Session Winter 2007. Last movie. Lampedusa, an island of 6000 people, closer to Africa than to Sicily. They don’t even speak italian. They don’t speak anyway. This movie talks through the southern people’s glance, the wild gestures of bearfooted children, the dark thick skin of the fishermen and the close mouth of their women. Blessed… Continue reading Respiro – Grazia’s Island (Emanuele Crialese – 2001)
The Wedding Director – Il Regista di Matrimoni (Marco Bellocchio – 2006)
Franco Elica, a famous movie director, accidentally in Sicily, has been given the job by the Prince of Gravina, to shoot the movie of his daughter’s wedding. The film opens with the scene of the wedding of his daughter (the director’s), that he initially let others film it, but then he jumps into the crowd… Continue reading The Wedding Director – Il Regista di Matrimoni (Marco Bellocchio – 2006)
Malèna (Giuseppe Tornatore – 2000)
The key ingredients of this film include: Academy award winner director Giuseppe Tornatore; international debut of bombshell Monica Belluci; coming of age story of a young boy in a small Sicilian village during World War II; and the timeless music of Maestro Ennio Morricone. Yes, the film may look like an attempt to repurpose Tornatore’s… Continue reading Malèna (Giuseppe Tornatore – 2000)
The Escort – La Scorta (Ricky Tognazzi – 1993)
Ricky Tognazzi’s classic anti-mafia thriller is deeply grounded in reality. The film was made a year after judge Giovanni Falcone was murdered as he was on his way to Palermo airport. The judge, his wife, and three police bodyguards were killed. Interestingly the film is not about the judge or the case, but focuses on… Continue reading The Escort – La Scorta (Ricky Tognazzi – 1993)
Special Interview with Director Mimmo Calopresti at Grand Opening of Los Angeles-Italia Film Festival
We enter the VIP lounge and start a fight for the food. The buffet is overcrowded, as it’s already 10pm. Hands grabbing us from every side like uncontrollable tentacles, hard to keep away, so I decide to hit the bar and get some wine, leaving Shlomi and Odelia to the food mission. After drinking some… Continue reading Special Interview with Director Mimmo Calopresti at Grand Opening of Los Angeles-Italia Film Festival