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FESTIVALS Israel / Italy

Israel’s Cinema Italia 2019 to kick off with The Invisible Witness

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- Some of the best Italian films to hit cinemas in 2018, as well as a tribute to Anna Magnani, are all set to take centre stage in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, Herzliya, Holon, Rosh Pinna and Sderot

Israel’s Cinema Italia 2019 to kick off with The Invisible Witness
The Invisible Witness by Stefano Mordini

Now in its sixth edition, the Cinema Italia Italian Film Festival is making its return to Israel between 4 - 11 April, with a programme organised into two sections: Contemporary Cinema, comprising some of the best Italian films released in 2018, and Classic Cinema, featuring a tribute to Anna Magnani. The festival is organised by Adamas Italy-Israel with the support of the Italian Cultural Institute in Tel Aviv and the Italian Cultural Institute in Haifa, in collaboration with Filmitalia-Cinecittà Luce, the Cineteca di Bologna and the cinemateques of the many cities involved, namely Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, Herzliya, Holon, Rosh Pinna and Sderot. 

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Opening the Contemporary Cinema section will be The Invisible Witness [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Stefano Mordini, a thriller starring Riccardo Scamarcio and produced by Picomedia, Warner Bros. Ent. Italia, which took 2.2 million euros in Italy and has already been sold across a number of territories by True Colours. Another renowned director, Paolo Virzì, will be attending with Magical Nights [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, an homage to 1980s Italian comedies, while Mario Martone will transport Israeli audiences back to 1914 with Capri-Revolution [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Mario Martone
film profile
]
, where a community of idealist youngsters from northern Europe set up residence on the famous Gulf of Naples island. Making their directorial debut, meanwhile, are twins Damiano and Fabio D'Innocenzo who impressed audiences and film critics alike with the moral tension running through their film, Boys Cry [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo
film profile
]
. Another newcomer is Margherita Ferri, the director behind Zen In The Ice Rift [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, a film about gender identity, focusing on a young hockey player. Laura Bispuri makes her return to Israel with Daughter of Mine [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Bispuri
film profile
]
following on from her win at the Golden Anchor Competition during the latest Haifa Film Festival, while Alessio Cremonini puts his name to the multi-award-winning On My Skin [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
, a tense and tragic work whose brilliance can largely be attributed to Alessandro Borghi’s exceptional acting performance. Paolo Zucca, meanwhile, offers up a surreal comedy, The Man Who Bought The Moon [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
, which is set in a moonlit Sardinia.

Closing the festival are two historical documentaries: 1938 Diversi [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Giorgio Treves
film profile
]
, written and directed by Giorgio Treves, on the 80th anniversary of the promulgation of racial laws in Italy, and Il mare della nostra storia, written and directed by Giovanna Gagliardo, which tells of the “special relationship” between Italian colonial memory of Libya and the recollections of “places of beauty and of happiness” shared by the many Italians who were born and who lived in the region.

In the Classic Cinema section, five films will celebrate Anna Magnani: The Peddlar and The Lady, directed by Mario Bonnard (1943); Volcano, directed by William Dieterle (1950); Bellissima, directed by Luchino Visconti (1951); The Passionate Thief, directed by Mario Monicelli (1960) and Mamma Roma, directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini (1962).

Finally, just a few months after his passing, Cinema Italia 2019 will pay special tribute to Bernardo Bertolucci with a screening of the film, The Conformist (1970), inspired by Alberto Moravia’s novel of the same name.

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(Translated from Italian)

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