23/10/2003

Tomorrow sees the start of the 26th edition of the Festival of Italian Films at Villerupt. It will be continuing until November 11 and is offering a wide-ranging review under the title “Sicily and Cinema” with 15 films highlighting the cinematographic heritage of the island. And of course there’s the traditional festival competitions and a section featuring recent Italian productions.

In 2001 there was a tribute to the films and city of Turin and the 2002 special “25 years, 25 Italian films” (which registered an audience of 42,000 for the 65 films presented), this year’s Villerupt festival is putting the spotlight on Sicily and the cinema. The works in this retrospective include classics like Stromboli by Roberto Rossellini, Salvatore Giuliano by Francesco Rosi and The Leopard by Luchino Visconti mixed with recent productions like Porte Aperte by Gianni Amelio, L’uomo delle stelle and Malena by Giuseppe Tornatore, The Hundred Steps by Marco Tullio Giordana, Secret File by Paolo Benvenuti, The Island by Costanza Quadriglio, Gli Indesiderabili by Pasquale Scimeca and Angela [+see also:
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film profile] by Roberta Torre.

There will be 11 feature length films taking part in the competition: L’amore di Marja, Capo nord, El Alamein, Fate come noi, Giovanni, Il compagno americano, The Miracle [+see also:
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film profile], Il posto dell’anima, Sunday Lunch, The Chameleon and Il più crudele dei giorni. This selection shows the exceptional vitality of Italian cinema, which can also be seen in the overview of 17 Italian productions. There are the award winning films like A Heart Elsewhere by Pupi Avati, The Best of Youth [+see also:
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film profile] by Marco Tullio Giordana, Grazia’s Island [+see also:
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film profile] by Emanuele Crialese, Good Morning, Night [+see also:
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interview: Marco Bellocchio, director …
film profile] by Marco Bellocchio, Facing Window [+see also:
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interview: Ferzan Ozpetek
film profile] by Ferzan Ozpetek and the Italian nomination for the this year’s Oscar for Best Foreign Film, I’m Not Scared [+see also:
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interview: Gabriele Salvatores
film profile] by Gabriele Salvatores.

(Translated from French)