Bellocchio, Ciprì and Comencini: a trio of Italians in the running for the Golden Lion

by Vittoria Scarpa

27/07/2012 - Despite the disappearance of the Italian Controcampo section branded as an “Indian reservation” (read Alberto Barbera’s interview), Italian national cinema is still well represented in the Official Selection of the 69th Venice International Film Festival. Starting with the Competition where there are three Italian films in the running for the Golden Lion: Bella addormentata [trailer, film focus, festival scope] by Marco Bellocchio, a film about euthanasia that was already prime candidate even before it began shooting (read the news); E' stato il figlio [trailer] by Daniele Ciprì, the outrageous tale of a Southern family whose release is set for the 14th of September; and Un giorno speciale [trailer] by Francesca Comencini, described by the director as “a small cautionary tale dedicated to the youth in these precarious times”. The first two films have both star Toni Servillo as their protagonist (in the photo, in Ciprì’s film).

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Four other Italian films will be screened out of the Competition as part of the Special Screenings: the documentaries Clarisse by Liliana Cavani, Medici con l'Africa by Carlo Mazzacurati, La nave dolce by Daniele Vicari (produced with Albania) and Sfiorando il muro by Silvia Giralucci and Luca Ricciardi , whilst Daniele Incalcaterra and Fausta Quattrini bring us the Argentinian/French production El impenetrable. Italy also coproduced Sur un fil… by Simon Brook (with France) and Enzo Avitabile Music Life by Jonathan Demme (with the USA), both out of Competition and the latter as the second opening film of the Festival.

In competition in the Horizons section there is Ivano De Matteo with Gli equilibristi (produced with France), about the difficulties faced by a divorced father, Salvatore Mereu with Bellas mariposas, a film about two young girls who live in the degraded suburbs of Cagliari, but also L’intervello, the first film by Leonardo Di Costanzo (Italy, Switzerland, Germany) and Low Tide by Roberto Minervini (USA, Italy, Belgium). In the Horizons short-films section there is La sala by Alessio Giannone and Cargo by Carlo Sironi.

In Venice Classics section can be found Monicelli. La versione di Mario, a collective portrait of the genius of Italian cinema, and La Guerra dei vulcani by Franceso Patierno about the Rossellini-Magnani-Bergman love triangle.

(Translated from Italian)