Andiamo al Cinema!

January, a new year already, winter is upon us. It’s time to go to the movies! Cinematography is popular in Italy, with a long list of world-famous directors producing wonderful films, often with little financial resources.

In the past, internationally recognized actors such as Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, Marcello Mastroianni and many more were often directed by a maestro such as Federico Fellini or Luchino Visconti, leading to glorious movies like “La dolce vita” and “Matrimonio all’italiana.” Today, a new generation of young directors and actors has come to the forefront, fortunately keeping the “made in Italy” movie tradition alive. These films often reach American screens as well, thanks to local and national events such as the Cleveland International Film Festival or the Italian Film Festival.

The Festival del Cinema, Rome’s International Film Festival (fig. 1), takes place in the Eternal City every October. A few years ago, I attended part of it with my brother, enjoying the atmosphere and the “red carpet” (figs. 2,3) feel of the evening...of course taking lots of pictures! A vast area within the Parco della Musica was set up for the event which attracts large numbers of visitors and artists (fig. 4) mingling in the cool roman evenings with many large cinematic props dramatically set up throughout (figs. 5,6). As I walked around, upcoming directors and actors were interviewed (figs. 7,8) in several “live” studios, discussing their latest works as the films were presented to the public. Vintage imagery from classic movies was displayed in galleries and gift shops (figs. 9,10) along with outdoor mini-sets (fig. 11), the perfect spot for selfies! Eventually, we made it into the theater to see “Se Dio vuole” with A. Gassman, Laura Morante and Marco Giannini, subsequently featured in 2016 at the Italian Film Festival in Cleveland.

The Festival features new movies and events throughout Rome, lasting more than a week. It is certainly one more reason to visit the Eternal City. Buon viaggio!