Oscar is a Sicilian teenager with the tough-guy mohawk of a rebel and the shy, rare, dimpled smile of a child. Stanley is a handsome young Nigerian immigrant, his short hair worn in locs, who insists on saying grace before the home-style meals he prepares: banku, fish stew. Oscar grudgingly helps his father and brother grub a living for the family, scavenging for scrap metal; through his connection to the parish priest, Stanley gets casual jobs harvesting grapes and herding sheep. The two protagonists of Michele Pennetta’s beautiful, quietly scorching documentary have nothing in common except, maybe, everything: they share a kind of looming futurelessness, a melancholy awareness of the inescapability of their hard, poor circumstances and a reliance on the forbiddingly arid landscapes of economically ravaged Sicily to provide a living.
This is the third of Pennetta’s projects to deal with life on the fringes of solvency and legality in contemporary Sicily,...
This is the third of Pennetta’s projects to deal with life on the fringes of solvency and legality in contemporary Sicily,...
- 7/1/2020
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Follows Marco Mueller’s exit last year.
Antonio Monda has been named the new artistic director of the Rome Film Festival, following Marco Mueller’s exit last year,
Appointed by the board of directors of the Fondazione Cinema per Roma, the new artistic director will be in place for the 10th edition of the festival, which ran Oct 16-25 last year.
Monda is an associate professor at Nyu’s Tisch School of the Arts, lecturing on Italian cinema and Hollywood auteurs.
As well as an academic background, Monda has production experience, including director credits on documentary Morlotti (1994) and comedy Dicembre (1990), which debuted in Venice.
He may bring stability to the festival, which has been characterised by annual reconfiguration in recent years, often coming from on high, including date changes and a hefty budget reduction.
Rome Film Festival’s budget has reportedly fallen from $21m in 2006 to around $7m [itself not an unhealthy sum] in 2014.
Mueller, who has stepped...
Antonio Monda has been named the new artistic director of the Rome Film Festival, following Marco Mueller’s exit last year,
Appointed by the board of directors of the Fondazione Cinema per Roma, the new artistic director will be in place for the 10th edition of the festival, which ran Oct 16-25 last year.
Monda is an associate professor at Nyu’s Tisch School of the Arts, lecturing on Italian cinema and Hollywood auteurs.
As well as an academic background, Monda has production experience, including director credits on documentary Morlotti (1994) and comedy Dicembre (1990), which debuted in Venice.
He may bring stability to the festival, which has been characterised by annual reconfiguration in recent years, often coming from on high, including date changes and a hefty budget reduction.
Rome Film Festival’s budget has reportedly fallen from $21m in 2006 to around $7m [itself not an unhealthy sum] in 2014.
Mueller, who has stepped...
- 2/23/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
The latest in a series of jabs between the just-completed Rome Film Festival and the soon-to-start Turin Film Festival has focused on whether or not Rome, which is partially supported by public funding, should have used part of its budget to pay for stars to attend the event. Second-year Rome artistic director Marco Mueller has long maintained that the festival pays only the expenses for stars who agree to come to the festival and on Tuesday, fest President Paolo Ferrari reiterated that point. This year's event attracted a lot of attention with the arrival of several
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- 11/20/2013
- by Eric J. Lyman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Rome – The Rome Film Festival will open what may be the most important edition in its eight-year history, as it straddles the border between being a traditional international film festival and a wide-appeal cinema "party." The event, which gets underway Friday, was born as the RomaCinemaFest back in 2006 -- "fest" is short for the Italian word for "party" -- and over time, it evolved into an international event searching for its niche on Europe's crowded film festival calendar. The arrival of former Warner Bros. Italia head Paolo Ferrari and artistic director Marco Mueller, who came to Rome
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- 11/7/2013
- by Eric J. Lyman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This story first appeared in the Nov. 8 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Unveiling the programming for this year's Rome Film Festival, artistic director Marco Mueller admitted that the eighth edition will be "contradictory, schizophrenic." That's because the festival still is struggling to find a balance between making a splash on the international scene, where it is overshadowed by the long-established Venice Film Festival, and serving as something of a celebratory cinema party for the citizens of Rome. Photos: Venice Film Festival: Exclusive Portraits of Dakota Fanning, James Franco In 2012, former Warner Bros. Italia head Paolo Ferrari
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- 11/1/2013
- by Eric J. Lyman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Quentin Tarantino will attend the International Rome Film Festival on Friday, in order to receive a special lifetime achievement award and to present his latest film, Django Unchained, which will screen for the first time outside of North America. During that brief stop in Rome, he will be shielded from the media.
The Rome festival and Warner Bros Italia, which is distributing the film in Italy, are tightly controlling Friday’s events. There are no press events scheduled, they have completely banned the media from the award ceremony and have limited the screening to a small bunch of domestic media.
In addition to Tarantino, Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz will reportedly also be on hand for the premiere, and will be joined by Franco Nero, the star of the original Django who is living in Rome, and Ennio Morricone, the five-time Oscar-winning composer whose music is closely tied with the Spaghetti Western genre.
The Rome festival and Warner Bros Italia, which is distributing the film in Italy, are tightly controlling Friday’s events. There are no press events scheduled, they have completely banned the media from the award ceremony and have limited the screening to a small bunch of domestic media.
In addition to Tarantino, Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz will reportedly also be on hand for the premiere, and will be joined by Franco Nero, the star of the original Django who is living in Rome, and Ennio Morricone, the five-time Oscar-winning composer whose music is closely tied with the Spaghetti Western genre.
- 1/3/2013
- by Vesna Sunrider
- Filmofilia
Rome – International Rome Film Festival President Paolo Ferrari brushed aside harsh comments from Minister of Culture Lorenzo Ornaghi, who criticized Rome for pushing its dates within a week of those of the Turin Film Festival, saying Tuesday he sent the minister a letter to explain the festival's motives behind the move. Photos: Cannes Film Festival: Veterans Ready to Return to the Croisette Ferrari, the former head of Warner Bros Italia, was appointed to his post in February. One of Ferrari’s first acts was to name former Venice Film Festival artistic director Marco Mueller to the same post in Rome.
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- 5/15/2012
- by Eric J. Lyman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Rome – Mario Sesti, until now best known as the director of the provocative Extra sidebar at the International Rome Film Festival, has been named the new artistic director of the Taormina Film Festival, organizers said Friday. The 57-year-old Sesti, who was born near Taormina in Messina, Sicily, is a film director, journalist, and critic. He replaces Deborah Young, International Film Editor for The Hollywood Reporter, at the helm of the 58-year-old festival. Story: Paolo Ferrari Named President of the International Rome Film Festival With his appointment, Sesti becomes the third artistic director to head one
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- 5/11/2012
- by Eric J. Lyman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Italian cinema industry sides with Marco Müller
by Vittoria Scarpa from Cineuropa.org
Bertolucci, Olmi, Bellocchio, Salvatores, Crialese, as well as Toni Servillo, Stefania Sandrelli, the producers Riccardo Tozzi andPietro Valsecchi, and singer-songwriter Franco Battiato feature amongst the 150 signatories of an appeal in favour of the new director of the Rome Film Festival, Marco Müller.
In an open letter, released today and addressed to politicians and administrators, artists of the film and entertainment industry ask that Müller be placed in the "conditions to guarantee that an all too near 2012 edition takes place", and that his contract as director of the Rome Film Festival therefore be closed.
Marco Müller's nomination as artistic director, on March 16 (see the news), has in fact still not been turned into a signed contract. According to rumours, the former director of the Venice Film Festival is becoming increasingly worried with regards to timing and has not made a mystery of the fact that he considers Cannes as a deadline (The French festival starts on May 16). The next board of director's meeting of the Fondazione Cinema per Roma, which could lead to a conclusion of the matter, will take place on Friday, assured the President Paolo Ferrari, dismissing the rumours going around about the alleged problems with the staff of selectors suggested by Müller.
"Any further loss of time would be a defeat for Rome and a huge setback for Italian cinema", says the appeal, "And would probably lead to the event's death and the cancellation of any future prospects".
(Translated from Italian)...
by Vittoria Scarpa from Cineuropa.org
Bertolucci, Olmi, Bellocchio, Salvatores, Crialese, as well as Toni Servillo, Stefania Sandrelli, the producers Riccardo Tozzi andPietro Valsecchi, and singer-songwriter Franco Battiato feature amongst the 150 signatories of an appeal in favour of the new director of the Rome Film Festival, Marco Müller.
In an open letter, released today and addressed to politicians and administrators, artists of the film and entertainment industry ask that Müller be placed in the "conditions to guarantee that an all too near 2012 edition takes place", and that his contract as director of the Rome Film Festival therefore be closed.
Marco Müller's nomination as artistic director, on March 16 (see the news), has in fact still not been turned into a signed contract. According to rumours, the former director of the Venice Film Festival is becoming increasingly worried with regards to timing and has not made a mystery of the fact that he considers Cannes as a deadline (The French festival starts on May 16). The next board of director's meeting of the Fondazione Cinema per Roma, which could lead to a conclusion of the matter, will take place on Friday, assured the President Paolo Ferrari, dismissing the rumours going around about the alleged problems with the staff of selectors suggested by Müller.
"Any further loss of time would be a defeat for Rome and a huge setback for Italian cinema", says the appeal, "And would probably lead to the event's death and the cancellation of any future prospects".
(Translated from Italian)...
- 5/3/2012
- by Vittoria Scarpa
- Sydney's Buzz
Marco Muller
Renowned Italian filmmakers Bertolucci, Olmi, Bellocchio, Salvatores, Crialese, as well as Toni Servillo, Stefania Sandrelli, the producers Riccardo Tozzi and Pietro Valsecchi, and singer-songwriter Franco Battiato feature amongst the 150 signatories of an appeal in favour of the new director of the Rome Film Festival, Marco Müller.
In an open letter addressed to politicians and administrators; artists of the film and entertainment industry ask that Müller be placed in the “conditions to guarantee that an all too near 2012 edition takes place”, and that his contract as director of the Rome Film Festival therefore be closed.
Marco Müller’s nomination as artistic director on March 16 (see news here) has in fact still not been turned into a signed contract. According to rumours, the former director of the Venice Film Festival is becoming increasingly worried with regards to timing and has not made a mystery of the fact that he considers Cannes as a deadline.
Renowned Italian filmmakers Bertolucci, Olmi, Bellocchio, Salvatores, Crialese, as well as Toni Servillo, Stefania Sandrelli, the producers Riccardo Tozzi and Pietro Valsecchi, and singer-songwriter Franco Battiato feature amongst the 150 signatories of an appeal in favour of the new director of the Rome Film Festival, Marco Müller.
In an open letter addressed to politicians and administrators; artists of the film and entertainment industry ask that Müller be placed in the “conditions to guarantee that an all too near 2012 edition takes place”, and that his contract as director of the Rome Film Festival therefore be closed.
Marco Müller’s nomination as artistic director on March 16 (see news here) has in fact still not been turned into a signed contract. According to rumours, the former director of the Venice Film Festival is becoming increasingly worried with regards to timing and has not made a mystery of the fact that he considers Cannes as a deadline.
- 5/3/2012
- by Cineuropa
- DearCinema.com
Rome – Officials from the International Rome Film Festival said Friday that the festival had agreed to move its dates back to late November, while the lingering contract issues involving newly-appointed artistic director Marco Mueller appear to be resolved. If that is indeed the case, it will end a long period of uncertainty for the seven-year-old festival, which started in January with the start of a long and dawn-out battle over whether Mueller and new festival president Paolo Ferrari should be named to replace incumbents Piera Detassis and Gian Luigi Rondi, respectively. But even after Ferrari’s
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- 4/20/2012
- by Eric J. Lyman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After numerous delays in voting to make it official, Marco Müller has been appointed as artistic director of the International Rome Film Festival. It's a significant move toward raising the profile of the festival. This comes after Müller was not asked back to his role in the same position at the Venice Film Festival -- which clearly overshadows Rome as Italy's most renowned film festival -- earlier this year, which followed 8 years in that position. Previous to that, he had worked for both Rotterdam and Locarno. Müller's appointment by the board of directors of the Cinema per Roma Foundation, chaired by President Paolo Ferrari and board members: Michele Lo Foco (The City of Rome), Salvatore Ronghi (Lazio Region), Massimo Ghini (Province of Rome), Andrea Mondello (Rome Chamber of Commerce) e Carlo Fuortes (Musica per Roma Fondation). "I am really satisfied with this election of Marco Müller as artistic director of the International.
- 3/16/2012
- by Peter Knegt
- Indiewire
Rome – The much-heralded official appointment of Marco Mueller as the next artistic director of the International Rome Film Festival was delayed Monday amid a new controversy swirling in the Italian media over Mueller’s reported salary. Story: Marco Mueller Poised to Lead Rome Film Festival as Gian Luigi Rondi Steps Down Paolo Ferrari, appointed as the Rome festival’s president March 5, strenuously denied the reports that Mueller would be paid €1.5 million ($1.95 million) for a three-year term, and festival officials told The Hollywood Reporter that the reports were groundless and that the delay was due
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- 3/12/2012
- by Eric J. Lyman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
"The agony and perverse ecstasy of unrequited love permeate Terence Davies's The Deep Blue Sea," writes Graham Fuller at the top of his interview with the director. Also in the new March/April 2012 issue of Film Comment: Jonathan Rosenbaum remembers Gilbert Adair (plus a few online exclusives: Adair on Mae West and his "Cliché Expert's Guide to the Cinema"), Anton Dolin examines "The Strange Case of Russian Maverick Aleksei German" (see, too, J Hoberman's 1990 piece for Fc on German) and Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life tops the Reader's "20 Best Films of 2011" Poll — plus comments.
Then there are the shorter bits from the issue online: Nicolas Rapold on Pablo Giorgelli's Las Acacias and Athina Rachel Tsangari's Attenberg (more from Eric Hynes [Time Out New York, 4/5], Eric Kohn [indieWIRE], Anthony Lane [New Yorker], Dennis Lim [New York Times], Karina Longworth [Voice], Henry Stewart [L] and Michael Tully [Hammer to Nail]), Phillip Lopate on Jafar Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb's This Is Not a Film...
Then there are the shorter bits from the issue online: Nicolas Rapold on Pablo Giorgelli's Las Acacias and Athina Rachel Tsangari's Attenberg (more from Eric Hynes [Time Out New York, 4/5], Eric Kohn [indieWIRE], Anthony Lane [New Yorker], Dennis Lim [New York Times], Karina Longworth [Voice], Henry Stewart [L] and Michael Tully [Hammer to Nail]), Phillip Lopate on Jafar Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb's This Is Not a Film...
- 3/7/2012
- MUBI
Paolo Ferrari, the longtime President and Managing Director of Warner Bros Entertainment Italy, is retiring after 21 years at the studio. He leaves in the spring and will be replaced by Barbara Salabe. Salabe joins the studio on November 7 from her current post as Managing Director of Stage Entertainment. Ferrari, who started working for the studio in 1989 as Managing Director of Warner Bros Italia, oversaw all Warner Bros businesses in Italy, including theatrical and home video production, marketing and distribution of studio and local-language films, and ancillary revenue streams. He served previous stints at Columbia Tri-Star and MGM in Italy. “Paolo Ferrari has been a force in the Italian film industry in an outstanding career spanning almost five decades, and we are exceptionally fortunate to have had him at the helm of our Italian business during such a key period for our company,” said Warner Bros Entertainment chairman/CEO Barry Meyer.
- 9/28/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Venice film festival overshadowed by allegations of nepotism and elitism among jury
Venice film festival, the oldest and one of the most glamorous cinema awards ceremonies in the world, has been overshadowed this year by allegations of nepotism and elitism among the jury, with Silvio Berlusconi's government threatening to intervene and hand pick next year's judges.
In a magazine interview published yesterday, the Italian culture minister launched a stinging attack on American film director Quentin Tarantino, who led this year's jury, calling him "the expression of an elitist, relativist and snobbish culture."
Sandro Bondi also slammed the judges' choice of winners, which did not include any Italian films, and said he would take part in the selection of next year's jury, "since [the festival] is financed by the state". The Italian government contributes €7m (£5.8m) to the festival's €12m budget.
Bondi told the Italian magazine Panorama that Tarantino "pays no attention...
Venice film festival, the oldest and one of the most glamorous cinema awards ceremonies in the world, has been overshadowed this year by allegations of nepotism and elitism among the jury, with Silvio Berlusconi's government threatening to intervene and hand pick next year's judges.
In a magazine interview published yesterday, the Italian culture minister launched a stinging attack on American film director Quentin Tarantino, who led this year's jury, calling him "the expression of an elitist, relativist and snobbish culture."
Sandro Bondi also slammed the judges' choice of winners, which did not include any Italian films, and said he would take part in the selection of next year's jury, "since [the festival] is financed by the state". The Italian government contributes €7m (£5.8m) to the festival's €12m budget.
Bondi told the Italian magazine Panorama that Tarantino "pays no attention...
- 9/17/2010
- by Tom Kington
- The Guardian - Film News
Sandro Bondi pledges to take part in selection of next year's Venice film festival jury after Tarantino's controversial tenure as head
Silvio Berlusconi's culture minister has launched a stinging attack on Quentin Tarantino, who headed the jury at this year's Venice film festival, calling the American director "the expression of an elitist, relativist and snobbish culture".
Sandro Bondi also slammed the prize-giving at Venice – where no Italian films were rewarded – and pledged to take part in the selection of next year's jury, "since it is financed by the state".
Tarantino, Bondi told Italian magazine Panorama on Friday, "pays no attention to the sentiment and the tastes of the people and of tradition, which are now considered unsophisticated and outdated. And that vision influences his critical judgment of films, including foreign films."
Venice's top prize this year went to Sofia Coppola for her film Somewhere, a decision the Italian media...
Silvio Berlusconi's culture minister has launched a stinging attack on Quentin Tarantino, who headed the jury at this year's Venice film festival, calling the American director "the expression of an elitist, relativist and snobbish culture".
Sandro Bondi also slammed the prize-giving at Venice – where no Italian films were rewarded – and pledged to take part in the selection of next year's jury, "since it is financed by the state".
Tarantino, Bondi told Italian magazine Panorama on Friday, "pays no attention to the sentiment and the tastes of the people and of tradition, which are now considered unsophisticated and outdated. And that vision influences his critical judgment of films, including foreign films."
Venice's top prize this year went to Sofia Coppola for her film Somewhere, a decision the Italian media...
- 9/17/2010
- by Tom Kington
- The Guardian - Film News
Rome -- Lamberto Mancini, the director general of Italy's famed Cinecitta Studios, has been selected to hold the same position at Anica, the Italian cinema and audiovisual association, the organization announced Wednesday.
Mancini -- who started working at Cinecitta Studios ten years ago, soon after it was privatized -- replaces Paolo Ferrari, the director of Warner Bros.-Italia.
Mancini -- who started working at Cinecitta Studios ten years ago, soon after it was privatized -- replaces Paolo Ferrari, the director of Warner Bros.-Italia.
- 7/1/2009
- by By Eric J. Lyman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Rome -- Paolo Ferrari, president of the cinema and audiovisual association Anica, has been nominated by Italian president Giorgio Napolitano for the Order of Merit for Labor, one of the country's highest nonmilitary honors.
The rough equivalent to being knighted, the 108-year-old honor is given for achievement in commerce or industry.
In addition to heading Anica, Ferrari is the director of Warner Bros.-Italy, and has worked in the past with MGM and Columbia Pictures.
The rough equivalent to being knighted, the 108-year-old honor is given for achievement in commerce or industry.
In addition to heading Anica, Ferrari is the director of Warner Bros.-Italy, and has worked in the past with MGM and Columbia Pictures.
- 6/2/2009
- by By Eric J. Lyman
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It has been reported (http://www.itnews.it/news/2009/0507142401637/cinema-il-nuovo-harry-potter-in-anteprima-a-giffoni-experience-2009.html) today that Half-Blood Prince will open (http://www.giffoniff.it/en/pageview2.php?i=332) the 39th Giffoni film festival (http://www.giffoniff.it/en/index.php) in Italy on July 12th. The festival is open until the 25th. The event is described as the 'largest film festival for kids in Europe'. Over 2000 children from 40 countries are involved in choosing the winners. ---Quote--- “We will open the new Giffoni with Harry Potter. We could not have wished for a better start - says the artistic director Claudio Gubitosi -. On the 12th of July the Festival's audience the children and youth, will have the opportunity to take part in a huge event and for this I wish to thank the President of Warner Bros Entertainment Italia, Paolo Ferrari, and his entire team for choosing Giffoni”. ---End Quote--- Order of the...
- 5/7/2009
- by EmmaRiddle
- Snitchseeker.com
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