18/12/2008

Celebrating creativity, potential and Italian film talent in all its forms is the mission behind Per il cinema italiano (“For an Italian Cinema”), an event scheduled for January 12-17, 2009 in Bari. According to organizers, "it is not just another festival", even though it includes one, but rather a mosaic of initiatives: competitions of feature films, shorts and documentaries; retrospectives; masterclasses, seminars and workshops; and a conferences on the industry.

The five days of events and discussions "will allow us to draw a balance – be it positive or negative – of Italian cinema of the last year and map out possible ideas for development for the year to come, involving all aspects of the cinema, beginning with audiences,” said artistic director Felice Laudadio, who presented the programme in Rome with Nichi Vendola, president of the Apulia Region (which is promoting the event), and Silvio Maselli, director of the Apulia Film Commission (AFC), which is organising it (with a budget of €620,000).

There are 15 Italian films that were chosen as the best of 2008 by 10 autorevoli critics and selected for the competition, presided over by director Michele Placido. The international premieres include three debut films: Claudio Giovannesi’s La casa sulle nuvole [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Luigi Sardiello’s Il piede di Dio [+see also:
trailer
film profile] and Umberto Spinazzola’s L’ultimo crodino. The masterclasses will be held by Sergio Rubini, Laura Morante, Davide Ferrario, Ettore Scola and Michele Placido.

Also programmed are 10 seminars and workshops on writing, film criticism and acting. New projects in Italian cinema will be presented in a pitching session coordinated by Enrico Magrelli and Massimo Cristaldi. There will also be a three-day conference on digital cinema, organised by David Bush; as well as conference on “Quale 2009 per il cinema italiano?”, with participating producers, distributors, directors, actors and crew members.

(Translated from Italian)