03/04/2019 - The festival will unspool from 4-14 April in over 20 cities, including Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra and Funchal, before jetting off to Brazil in August

The 12^th edition of the Festa do Cinema Italiano (Italian Film Party) kicks off on 4 April and will unspool until the 14^th in more than 20 cities across the entirety of Portugal, including Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra and Funchal. Once again this year, plenty of space will be dedicated to contemporary Italian film, as more than 50 pictures will be presented, spanning features, documentaries and short films, the majority of which are being screened in Portugal for the first time. 

Among the most high-profile premieres in the Panorama section are Piranhas [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Roberto Saviano
film profile] by Claudio Giovannesi, winner of the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at the 2019 Berlinale; Romulus & Remus – The First King [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Matteo Rovere; Magical Nights [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Paolo Virzì; Lucia’s Grace [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Gianni Zanasi; Euphoria [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
film profile] by Valeria Golino; Io sono tempesta [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Daniele Luchetti; On My Skin [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Alessio Cremonini; Loro [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Paolo Sorrentino; Una storia senza nome [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Roberto Andò; and Santiago, Italia [+see also:
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film profile] by Nanni Moretti, winner of the David di Donatello Award for Best Documentary. The Roman auteur will also be the subject of a wide-ranging retrospective organised in conjunction with the Portuguese Film Library.

Furthermore, some room will be left for works by young Italian directors, including in the competitive section: Daughter of Mine [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Laura Bispuri
film profile] by Laura Bispuri; Bangla [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Phaim Bhuiyan; Likemeback [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli; Mamma + Mamma [+see also:
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film profile] by Karole Di Tommaso; Menocchio the Heretic [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Alberto Fasulo, which was honoured at Annecy and Tours; Wherever You Are [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Bonifacio Angius; and Boys Cry [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo
film profile] by Damiano and Fabio D'Innocenzo.

A special programme will be devoted to documentaries on great Italian art, such as Caravaggio: The Soul and the Blood [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Jesus Garces Lambert, which grossed €1.5 million and won an Italian Golden Globe last year, handed out by the foreign press in Italy; Raffaello – Il principe delle arti, in 3D [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Luca Viotto; and Michelangelo - Endless [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Emanuele Imbucci, which took €832,000 at the national box office. They will be joined by The Man Who Stole Banksy [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Marco Proserpio, a fascinating documentary on the black market for street art.

In the Altre Visioni (Other Visions) section, dedicated to the most experimental works, audiences will be able to enjoy Achille Tarallo [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Antonio Capuano, Camorra [+see also:
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film profile] by Francesco Patierno and The Vice of Hope [+see also:
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film profile] by Edoardo De Angelis, which won the David di Donatello Award for Best Supporting Actress earlier this year, for the work of Marina Confalone.

Guests due to present their works at the gathering include actor Alessandro Borghi, who toplines Romulus & Remus – The First King and On My Skin, as well as Daniele Luchetti, Roberto Andò, Matteo Rovere, Gianni Zanasi, Claudio Giovannesi, Alberto Fasulo, Karole Di Tommaso, Leonardo Guerra Seràgnoli and Phaim Bhuiyan. The Festa do Cinema Italiano – supported by the Istituto Luce – Cinecittà, the MiBACT’s Directorate of Cinema, the Italian Embassy and the Italian Cultural Institute in Lisbon – has grown exponentially over the years and is today considered one of the most appealing and highly respected film festivals in the entire country. What’s more, the event does not wrap in Portugal, but continues its run in Portuguese-speaking Africa (Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, and São Tomé and Principe) and will even be jetting off to Brazil in August for a grand closing event, thus racking up more than 40,000 viewers on three separate continents.

(Translated from Italian)