intellectual and the other proletarian and Fascist, these apparently contrary family units share the same jungle: Rome. A trivial accident will bring these two poles together. And the madness of a 25-year-old youth will set them on a collision course, discovering the cards to reveal that everyone has a secret and no one is what he or she seems to be – and that we are all predators.

Palazzo di giustizia/Ordinary Justice

Director: Chiara Bellosi

Cast: Daphne Scoccia, Bianca Leonardi, Sarah Short, Nicola Rignanese, Giovanni Anzaldo, Andrea Lattanzi

Two girls wait in front of a closed courtroom door. There’s playful, headstrong Luce, who’s still little and insecure and there’s dismissive Domenica, who’s almost grown-up. Inside, their fathers are seated on opposite sides of the courtroom. The trial is complicated - was it manslaughter or murder? Out in the hallway, the daughters are unsure about what to do.

Padrenostro

Director: Claudio Noce

Cast: Pierfrancesco Favino, Barbara Ronchi, Mattia Garaci, Francesco Gheghi, Antonio Gerardi, Francesco Colella, Anna Maria De Luca, Mario Pupella, Lea Favino, Eleonora De Luca, Simone Chiacchiararelli

Rome, 1976. Valerio (Mattia Garaci) is 10 yo kid with a fervent imagination. His life is turned upside down when he witnesses a terrorist commando attempting his father Alfonso (Pierfrancesco Favino). From that moment, fear and a sense of vulnerability mark the feelings of the whole family. During those dramatic days Valerio meets Christian (Francesco Gheghi), a compelling boy slightly older than him. Lonely, rebellious and cheeky, Christian seems to come from nowhere. That encounter, in a summer full of discoveries, will change their lives forever.

Punta sacra

Director: Francesca Mazzoleni

The last patch of land – the last triangle of habitable space at the mouth of the Tiber. Its inhabitants call it Punta Sacra, Sacred Point. The story stars the very community of Ostia’s Seadrome, with Franca’s all-female family narrating and driving the tales that make up the Punta Sacra documentary. It is a story where realism and projections into the imaginary intertwine, suspended between nostalgia and inescapable pragmatism. Above all, there is the people’s wish not to leave.

Pinocchio

Director: Matteo Garrone

Cast: Federico Ielapi, Roberto Benigni, Gigi Proietti, Rocco Papaleo, Massimo Ceccherini, Matilda De Angelis, Alida Baldari Calabria, Alessio Di Domenicantonio, Roberto Perpignani, Davide Marotta

Geppetto, an old woodcarver, receives a piece of wood perfect for his next project: a puppet. But something magical happens – the cheeky puppet begins to talk, and can walk, run and eat like any young boy. Geppetto calls him Pinocchio, and brings him up as his son. But Pinocchio finds it hard to be good. Easily led astray, he tumbles from one misadventure to another as he is tricked, kidnapped and chased by bandits through a fantastical world full of imaginative creatures – from the belly of a giant fish, to the land of toys and the field of miracles. His loyal friend, the Fairy with the Turquoise Hair, tries to make him see that his dream – to be a real boy – can never come true until Pinocchio finally changes his ways.

Il mio corpo

Director: Michele Pennetta

In a deep and abandoned Sicily Oscar, the son of a junk dealer, and Stanley, a young immigrant, live on the margins of society. Oscar and his older brother Roberto work with their father, collecting scrap metal from illegal landfills. Each metal has its own value and the Oscar family survives by transforming other people's waste into a new bargaining chip. It is a grueling job. Oscar and Roberto are linked by a common story but the eldest, committed to excel to survive, escapes the role of ally, leaving Oscar alone. For Stanley the worst seems to be behind him: a small apartment for himself, a twoyear residence permit and a friend with whom to share some food and memories. He could leave Sicily and try his luck in a country that gives him a real chance, but something keeps him in this limbo. A seasonal job takes him to the deep hinterland, in lands of old abandoned mines and pastures. In this forgotten place, between debris and scrap metal, the solitudes of Oscar and Stanley will touch for a brief moment.

The screening of the short film, Princess by Silvia Luzi and Luca Bellino, headlines Moviemov for Social segment that serves as a dialogue between Italy and the Philippines. The dialogue will focus on the terrible fire that destroyed the homes of a Filipino community in Rome last August.

New to the festival, Moviemov Industry is an online business section with dedicated screenings and meetings organized with the purpose of promoting audiovisual products through dedicated screenings for buyers, panel discussions and online meetings, among others. This segment is presented in collaboration with the Film Development Council of the Philippines with the support of Ass.For.SEO, and funding by Regione Lazio and MOVIE UP 2020.

Here is the screening schedule of Moviemov Italian Film Festival 2021. Films can be viewed via the My Movies portal.

February 1, 2021

11:00 AM Pinocchio Tribute

6:00 PM Volevo Nascondermi

8:00 PM Talk with director and cast

February 2, 2021

11:00 AM Pinocchio Tribute

4:30 PM Punta sacra

6:30 PM Talk with director, Francesca Mazzoleni

7:30 PM Padrenostro

9:00 PM Masterclass with director and cast

February 3, 2021

11:00 AM Pinocchio Tribute

4:30 PM Palazzo di giustizia

6:30 PM Talk with director and cast

9:00 PM Princess

February 4, 2021

11:00 AM Pinocchio Tribute

4:30 PM I predatori

6:30 PM Talk with the cast

February 5, 2021

4:30 PM Pinocchio

6:30 PM Talk with the cast

7:30 PM Non odiare

9:30 PM Masterclass with director and cast

February 6, 2021

4:30 PM Il mio corpo

6:30 PM Talk with the director, Michele Pennetta

7:30 PM Announcement of Winners

Moviemov Italian Film Festival 2021 is produced by Playtown Roma, under the direction of Fabia Bettini and Gianluca Giannelli, with the support of the Directorate general for Cinema of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage. Since 2010, Moviemov has mounted festivals in Bangkok, Hanoi and Manila.

The festival is organized in the Philippines with the support of the Italian Embassy, the collaboration of the Film Development Council of the Philippines, the Philippine Italian Association, Ateneo de Naga, Xavier University Ateneo de Cagayan, De La Salle University Bacolod (Institute of the Moving Image), De La Salle University Manila, College of Saint Benilde School of Arts and Design, University of the Philippines Diliman Film Institute and media partners like CNN Philippines, ANC, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Philippine Business and News.

Moviemov Italian Film Festival returns to Manila, war melodrama opens festival

Luca Bellino, Silvia Luzi, Federica Sabatini, Mario Sesti, Goffredo Bettini,
Silvia D'amico, and Agostino Ferrente

After almost two and a half years, Moviemov: Italian Cinema Now 2019 has returned to Manila. And true to the Moviemov experience, a delegation from Italy composed of actors, directors, film personalities, and of course, Senator Goffredo Bettini, flew to the country for the duration of the film festival held at the Cinematheque Centre Manila at the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

The Italian delegation is led by actress Silvia D’amico who overcame her fear of traveling by air to be here as the godmother of this edition's Moviemov.

Agostino Ferrente, Mario Sesti, Federica Sabatini, Silvia Luzi, and Luca Bellino

Filmmaker Agostino Ferrente, whose film Selfie is part of the lineup, was in a more somber mood during the press conference as his thoughts are with the victims of the earthquake that shook parts of Luzon on Monday, the day before the film festival opened.

The ever reliable Cristina Moricca translating for Senator Goffredo Bettini

The directing duo of Silvia Luzi and Luca Bellino of Il cratere, Saremo giovani e belissimi actress Federica Sabatini, and film critic Mario Sesti made up the rest of the delegation who graced the opening of the festival. It is such a pity that actor Lorenzo Richelmy, previously announced as part of the delegation, wasn't able to make it especially since he stars in Una questione privata, the festival's opening film.

Una questione privata/Rainbow: A Private Affair

The last film to be directed by the brothers Vittorio and Paolo Taviani as a duo, before Vittorio passed away in 2018, Una questione privata is about Milton (Luca Marinelli), a lovestruck resistance fighter whose political cause goes to the wayside as he searches for his friend Giorgio (Lorenzo Richelmy), who is also a partisan stationed elsewhere. Milton gets shaken when he learns that his object of affection, Fulvia (Valentina Belle), had several late night rendezvous with Giorgio soon after he left to join the resistance.

Milton's search for Giorgio gets more complicated when the latter gets captured by the fascists. He goes on trying to find himself a fascist to take prisoner whom he could exchange for his friend. And just like the mist that fogs the hills, Milton's mind is clouded as well with his search for Giorgio. In the end, it is still shrouded in mystery the final fates of the three.

Discussions on what the ending of the movie really means could be heard as soon as people left the Cinematheque. This made me wish that Richelmy was present at the festival to know his views regarding the ambiguous ending of the film. It probably would be helpful to get hold of a copy of the novel by Beppe Fenoglio  in which this film was based on to understand the movie a lot better.

Moviemov Italian Cinema Now 2019 runs until April 26, 2019 at the Cinematheque Center Manila at the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

Italian films, actors, and directors at Moviemov 2019

Roll out the red carpet as Moviemov: Italian Cinema Now returns this April 23-26, 2019 at the Cinematheque Centre Manila at the Film Development Council of the Philippines.

Now in its fifth edition here in the country, Moviemov this year will focus on Authors of Cinema of Reality, featuring a selection of eight of the most representative and awarded movies of the last cinema season namely Una questione privata/Rainbow – A Private Affair, Manuel, Saremo giovanj e bellisimi/We'll Be Young and Beautiful, C'è tempo, Il cratere/Crater, La paranza dei bambini/Piranhas, Selfie, and Troppa grazia/Lucia's Grace. The festival will also pay tribute to Bernardo Bertolucci through the screening of The Dreamers. The films will be in their original Italian language with English subtitles. Admission is for free on a first come, first served basis.

Aside from the screenings, the festival will also see the arrival of a delegation from Italy composed of directors Silvia Luzi, Luca Bellino and Agostino Ferrente, actors Lorenzo Richelmy and Federica Sabatini, film critic Mario Sesti, and film producer Daniele Orazi. They will present their respective films at the screenings while some will conduct masterclasses for the educational component of the festival.

Moviemov: Italian Cinema Now is created and directed by Goffredo Bettini and organized by Playtown Roma, the Moviemov is realized thanks to the MIBACT (Directorate-General for Cinema of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism) and SIAE (the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers), with the collaboration of the Italian Embassy in Philippines, the Philippine Italian Association, and the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP).

Here are the selection of films for Moviemov: Italian Cinema Now 2019.

Una questione privata/Rainbow – A Private Affair

Director: Vittorio Taviani, Paolo Taviani

Cast: Luca Marinelli, Lorenzo Richelmy, Valentina Bellè, Francesca Agostini, Jacopo Olmo Antinori

Summer 1943, Piedmont, Italy. Milton loves Fulvia who plays with his love: she only likes the depth of his thought and the letters he writes to her. One year later, Milton has joined the Resistance and fights beside other partisans. He learns during a conversation that Fulvia was secretly in love with his friend Giorgio, a partisan like him. Milton decides to go find Giorgio in the Langhe region and its misty hills… But Giorgio has just been arrested by the Fascists.

Manuel

Director: Dario Albertini

Cast: Andrea Lattanzi, Francesca Antonelli, Renato Scarpa, Giulia Elettra Gorietti, Raffaella Rea

Manuel has just turned 18. It is time to leave the foster home where he has lived for the past years, after his mother went to prison. But the newfound freedom is bittersweet. Roaming the streets of his desolate neighborhood, alone with his hopes and fears, Manuel tries to leave the teenager behind and become a responsible adult. He must prove to the authorities that he can look after his mother if she is granted house arrest. Can he give her back her freedom, without losing his?

Saremo giovani e belissimi/We'll Be Young and Beautiful

Director: Letizia Lamartire

Cast: Barbora Bobulova, Alessandro Piavani, Massimiliano Gallo, Federica Sabatini, Elisabetta De Vito

Isabella still sings Tic Tac, the song that made her famous in the early nineties, when she was only seventeen. Her place is the Big Star, which has also become her second home. Her young son Bruno is her guitarist. The two are inseparable, they perform every night together and they share a ramshackle but happy life of unpaid bills and midnight strolls around the city. Bruno, however, dreams of a different musical career.

Light touches of comedy and the music bring to life the slow but necessary separation between mother and son, a crucial and painful detachment. Just like the end of any other love story.

C'è tempo

Director: Walter Veltroni 

Cast:  Stefano Fresi, Giovanni Fuoco, Simona Molinari, Francesca Zezza, Jean-Pierre Léaud

Stefano is a 40 year old with two different jobs: staring at rainbows and guardian of a mirror that reflects the sunbeams illuminating the town of Viganella, where he just moved with his wife Luciana.

While he is guarding the mirror, a notary comes to Stefano giving him the tuition of a kid, Giovanni, that appears to be his brother - one of the many children his father gave birth. The two different brothers start to know each other and the story turns out to be a road movie between Emilia Romagna and Tuscany in the centre of Italy.

Il cratere/Crater

Director: Silvia Luzi, Luca Bellini 

Cast: Sharon Caroccia, Rosario Caroccia, Tina Amariutei, Assunta Arcella, Imma Benvenuto

In a cursed land, a father uses his daughter and her voice to take on the world and his own destiny. But success becomes an obsession, and talent becomes a punishment. Crater is a Disney fairy tale in reverse.

La paranza dei bambini/Piranhas

Director: Claudio Giovannesi 

Cast: Francesco Di Napoli, Artem Tkachuk, Alfredo Turitto, Viviana Aprea, Valentina Vannino

Naples. Nicola and his friends are fifteen years old. They want to make money, buy designer clothes and brand new scooters. They play with weapons and ride around the city to take power in the district of Sanità. They love each other like family, they don’t fear prison nor death, knowing their only chance is to risk everything, now. They experience war with the irresponsibility of adolescence, but their criminal activities soon lead them to the irreversible sacrifice of love and friendship.

Selfie

Director: Agostino Ferrente

Naples, Traiano district. Initially it had to be a temporary peripheral destination for the inhabitants of the slums on the seafront of Naples, left homeless after the war. But the lodgings were permanently occupied, including the basement cellars, and soon the district became a sort of ghetto. Alessandro and Pietro are two 16-years-olds who film themselves with a smartphone to tell their difficult neighborhood, their everyday life, the friendship that binds them.

They also tell of the tragedy of Davide, their neighbor who was killed innocent by a carabiniere after a chase, because he was mistaken for a fleeing wanted. He was sixteen too. It happened to Davide, but it could also happen to Alessandro or Pietro... That's why the director gave them his smartphone, asking them to film themselves in "selfie" mode, as if they looked in a mirror themselves, their world, their life.

Troppa grazia/Lucia's Grace

Director: Gianni Zanasi

Cast: Alba Rohrwacher, Elio Germano, Giuseppe Battiston, Hadas Yaron, Carlotta Natoli

Single working mother Lucia is trying to find the right balance between life with her teenage daughter, a complicated romance and her career as a land surveyor. Lucia’s future is jeopardized when she realizes that an ambitious new building is environmentally dangerous due to the city council’s inaccurate maps. Lucia is torn by her decision to keep her mouth shut for fear of losing her job. A mysterious foreign woman tries to convince Lucia to stand up to her superiors and recommend a church as the only solution for the troubled building site. Lucia’s belief in miracles will soon be put to the test.

The Dreamers

Director: Bernardo Bertolucci

Cast: Michael Pitt, Louis Garrel, Eva Green, Robin Renucci, Anna Chancellor

Left alone in Paris whilst their parents are on holiday, Isabelle and her brother Theo invite fellow student Matthew, a young American, to stay at their apartment. Here they make their own rules as they experiment with each other’s emotions and sexuality, playing a series of increasingly demanding mind games. Set against the turbulent political backdrop of France in Spring 1968, when the voice of youth was reverberating around Europe, The Dreamers is a story of self-discovery as the three students test one another to see just how far they each will go. From the novel The Holy Innocence by Gilbert Adair.

Here is the screening schedule for Moviemov 2019.

April 23, 2019 (Invitational)

7:30 PM Una questione privata/Rainbow – A Private Affair

April 24, 2019

5:00 PM Manuel

7:00 PM Selfie

April 25, 2019

11:00 AM The Dreamers

5:00 PM Saremo giovani e belissimi/We'll Be Young and Beautiful

7:00 PM Il cratere/Crater

April 26, 2019

3:00 PM C'è tempo

5:00 PM Troppa grazia/Lucia's Grace

7:00 PM La paranza dei bambini/Piranhas

Moviemov, Italian Cinema Now returns with Oscar winning film

July 24-27, 2014

Shang Cineplex, Shangri-La Plaza

Mandaluyong

Moviemov’s absence back in 2013 was deeply felt by film aficionados but this year, the much awaited Italian film festival makes a comeback this July 24-27, 2014 at its new home, the Shang Cineplex at the Shangri-La Plaza Mall.

In this year’s Moviemov, the Academy Award winning La Grande Belleza/The Great Beauty leads the selection of contemporary Italian films. Famed Italian film maker Ettore Scola’s works will be screened in the retrospective showcase of the festival. And probably the most awaited highlight of Moviemov is the appearance of Italian actors like the returning Andrea Bosca who will present the world premiere of his short film A tutto Tondo.

Aside from La Grande Belleza/The Great Beauty, the other contemporary films to be screened are Il Sud è Niente/South Is Nothing, Anni felici/Those Happy Years, Allacciate le cinture/Fasten Your Seatbelts, Il capitale umano/Human Capital, Smetto quando voglio/I Can Quit Whenever I Want, and Benur - Un Gladiatore in Affitto. The films to be shown as part of the Ettore Scola retrospective are the classics Dramma della gelosia/The Pizza Triangle, C’eravamo tanto amati/We All Loved Each Other So Much, and La Cena/The Dinner. There will still be special screenings for students, which comprises the educational component of Moviemov.

Joining Andrea Bosca are actresses Eleonora Sergio and Paola Minaccioni. Andrea Bosca will present the world premiere screening of his short film A tutto Tondo, also his directorial debut, at the festival. This special charity project born out of Bosca’s visit to Smokey Mountain and Tondo back in 2012 also stars Paolo Minaccioni and 2012 Moviemov guests Davide Iacopini and Salvatore Striano.

La Grande Belleza/The Great Beauty

During the press conference for Moviemov held at the Premiere Theatre of the Shang Cineplex, La Grande Belleza/The Great Beauty was screened. This award winning film directed by Paolo Sorrentino stars Toni Servillo as Jep Gambardella, a flash in the pan novelist, now cultural writer who indulges in the seemingly carefree and decadent life of a socialite in Rome. Earlier on in the movie, a scene during Jep’s 65^th birthday made for a very striking visual with all his fellow socialites partying like there’s no tomorrow. But this birthday spurs Jep to reassess his life and where it is headed. Somehow, the film seemed to head nowhere as Jep wanders through his empty life. He meets eccentric personalities like a performance artist who slams herself on the wall, a spoiled girl whose tantrum paintings sell by the millions, an elderly nun with a sleazy agent, among many others. As the film went on, I felt that Jep wanted to get a sense of his life but just couldn’t get a break: a brief fling ended abruptly, a search for closure involving a past love went unresolved, and the attempt to write the follow up novel was only hinted out.

Dr. Alfonso Tagliaferri, First Secretary and Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Italy, mentioned that the film had mixed reactions in Italy although it practically swept all major awards abroad. I think that the film’s digs about life in Rome, politics, the art scene and even religion made this film hard to swallow by the Italians. But regardless of what the Italians felt about this, the film is still visually striking, like a love letter to Rome and it might have been Rome itself that is meant to be as the grande belleza.

Here is the screening schedule of Moviemov 2014 at the Shang Cineplex:

July 24, 2014

11:00 AM Premiere Theatre: Il Sud è niente/South is Nothing*
6:00 PM Cinema 2: Allacciate le cinture/Fasten Your Seatbelts
7:00 PM Premiere Theatre: Dramma della gelosia/The Pizza Triangle
8:00 PM Cinema 2: La Grande Belleza/The Great Beauty

July 25, 2014
11:00 AM Premiere Theatre: Anni felici /Those Happy Years*
4:00 PM Premiere Theatre: La Grande Belleza/The Great Beauty
6:30 PM Cinema 2: Il Sud è niente/South is Nothing
8:00 PM Premiere Theatre: C’eravamo tanto amati/We all loved each other so much
8:30 PM Cinema 2: A tutto Tondo (short film) to be followed by Anni felici/Those Happy Years

July 26, 2014
11:00 AM Cinema 2: Anni felici /Those Happy Years*
12:00 PM Premiere Theatre: La cena /The Dinner
4:00 PM Cinema 2: Il Sud è niente/South is Nothing
5:00 PM Premiere Theatre: Benur - Un gladiatore in affitto
6:30 PM Cinema 2: Smetto quando voglio/I Can Quit Whenever I Want
8:30 PM Cinema 2: Il capitale umano/Human Capital

July 27, 2014

11:00 AM Cinema 2: Il capitale umano/Human Capital*
12:00 PM Premiere Theatre: Benur - Un gladiatore in affitto
2:00 PM Cinema 2: Smetto quando voglio/I Can Quit Whenever I Want
3:00 PM Premiere Theatre: A tutto Tondo
4:00 PM Cinema 2: Closing Ceremony (Audience' Choice Award) 

* Limited seats due to educational block screening

Tickets:

Free admission. First-come, first-served basis.

For inquiries:

Shangri-La Plaza 370-2597

The Moviemov: Italian Cinema Now 2012 Experience Part 3

The Closing Ceremony

All good things must come to an end and the second edition of Moviemov: Italian Cinema Now had to end as well. As expected, I wasn’t able to return to the Greenbelt 3 Cinemas after the opening of the festival due to a flurry of activities that happened during the week coupled with feeling indisposed. Fortunately, my schedule and health permitted me to catch the Closing Ceremony wherein they announced that Cesare deve morire/Caesar Must Die was the best film of the festival. The winning film was determined by the ballots filled up by the viewers who watched the seven contemporary Italian films featured in the festival. And a few of these lucky viewers won Ray-Ban sunglasses during the raffle. The ceremony also featured speeches by a pleased Dr. Piera Detassis and an emotional Vanessa Gravina who both were very satisfied by the success of the festival. Senator Goffredo Bettini also had a few words and assured the Filipino audience that Moviemov will be back again next year. Ambassador Luca Fornari then led a toast and Madame Silvana Novelli-Fornari led the distribution of the cake in which everyone inside the theater got to enjoy before viewing the film scheduled right after the ceremony.

Moviemov: Italian Cinema Now 2012 Best Film

Cesare deve morire/Caesar Must Die

Also present during the ceremonies were Italian actors Andrea Bosca, Alessio Gallo and Davide Iacopini. I found it very interesting that they even managed to visit some depressed areas during their brief stay here. I was able to ask Andrea Bosca if they had planned this visit even before they landed here. And he responded that he came from Los Angeles before arriving in Manila and had no idea whatsoever about the Philippines. And they only decided to visit those places when they got here already.

Andrea Bosca, Alessio Gallo and Davide Iacopini

Anac Ti Pating

The film Anac Ti Pating became part of the festival when it won the National Film Festival, Ikalawang Yugto that happened in Davao a week before Moviemov. This film, written and directed by Martin Masadao is a coming of age story of a young boy named Sixto Mangaoang. The film essentially shows one school year in the life of Sixto, a bright kid who excels in Math and English but is usually bullied because of his poor parents. The film has its shining moments like the brilliant acting of the actor who played Sixto, Deuel Raynon Ladia. Also impressive was Luchie Maranan who portrayed the role of Sixto’s mother, Mayette.

While the film had some great characterization, the plot left me a bit wanting. There were several subplots involving the supporting characters that didn’t get satisfying resolutions and/or were dropped altogether. The script could’ve been a lot tighter in my opinion. But then again, I have to consider that Anac Ti Pating is an independent film that probably didn’t even get a financial grant like those that are screened at the Cinemalaya. And that I should give the film a bit of leeway and not expect a highly polished one.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The film that officially closed Moviemov was the classic film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly which is part of the festival’s homage to film maker Sergio Leone. The movie, belonging to the genre Spaghetti Western played a huge role in sending Clint Eastwood into the Hollywood A-list. This film also has one of the most memorable movie themes ever courtesy of composer Ennio Morricone. The film starred Clint Eastwood as Blondie (the good), Lee van Cleef as Angel Eyes (the bad) and Eli Wallach (the ugly).

For a movie which is already more than four decades old, it still holds up nicely. The opening sequences were a bit hard to figure out since there wasn’t much dialogue in it. But once I got to know who the characters were and what their motivations are, it was smooth sailing from that point onwards. I marveled at how gorgeous the shots were and I felt the vastness and the desolation of the Wild West. And these wide shots were nicely contrasted and complemented by extreme close ups of the faces of the main characters.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a long film and I was hesitant to see it at first because of its length knowing that the screening would end up late at night. But I am glad that I decided to give it a go and was rewarded with a satisfying film viewing experience.

The Final Word

RAd at Moviemov: Italian Cinema Now 2012

Once again, I wasn’t able to experience fully this year’s Moviemov. Just like last year, I was only able to watch three films: Cesare deve morire/Caesar Must Die (an Italian contemporary film), Anac Ti Pating (a Filipino film), and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (a Sergio Leone retrospective film). I also would’ve wanted to have a few words with Salvatore Striano but he had already left the country by the time that I managed to come back at the festival. I wasn’t also able to meet personally Dr. Piera Detassis, Vanessa Gravina and Jennifer Ulrich. I also wish that the Filipino celebrities from Star Magic who were at the opening cocktails took the time to watch the Italian films that were shown during the festival. Overall, despite only managing to watch just three films, I am still glad to have experienced Moviemov for the second year in a row. And since Sen. Bettini already confirmed that there will be third edition next year, it’s a surefire bet that I’ll be there as well. But it will be a bit sad knowing that Ambassador Luca Fornari and his wife Madame Silvana Novelli-Fornari will not be part of it anymore.

Moviemov: Italian Cinema Now 2012 was supported by the General Direction for Cinema of the Italian Ministry of Heritage and Culture and the Film Development Council of the Philippines, organized by the Embassy of Italy, Playtown, the Philippine-Italian Association, Rustan's, The Peninsula Manila and the Cultural Center of the Philippines.

The Moviemov: Italian Cinema Now Experience Part 1

The Moviemov: Italian Cinema Now Experience Part 2