02/11/2021 - Unspooling 6 to 13 November, the festival’s 22nd edition will include a competition of 10 European titles screening in Italian premieres and a section dedicated to European comedy

István Szabó will be the star of European film for the 22nd edition of the European Film Festival, set to unfold in Lecce between 6 and 13 November. The Hungarian director, who is set to receive a Lifetime Achievement Golden Olive, will form the focus of a tribute showcasing a selection of his biggest films, 12 titles ranging from Mephisto, which won him an Oscar in 1981, to his latest feature film Final Report [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: István Szabó
film profile]. The festival will open with the national premiere of Per tutta la vita [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Paolo Costella (in cinemas from 11 November, courtesy of 01 Distribution), starring Carolina Crescentini and Filippo Nigro, and will close with The Worst Person in the World [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Joachim Trier
film profile] directed by Joachim Trier (in cinemas from 18 November via Teodora).

Ten European titles, selected by artistic director Alberto La Monica alongside Luigi La Monica, will compete for the Cristina Soldano Golden Olive Award, all screening in national premieres and presented in Lecce by their directors and cast members. Jostling among these are A Good Man [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Marie-Castille Mention-Schaar, Fox in a Hole [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Arman T Riahi
film profile] by Arman T. Riahi, My Little Sister [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stéphanie Chuat and Véroniq…
film profile] by Stéphanie Chuat and Véronique Reymond, Otto the Barbarian [+see also:
film review
interview: Ruxandra Ghiţescu
film profile] by Ruxandra Ghițescu, and Persona non grata [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Lisa Jespersen
film profile] by Lisa Jespersen. Likewise in the running, we find Psychosis in Stockolm [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maria Bäck
film profile] by Maria Bäck, Runner [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrius Blaževičius
film profile] by Andrius Blaževičius, Love Tasting [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Dawid Nickel, When I’m Done Dying [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Nisan Dağ and Only Human [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Igor Ivanov
film profile] by Igor Ivanov.

A non-competitive section dedicated to European Comedy, meanwhile, will offer up five feature films screening in national premieres, as well as meetings with each of these films’ respective directors. The line-up includes Mon cousin, directed by Jan Kounen and starring Vincent Lindon, the collective film Relatos confinados by Fernando Colomo, Álvaro Fernández-Armero, David Marqués, Miguel Bardem and Juan Diego Botto, and Pascal Rabaté’s dialogue-free, grotesque comedy The Voiceless [+see also:
interview: Pascal Rabaté
film profile].

Documentaries stealing focus on the agenda include La legge del terremoto [+see also:
trailer
film profile] - Alessandro Preziosi’s directorial debut, offering up a visual, historical and emotional journey inside the most frequently occurring natural phenomena in Italy: earthquakes - and The Image Machine of Alfredo C. [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile]  by Roland Sejko, revolving around the man who, for twenty years, worked as a cameraman on Fascist propaganda before offering up his skills to the Communist cause.

As in previous years, Lecce will see the prize dedicated to Mario Verdone awarded to the young Italian author who has set her or himself apart during the previous film season with his or her first work (discover the candidates here), as well as hosting the first movie-theatre screening of Carlo Verdone’s latest film You Only Live Once [+see also:
trailer
film profile], distributed by Amazon Prime Video.

This year’s star of Italian film will be actress Giovanna Ralli, who will form the focus of a retrospective of movies best representing her career in the 7th art. These include La famiglia Passaguai (1951) by Aldo Fabrizi – a restored version, curated by Bologna’s Film Library and RTI – Mediaset, 60 years on from its release – and Escape by Night by Roberto Rossellini (1960). Ralli is also set to receive a Golden Olive for Lifetime Achievement.

(Translated from Italian)