04/09/2006

What is the role of Italian and European films within the global context? Discussions on the theme will take place at the Venice Film Festival with due international panels on September 4 and 5. Moderated by US film historian and critic Peter Cowie, the panels will be held in the Palazzo del Casinò.

First up is Italian Films in the Global Context, this afternoon from 3:30-5:30 pm, whose participants will include internationally renowned journalists and critics as well as Italian producer Roberto Cicutto (Mikado).

The panel’s topics will be the factors behind the success of Italian films abroad, the role of the great filmmakers of the past and their influence on the fate of Italian cinema today, US marketing and distribution, and the difficulties in penetrating the US market.

Tuesday afternoon’s discussion, European Films in the United States, also to be held from 3:30-5:30 pm and moderated by Cowie, will be on the strategies for promoting European films in the US and the role of critics and festivals vis-à-vis this promotion. The success of certain films that garnered success in the US – Luc Jacquet’s March of the Penguins above all – will be examined, along with the advantages or disadvantages to subtitling and the changes brought about by the digital medium.