Independent cinema and documentaries at the Rome IFF

by Camillo De Marco

11/04/2012 - The 21st edition of the Rome Independent Film Festival will open on Friday, April 13, with Hedy Krissane’s first feature, Aspromonte, an on-the-road comedy which reveals the bitter but stunning land of Calabria. Until April 19, this independent film event will show titles from around 40 different countries, including world and European premieres and previews. "Independent cinema", said the artistic director Fabrizio Ferrari, "is strengthened by this period of crisis, in which people go back to taking care of the most important values".

Worth noting among the first features in the running are Volcano [trailer] by Iceland’s Rúnar Rúnarsson, selected to the Cannes 2011 Directors’ Fortnight; second feature The Courage by Poland’s Greg Zglinski, winner of the Premio CinemAvvenire in Venice 2004 with his first feature Tout un hiver sans feu; Denmark’s Room 304 [trailer] by Birgitte Starmose, Special Mention for Music at the Karlovy Vary Festival. Three German films have been selected: RP Kahl’s Angel Express, Combat Girls [trailer], directing debut by David Wnendt, who boasts as many as three nominations, including Best Film, to the German Film Awards (which will be presented on April 27) and finally the co-production with Switzerland Der böse Onkel [trailer] by Urs Odermatt.

Spain’s Eduardo Chapero-Jackson is presenting Verbo [trailer], while Brazil’s Andre Ristum directs Meu País. The UK brings tragi-comic road-movie Behold the Lamb (Tues, April 17, 10.20pm) by Ireland’s John Mcllduff.

Five feature films will represent Italy at the RIFF Award 2012. Apart from the aforementioned Aspromonte there is the much awaited Ristabbanna, latest film starring Ben Gazzara before he died; Emanuele Cerman’s In nomine Satan, a drama inspired on a true story, a first feature thriller by David Petrucci, Canepazzo, which features Tinto Brass and Franco Nero.

This year’s new features include the screening of 11 Italian and 11 international documentaries at the Casa del Cinema di Roma. On Saturday 14, this will open with two features on the topic of the Arab Spring: Mirko Bellis’s Lybia Hurra and Kamikairy Fares’s MinoTawra: Exporting Change.

On Saturday 14, the festival will offer a discussion on the current status of international production, with a forum entitled “The new profiles of European Independent Film Production”. Participants to the forum will include some of the producers taking part in ‘Producers on the move’, the project run by the EFP - European Film Promotion: Marta Donzelli for Italy, (Vivo Film), Lukasz Dzieciol for Poland, (Opus Film), Radim Prochazka for the Czech Republic (Produkce Radim Procházka), Hlin Johannesdottir for Iceland (Zik Zak Filmworks) and Jesper Morthorst for Denmark (Alphaville Pictures).

(Translated from Italian)