21/03/2016 - The 7th edition of the festival will be held from 2 to 9 April. The programme features 8 world premieres, a competition for Italian films, and conversations with big names from the world of film

Marcello Mastroianni in A Special Day, directed by Ettore Scola

The 7^th edition of the Bif&st - Bari International Film Festival (2-9 April) will be dedicated to Marcello Mastroianni and Ettore Scola. Indeed, the big tribute to highly popular actor Marcello Mastroianni, twenty years on from his death, will intertwine with a tribute to the great director Ettore Scola, who passed away in January this year. The latter was the President of the Bif&st and directed Mastroianni in no fewer than 9 films (plus one episode film). Dedicated to the actor will be a retrospective of approximately 50 films and a rich photographic exhibition; in tribute to Scola, the programme will feature a series of meetings and debates on his work and a retrospective of his key films. This year will also feature a new award, the Ettore Scola Prize for Best First or Second Film.

The Teatro Petruzzelli section will feature eight premieres, including two world premieres: Matteo Rovere’s new film Italian Race [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Matilda De Angelis
interview: Matteo Rovere
film profile], starring Stefano Accorsi, and Vieni a vivere a Napoli [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Guido Lombardi, Francesco Prisco and Edoardo De Angelis. Other films that will be shown in this non-competitive international section include The Man Who Knew Infinity [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Matt Brown, starring Jeremy Irons, Taularde [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Audrey Estrougo, starring Sophie Marceau, Agnus Dei [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lou de Laâge
film profile] by Anne Fontaine, andCriminal [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Ariel Vromen.

A new addition to the Festival this year is the competition of eight Italian films in their world premieres, which will be judged by a jury of 30 viewers chaired by Romanian screenwriter and film critic Dana Duma: this will include Amo la tempesta [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Maurizio Losi, starring Maya Sansa, Il traduttore [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Massimo Natale, starring Claudia Gerini, and L’età d’oro [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Emanuela Piovano, starring Laura Morante. World premieres being show out of competition include Nemiche per la pelle [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Luca Lucini, starring Margherita Buy and Claudia Gerini. The first and second films competition, which, in addition to the Ettore Scola Prize, will award prizes for best actor and best actress, instead includes some of the best films of the year, such as Lost and Beautiful [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Pietro Marcello ­
film profile] by Pietro Marcello, The Wait [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lou de Laâge
interview: Piero Messina
film profile] by Piero Messina, They Call Me Jeeg [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
interview: Gabriele Mainetti
film profile] by Gabriele Mainetti, and Suburra [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stefano Sollima
film profile] by Stefano Sollima. 

Another new feature of the Festival is that a series of prizes will be awarded, by nine film critics from the SNCCI (the Italian Union of Film Critics), not at the end of but during the Festival, one evening after another: the awards are as follows: Best Director goes to Matteo Garrone for Tale of Tales [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Matteo Garrone
film profile], Best Producer to Kimerafilm for Don't Be Bad [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile],  Best Storyline to Paolo Genovese for Perfetti sconosciuti [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], Best Screenplay to Nanni Moretti, Francesco Piccolo and Valeria Santella for My Mother [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nanni Moretti
film profile], Best Actress to Valeria Golino for Per amor vostro [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Giuseppe M Gaudino
film profile], Best Actor to Luca Marinelli for Don’t Be Bad, and Best Photography to Luca Bigazzi for Youth [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paolo Sorrentino
film profile].

A series of conversations with the public, dedicated in particular to Mastroianni, Scola and the acting profession, will feature Paolo Virzì, Toni Servillo, Ornella Muti and Jacques Perrin, as well as Anna Maria Tatò, Pif and Sergio Rubini. The programme will be rounded off by a masterclass with, among others, Liliana Cavani, Francesca Archibugi and Marco Bellocchio, a recollection by composer Armando Trovajoli, a round table on Pier Paolo Pasolini, acting workshops and a panel discussion on casting.

(Translated from Italian)