Rome-based distribution and production exec Thomas J. Ciampa — who last year exited WarnerMedia where he was Italy, Spain and Portugal country manager — is joining Rainbow Group, the prominent Italian indie best known for creating the hit “Winx Club” TV franchise.
In his new position as Rainbow Group’s COO, Ciampa will play a key role in the strategic development and investment strategies of the company’s portfolio, which is expanding from producing animated content for children to encompassing all audiences and market segments.
The “Winx Club” animated TV series — which has bewitched tween girls around the world — was spun into the live-action series “Fate: The Winx Saga” by Rainbow and Netflix, which commissioned and co-produced the show’s first two seasons but passed on making a third installment last year.
Alongside its kids content, Rainbow has been churning out hit genre titles in recent years through its Rome-based Colorado Films,...
In his new position as Rainbow Group’s COO, Ciampa will play a key role in the strategic development and investment strategies of the company’s portfolio, which is expanding from producing animated content for children to encompassing all audiences and market segments.
The “Winx Club” animated TV series — which has bewitched tween girls around the world — was spun into the live-action series “Fate: The Winx Saga” by Rainbow and Netflix, which commissioned and co-produced the show’s first two seasons but passed on making a third installment last year.
Alongside its kids content, Rainbow has been churning out hit genre titles in recent years through its Rome-based Colorado Films,...
- 11/20/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Weeks before Elvis Presley died at age 42, he and his father, Vernon Presley, shared an extended conversation at Graceland. According to the elder Presley, the six-hour confab concluded with Elvis saying, “I really enjoyed this.” Those were the last words he’d ever hear from his son.
Now that Vernon’s dead, no one will know whether the pair discussed the time Elvis’s dad spent in prison.
Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’ movie got two things right Elvis Presley with his father Vernon Presley in 1958 | Bettmann/Contributor
The recently-released Elvis biopic depicts a lot of inaccuracies, but some scenes are spot on. For instance, Elvis’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker did hire Vernon to act as a “business manager.” But Elvis Presley Enterprises didn’t form until after the entertainer died, says Looper.
Another completely true inclusion in the movie: The singer’s dad was convicted of forgery and sent to prison.
Now that Vernon’s dead, no one will know whether the pair discussed the time Elvis’s dad spent in prison.
Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Elvis’ movie got two things right Elvis Presley with his father Vernon Presley in 1958 | Bettmann/Contributor
The recently-released Elvis biopic depicts a lot of inaccuracies, but some scenes are spot on. For instance, Elvis’s manager, Colonel Tom Parker did hire Vernon to act as a “business manager.” But Elvis Presley Enterprises didn’t form until after the entertainer died, says Looper.
Another completely true inclusion in the movie: The singer’s dad was convicted of forgery and sent to prison.
- 2/28/2023
- by Kaanii Powell Cleaver
- Showbiz Cheat Sheet
L’ordine del tempo
On our list we have a quartet of filmmakers who returned to the director’s chair after at least a decade away and who’ll present something fresh in ’23. Among them we find Italy’s Liliana Cavaniwho returns after more than two decades away from the game and this one appears to be a fun end of times drama. Alessandro Gassmann, Claudia Gerini and Angela Molina joined L’ordine del tempo – which was shot in Rome this past August. This is about a group of friends who gather who gather annually but on this occasion there is an hourglass spoiling the occasion.…...
On our list we have a quartet of filmmakers who returned to the director’s chair after at least a decade away and who’ll present something fresh in ’23. Among them we find Italy’s Liliana Cavaniwho returns after more than two decades away from the game and this one appears to be a fun end of times drama. Alessandro Gassmann, Claudia Gerini and Angela Molina joined L’ordine del tempo – which was shot in Rome this past August. This is about a group of friends who gather who gather annually but on this occasion there is an hourglass spoiling the occasion.…...
- 1/12/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
My Name Is Vendetta (Il mio nome è vendetta) is a thriller movie directed by Cosimo Gomez starring Alessandro Gassman and Remo Girone.
A film with a classic premise that develops in a coherent way, and in which Alessandro Gassman takes on a role that is reminiscent of a Liam Neeson character, although slightly darker in temperament.
Premise
After old enemies kill his family, a former mafia enforcer and his feisty daughter flee to Milan, where they hide out while plotting their revenge.
Movie Review
Here we have a movie that is watchable, it is relatively well produced, but will not be remembered. It has the virtue of maneuvering like a classic thriller, although it never really strikes us as impactful.
‘My Name is Vendetta’ is not novel. We have seen similar thrillers before. It navigates within the framework of a thriller format that almost always works, and it seems...
A film with a classic premise that develops in a coherent way, and in which Alessandro Gassman takes on a role that is reminiscent of a Liam Neeson character, although slightly darker in temperament.
Premise
After old enemies kill his family, a former mafia enforcer and his feisty daughter flee to Milan, where they hide out while plotting their revenge.
Movie Review
Here we have a movie that is watchable, it is relatively well produced, but will not be remembered. It has the virtue of maneuvering like a classic thriller, although it never really strikes us as impactful.
‘My Name is Vendetta’ is not novel. We have seen similar thrillers before. It navigates within the framework of a thriller format that almost always works, and it seems...
- 11/30/2022
- by Veronica Loop
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
"He's not the kind of man who runs away." Netflix has revealed an official trailer for an Italian film titled My Name is Vendetta, arriving for streaming at the end of November. This pretty much looks like Italy's version of Taken or John Wick, about a father who is apparently a former enforcer and never told his family – until they're killed. A fast-paced action, survival and revenge film set in Northern Italy in a quiet town in Südtirol. When enemies from the past kill his wife and brother-in-law, the mafia enforcer and his daughter flee to Milan to plot their revenge. Starring Alessandro Gassmann and Ginevra Francesconi as the father and daughter, Santo and Sofia, who train together to take down the people who came after them. The cast also includes Remo Girone, Gabriele Falsetta, Alessio Praticò, Marcello Mazzarella, & Sinja Dieks. This looks like a very generic revenge story, but...
- 10/20/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
First we have Catherine Breillat getting back in the saddle, and now we have some great news coming out of Italy with Liliana Cavani working on her first feature film in more than two decades. Cineuropa reports that Alessandro Gassmann, Claudia Gerini and Angela Molina are toplining L’ordine del tempo – which is currently shooting in Rome until mid-October. The supporting cast includes Edoardo Leo, Ksenia Rappoport, Richard Sammel, Valentina Cervi, Francesca Inaudi, Angeliqa Devi, Mariana Tamayo and Fabrizio Rongione. We’re thinking the 92 year-old filmmaker will get an invite to the Venice Film Festival next year.…...
- 10/3/2022
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
Click here to read the full article.
Italy, and all of Europe, awoke Monday to a new political reality after far-right politician Giorgia Meloni claimed victory in Italy’s snap elections. With nearly all the results in, Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, a group with neofascist origins, secured the biggest share of votes.
Her far-right coalition, which includes the League, headed by Matteo Salvini, and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, have a clear majority and should be able to form a new government. Such a coalition of nationalist and far-right parties would represent Italy’s most rightwing government since the end of Benito Mussolini’s reign in 1945. Meloni has made a name for herself with starkly conservative stances, on abortion, immigration and LGBTQ+ rights.
Given the seismic political shift, it was perhaps surprising to see few voices among Italy’s traditionally leftist entertainment industry raised in protest. Only...
Italy, and all of Europe, awoke Monday to a new political reality after far-right politician Giorgia Meloni claimed victory in Italy’s snap elections. With nearly all the results in, Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, a group with neofascist origins, secured the biggest share of votes.
Her far-right coalition, which includes the League, headed by Matteo Salvini, and Silvio Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, have a clear majority and should be able to form a new government. Such a coalition of nationalist and far-right parties would represent Italy’s most rightwing government since the end of Benito Mussolini’s reign in 1945. Meloni has made a name for herself with starkly conservative stances, on abortion, immigration and LGBTQ+ rights.
Given the seismic political shift, it was perhaps surprising to see few voices among Italy’s traditionally leftist entertainment industry raised in protest. Only...
- 9/26/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Switzerland’s Locarno Film Festival has revealed the lineup for its 75th edition, sticking to its promise of discovering new talent.
A slew of debuting filmmakers will showcase their works, from Italy’s Nicola Prosatore with “Piano Piano” to Caterina Mona, focusing in “Semret” on an Eritrean single mother working at a Zurich hospital and dreaming of becoming a midwife.
Thomas Hardiman’s U.K.’s proposition “Medusa Deluxe,” a murder mystery set in a competitive hairdressing competition — boarded by New Europe Film Sales — is also bound to generate some excitement.
“‘Medusa Deluxe’ is one of the coolest debuts of the year,” the company’s CEO Jan Naszewski enthused to Variety.
“I’m sure it will rock the Piazza Grande and give the festival a great spark.”
But Locarno will also bring in heavyweights, starting with a screening of the much-anticipated Brad Pitt vehicle “Bullet Train,” directed by “Atomic Blond” helmer David Leitch,...
A slew of debuting filmmakers will showcase their works, from Italy’s Nicola Prosatore with “Piano Piano” to Caterina Mona, focusing in “Semret” on an Eritrean single mother working at a Zurich hospital and dreaming of becoming a midwife.
Thomas Hardiman’s U.K.’s proposition “Medusa Deluxe,” a murder mystery set in a competitive hairdressing competition — boarded by New Europe Film Sales — is also bound to generate some excitement.
“‘Medusa Deluxe’ is one of the coolest debuts of the year,” the company’s CEO Jan Naszewski enthused to Variety.
“I’m sure it will rock the Piazza Grande and give the festival a great spark.”
But Locarno will also bring in heavyweights, starting with a screening of the much-anticipated Brad Pitt vehicle “Bullet Train,” directed by “Atomic Blond” helmer David Leitch,...
- 7/6/2022
- by Marta Balaga
- Variety Film + TV
Daisy Jacob and Alessandro Gassmann also set to star.
Bafta-winner Tom Hollander is to play one of the lead roles in post-World War II coming-of-age drama, Me, You directed by Oscar and Palme d’Or winner Bille August.
The film will begin shooting in Ischia, Italy, in September 2022 with Daisy Jacob and Alessandro Gassmann also starring.
Set in 1950’s Ischia, Me, You is the story of a shy 16-year-old Marco who falls in love with 20-year-old Caia while on holiday with his father. When she reveals her painful childhood caused by the SS during World War II, an infatuated Marco...
Bafta-winner Tom Hollander is to play one of the lead roles in post-World War II coming-of-age drama, Me, You directed by Oscar and Palme d’Or winner Bille August.
The film will begin shooting in Ischia, Italy, in September 2022 with Daisy Jacob and Alessandro Gassmann also starring.
Set in 1950’s Ischia, Me, You is the story of a shy 16-year-old Marco who falls in love with 20-year-old Caia while on holiday with his father. When she reveals her painful childhood caused by the SS during World War II, an infatuated Marco...
- 5/24/2022
- by Melissa Kasule
- ScreenDaily
Tom Hollander (“The Night Manager”) has been cast in an adaptation of Erri De Luca’s novel “Me, You” alongside Alessandro Gassmann (“Transporter 2”) and Daisy Jacob (“Vanity Fair”).
The film, set to be directed Bille August (“Pelle the Conqueror”), is set to go into production this Fall on the island of Ischia, near Naples in Italy.
“Me, You” is set in the 1950s, in post-war Italy, where 16-year-old London native Marco is on holiday with his father Edward (Hollander). He soon finds himself accompanying fisherman Nicola (Gassman) on his sojourns into the bay of Naples. For Marco, who has been condemned to a Scottish boarding school, the tranquil waters and Nicola’s war stories provide a blessed distraction from his usual life, especially when he meets the 20-year-old Caia (Jacob) and immediately falls for her. When Marco finds out she narrowly escaped a concentration camp after her father threw her out of a train,...
The film, set to be directed Bille August (“Pelle the Conqueror”), is set to go into production this Fall on the island of Ischia, near Naples in Italy.
“Me, You” is set in the 1950s, in post-war Italy, where 16-year-old London native Marco is on holiday with his father Edward (Hollander). He soon finds himself accompanying fisherman Nicola (Gassman) on his sojourns into the bay of Naples. For Marco, who has been condemned to a Scottish boarding school, the tranquil waters and Nicola’s war stories provide a blessed distraction from his usual life, especially when he meets the 20-year-old Caia (Jacob) and immediately falls for her. When Marco finds out she narrowly escaped a concentration camp after her father threw her out of a train,...
- 5/24/2022
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Turkish director Selman Nacar’s “Between Two Dawns,” a taut moral thriller exploring ethical and familial responsibilities over the course of one 24-hour period, took home the top honor at the 39th edition of the Torino Film Festival, which ran from Nov. 26 – Dec. 4.
Chaired by director Ildikó Enyedi, and made up of actor Alessandro Gassmann, composer Evgueni Galperine and sales exec Isabel Ivars, this year’s jury commended Nacar’s filmmaking, calling the winning title “a mature film, directed with intelligent sobriety, which reveals a new, big talent.” The prize came with a purse of €18,000.
No doubt glad to return to in-person, restriction free screenings after last year’s online only edition, the jury spread the love around, offering special jury prizes to both Omar El Zohairy’s “Feathers” and Amalia Ulman’s “El Planeta.” Ulman’s film also won the Fipresci prize. Acting honors went to South Korea’s Gong Seung-yeon,...
Chaired by director Ildikó Enyedi, and made up of actor Alessandro Gassmann, composer Evgueni Galperine and sales exec Isabel Ivars, this year’s jury commended Nacar’s filmmaking, calling the winning title “a mature film, directed with intelligent sobriety, which reveals a new, big talent.” The prize came with a purse of €18,000.
No doubt glad to return to in-person, restriction free screenings after last year’s online only edition, the jury spread the love around, offering special jury prizes to both Omar El Zohairy’s “Feathers” and Amalia Ulman’s “El Planeta.” Ulman’s film also won the Fipresci prize. Acting honors went to South Korea’s Gong Seung-yeon,...
- 12/5/2021
- by Ben Croll
- Variety Film + TV
“My Brilliant Friend” star Margherita Mazzucco is set to play Saint Clare of Assisi in Susanna Nicchiarelli’s new feature film “Chiara” which will conclude the director’s trilogy of female biopics also comprising “Nico, 1988” and “Miss Marx.”
Nicchiarelli’s portrait of the 13th century saint born into a wealthy family who at age 18 became a nun after hearing St. Francis preach is being produced by the director’s regular producers, Marta Donzelli and Gregorio Paonessa’s Vivo Film, with Rai Cinema and Belgium’s Tarantula.
Italian actor Andrea Carpenzano (“The Champion”) is also set to star.
“The strength of Chiara’s story lies in her modernity: after all, we are talking about an eighteen year old who, although in a very different context from ours, fights for her dreams,” Nicchiarelli said in a statement. “I am convinced that his story can also speak to the girls and boys of today,...
Nicchiarelli’s portrait of the 13th century saint born into a wealthy family who at age 18 became a nun after hearing St. Francis preach is being produced by the director’s regular producers, Marta Donzelli and Gregorio Paonessa’s Vivo Film, with Rai Cinema and Belgium’s Tarantula.
Italian actor Andrea Carpenzano (“The Champion”) is also set to star.
“The strength of Chiara’s story lies in her modernity: after all, we are talking about an eighteen year old who, although in a very different context from ours, fights for her dreams,” Nicchiarelli said in a statement. “I am convinced that his story can also speak to the girls and boys of today,...
- 7/11/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Massimiliano Gallo, Margherita Buy and Marina Confalone lead the cast of this Paco Cinematografica and Amazon Prime Video production, co-produced by Poland. A chaotic, dysfunctional family with all its conflicts, misunderstandings and silences forms the basis of Alessandro Gassmann’s latest feature film Il silenzio grande, on which shooting wrapped this Friday. Following on from Razzabastarda and The Prize, the well-known actor is once again stepping behind the camera, this time with a screenplay based on the homonymous stage production by Maurizio De Giovanni, which has been adapted for the big screen by the very same De Giovanni, together with Andrea Ozza and Gassmann. The story is as follows: once a luxurious home and now a creaking old mansion straight out of the pages of a ghost story, Villa Primic has been put up for sale. It was a painful decision, made by Signora Primic (Rose) and supported by Massimiliano and.
- 12/15/2020
- Cineuropa - The Best of European Cinema
The Italian-Polish co-production directed by Mauro Mancini will world premiere at Venice International Film Critics' Week in September. Intramovies announces the international trailer for the film Thou Shalt Not Hate, to be world premiered at Venice International Film Critics' Week in September. We bring you the exclusive trailer for the film. Mauro Mancini’s first feature film, starring Alessandro Gassmann, Sara Serraiocco and Luka Zunic, tells the story of a doctor of Jewish origin who rescues a man who is the victim of a car accident, but when he discovers a Nazi tattoo on his chest, he leaves him to his fate. “Neither good nor bad, just human beings, ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances”. This is how the characters of Thou Shalt Not Hate are described by director Mauro Mancini, the author of numerous short films, TV mini-series and music videos, who also co-wrote the feature film’s screenplay with Davide Lisino.
The news that two hitherto heterosexual patriarchs are getting married — to each other — roils both of their families in amiable “An Almost Ordinary Summer.” This slickly produced . Released last February on its home turf, the Italian comedy was selected to open this year’s Palm Springs Film Festival following several other prominent American fest screenings. Wolfe will give it a limited U.S. theatrical release on Jan. 10, with a home-formats launch on Jan. 21.
A spectacularly situated cliffside villa in coastal Gaeta is the getaway home for wealthy art dealer Toni (Fabrizio Bentivoglio), who has gathered his Earth Mother sister (Lunetta Savino) and his daughters there for his birthday. Somewhat to their surprise, he’s supposedly rented out the guest house to a clan of working-class strangers led by Roman fishmonger Carlo (Alessandro Gassmann).
But this turns out to be a ruse. In fact, Toni and Carlo have been seeing each other for over a year,...
A spectacularly situated cliffside villa in coastal Gaeta is the getaway home for wealthy art dealer Toni (Fabrizio Bentivoglio), who has gathered his Earth Mother sister (Lunetta Savino) and his daughters there for his birthday. Somewhat to their surprise, he’s supposedly rented out the guest house to a clan of working-class strangers led by Roman fishmonger Carlo (Alessandro Gassmann).
But this turns out to be a ruse. In fact, Toni and Carlo have been seeing each other for over a year,...
- 1/4/2020
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
Alessandro Gassmann, Sara Serraiocco and Luka Zunic lead the cast of Mauro Mancini’s debut film, an Italian-Polish co-production by Movimento Film and Agresywna Banda. These past few days, shooting has begun in Trieste on Non odiare, Mauro Mancini’s first feature film, starring Alessandro Gassmann, Sara Serraiocco and Luka Zunic. The title is produced by Mario Mazzarotto on behalf of Movimento Film, in co-production with the Polish firm Agresywna Banda, with Rai Cinema and in association with Notorious Pictures who will also distribute the work in Italy. The story of Non odiare unfolds in Trieste, at the very heart of Europe; a city awash with countless ethnicities and cultures and boasting deep Jewish roots, as attested to by its ancient synagogue, in which a film scene is set to be shot for the very first time. In the depths of the city and on the threshold of the historic Borgo Teresiano.
Leading Italian sales company True Colors has closed a slew of sales at the Cannes Market and landed North American deals on horror pic “In The Trap” and gay-themed comedy “An Almost Ordinary Summer,” acquired respectively by Mpi Media Group and Wolfe Releasing.
The English-language “In The Trap” (pictured) directed by Italy’s Alessio Liguori as his feature-film debut, and produced by Italian shingles Dreamworld Movies and Mad Rocket Entertainment generated a flurry of deals, confirming the growing global appetite for horror titles and the resurgence of Italy’s capability to churn out chillers that can travel.
“In The Trap,” which features an international cast comprising South Africa’s David Bailie (“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”), and Sonya Cullingford (“The Mummy”), is about a solitary proof reader trapped by fear in his apartment where he is tortured by an unknown evil force. Besides the U.S. and Canada,...
The English-language “In The Trap” (pictured) directed by Italy’s Alessio Liguori as his feature-film debut, and produced by Italian shingles Dreamworld Movies and Mad Rocket Entertainment generated a flurry of deals, confirming the growing global appetite for horror titles and the resurgence of Italy’s capability to churn out chillers that can travel.
“In The Trap,” which features an international cast comprising South Africa’s David Bailie (“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End”), and Sonya Cullingford (“The Mummy”), is about a solitary proof reader trapped by fear in his apartment where he is tortured by an unknown evil force. Besides the U.S. and Canada,...
- 5/27/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Colette first English-language film for buyer backed by Sky; will co-release with Good Films.
Wash Westmoreland’s (Still Alice) upcoming biopic Colette, starring Keira Knightley, will be the first international title released by major new Italian distributor Vision Distribution, which is backed by Sky Italia.
Vision will release the movie in partnership with Good Films who picked up the anticipated biopic from HanWay last year.
A launch date has yet to be finalised for the film, which is currently in production.
The Wire And The Affair star Dominic West stars opposite Keira Knightley in Colette, which is based on the colourful life of the French author who wrote Gigi and Cheri and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948. Producers are Killer Films, Number 9 and Bold Films.
Shakeup
Headed by former Warner Bros. Italy managing director Nicola Maccanico, Vision Distribution is the Jv between Sky Italia - Italy’s top pay-tv provider - and major local producers...
Wash Westmoreland’s (Still Alice) upcoming biopic Colette, starring Keira Knightley, will be the first international title released by major new Italian distributor Vision Distribution, which is backed by Sky Italia.
Vision will release the movie in partnership with Good Films who picked up the anticipated biopic from HanWay last year.
A launch date has yet to be finalised for the film, which is currently in production.
The Wire And The Affair star Dominic West stars opposite Keira Knightley in Colette, which is based on the colourful life of the French author who wrote Gigi and Cheri and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1948. Producers are Killer Films, Number 9 and Bold Films.
Shakeup
Headed by former Warner Bros. Italy managing director Nicola Maccanico, Vision Distribution is the Jv between Sky Italia - Italy’s top pay-tv provider - and major local producers...
- 7/10/2017
- ScreenDaily
A unique partnership with Google on a new seminar series addressing gender and racial gaps in the film industry, particularly in technical cinematographic roles, is among new highlights unveiled today by Miami Dade College's Miami International Film Festival, as Festival organizers count down to the 33rd edition of the acclaimed annual event March 4 - 13, 2016. The Festival is the only major film festival produced and presented worldwide by a college or university.
"Google has changed the world of technology and information in swift and radical ways," noted the Festival’s Executive Director & Director of Programming Jaie Laplante. "Who better to lead a new charge at changing long-standing gender and racial inequalities in opportunities in the world of film and technology? We are incredibly honored that Google has chosen Miami International Film Festival as a forum to discuss solutions and inspire new filmmakers wanting to scale the heights of their chosen profession."
The Google Seminar Series on Gender & Racial Gaps In Film & Tech will take place in The Idea Center at Miami Dade College and other locations over four days, March 5 - 8, within the overall Festival program. Among the highlights of the series will be veteran cinematographer Kirsten Johnson's screening and discussion of her feature memoir, "Cameraperson," set to world premiere at Sundance Film Festival later this month. Johnson's film covers her extensive career working on such filmmakers as Laura Poitras and Michael Moore.
“Our research shows that when it comes to encouraging women and underrepresented minorities to pursue careers in computer science and other technical fields, positive role models matter, which makes the work of the film industry so powerful,” said Julie Ann Crommett, Google Cs Education in Media Program Manager. “We’re thrilled to support the Seminar Series on Gender & Racial Gaps In Film & Tech at The Idea Center at Miami Dade College to shed light on this important issue and inspire more creators to showcase positive portrayals of women and underrepresented minorities in tech.”
The Festival also unveiled 21 additional new feature films for the 2016 program, highlighting some of the year's most superb accomplishments. All films in today's announcement have the special distinction of having been directed by women. The films include:
John S. & James L. Knight Competition
Francesca Archibugi's "An Italian Name" (Il nome del figlio), starring Alessandro Gassman and Valeria Golino. Archibugi returns to Miami after having closed the Festival in 1989 with her film Mignon Has Left. Liz Garbus' "Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper" (also eligible for Knight Documentary Achievement Award). The celebrated CNN journalist interviews his famous mother, now 91, about her eventful life, romances and tragedies. Dawn Porter's "Trapped" (also eligible for Knight Documentary Achievement Award), a look at legislative moves at the state level attempting to turn back hard-fought women's rights from only 40 years ago. Knight Documentary Achievement Award
World Premiere: Shaina Koren's "The Rebound," a Miami-made film about the Miami Heat Wheels basketball team. American filmmakers and Oscar nominees Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's "Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You," a candid look at the legendary barrier-breaking TV producer of the 1970s. Jennifer Redfearn’s "Tocando La Luz" (Touch the Light) (USA), which follows three interwoven stories of blind residents in Havana, Cuba. "Weiner," by American filmmaker Elyse Steinberg (directed with Josh Kreigman), a look at the entertainment spectacle of American politics through the media frenzy surrounding Anthony Weiner's 2013 comeback campaign. Marcia Tambutti "Allende's Beyond My Grandfather Allende" (Allende, mi abuelo Allende) , a Chilean/Mexican co-production that won the first-ever Documentary Award presented at 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Lexus Ibero-American Feature Film Competition
World Premiere: Brazilian screenwriter Vera Egito's "Restless Love" (Amores Urbanos), her feature film directorial debut, set in São Paulo. North American Premiere: Cuban filmmaker Jessica Rodriguez's "Dark Glasses" (Espejuelos oscuros), partially presented as a work-in-progress at the 2015 Festival in the Emerging Cuban Independent Film/Video Artist program presented by The Related Group. North American Premiere: Colombian filmmaker Angela Maria Osorio Rojas (directed with her partner Santiago Lozano Alvarez)'s "Siembra" (also competing for the Jordan Alexander Ressler Screenwriting Award), a tale of an uprooted coastal fisherman learning to build a new life in the urban center of Cali. Daniela Goggi's "Abzurdah," a drama about a young high school student driven to anorexia over her affair with an older man, a box office smash hit in its native Argentina. Ana Katz’s "Mi amiga del parque," also from Argentina, a psychological drama workshopped in the Festival’s Encuentros program in 2015, and making its international debut at Sundance Film Festival 2016. Jordan Alexander Ressler Screenwriting Award
Israel filmmaker Yaelle Kayam's debut film "Mountain," about the wife of an Orthodox scholar living next to Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, who discovers her own mountain of unexpressed sexual desire deep within. Cinema 360
U.S Premiere: German filmmaker Theresa von Eltz's "4 Kings" (4 Könige), a touching drama of four emotionally troubled youths learning to trust each other at a recovery facility. French filmmaker Catherine Corsini's "Summertime" (La belle saison), starringCécile de France as a Parisian at the forefront of the women's liberation movement in the early 1970s. French filmmaker Maïwann’s "My King" (Mon roi), which won a Best Actress award at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival for Emmanuelle Bercot. Indian filmmaker Leena Yadav's "Parched," a luminous drama about three women from rural India liberating themselves from demeaning patriarchal traditions. Visions
World Premiere: Miami filmmaker Monica Peña's experimental sophomore feature film, "Hearts of Palm" (also competing in Knight Competition), featuring music by lead actor Brad Lovett. Lee Brian Schrager's Culinary Cinema
Japanese filmmaker Naomi Kawase's "Sweet Bean" (An), a beautiful story of an elderly dorayaki maker passing on the wisdom of her culinary craft. Megan Riakos' " Crushed," a murder-mystery thriller set on a vineyard in rural Australia. These titles join the previously announced women directors from Spain in the 2016 Official Selection:Paula Ortiz’s "The Bride" (La novia); Gracia Querejeta’s "Happy 140" (Felices 140), "We Are Pregnant" (Embarazados); and Veronica Escuer & Cristina Jolonch's "Snacks, Bites of a Revolution" (Snacks: Bocados de una revolución).
More announcements will follow as the Festival prepares to unveil its complete program. In addition to the sponsors acknowledged above, the Festival also thanks Telefilm Canada, Frederick Wildman & Sons, German Films, the Consulate General of Canada in Miamiand the Consulate General of Germany in Miami for program-specific support.
"Google has changed the world of technology and information in swift and radical ways," noted the Festival’s Executive Director & Director of Programming Jaie Laplante. "Who better to lead a new charge at changing long-standing gender and racial inequalities in opportunities in the world of film and technology? We are incredibly honored that Google has chosen Miami International Film Festival as a forum to discuss solutions and inspire new filmmakers wanting to scale the heights of their chosen profession."
The Google Seminar Series on Gender & Racial Gaps In Film & Tech will take place in The Idea Center at Miami Dade College and other locations over four days, March 5 - 8, within the overall Festival program. Among the highlights of the series will be veteran cinematographer Kirsten Johnson's screening and discussion of her feature memoir, "Cameraperson," set to world premiere at Sundance Film Festival later this month. Johnson's film covers her extensive career working on such filmmakers as Laura Poitras and Michael Moore.
“Our research shows that when it comes to encouraging women and underrepresented minorities to pursue careers in computer science and other technical fields, positive role models matter, which makes the work of the film industry so powerful,” said Julie Ann Crommett, Google Cs Education in Media Program Manager. “We’re thrilled to support the Seminar Series on Gender & Racial Gaps In Film & Tech at The Idea Center at Miami Dade College to shed light on this important issue and inspire more creators to showcase positive portrayals of women and underrepresented minorities in tech.”
The Festival also unveiled 21 additional new feature films for the 2016 program, highlighting some of the year's most superb accomplishments. All films in today's announcement have the special distinction of having been directed by women. The films include:
John S. & James L. Knight Competition
Francesca Archibugi's "An Italian Name" (Il nome del figlio), starring Alessandro Gassman and Valeria Golino. Archibugi returns to Miami after having closed the Festival in 1989 with her film Mignon Has Left. Liz Garbus' "Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper" (also eligible for Knight Documentary Achievement Award). The celebrated CNN journalist interviews his famous mother, now 91, about her eventful life, romances and tragedies. Dawn Porter's "Trapped" (also eligible for Knight Documentary Achievement Award), a look at legislative moves at the state level attempting to turn back hard-fought women's rights from only 40 years ago. Knight Documentary Achievement Award
World Premiere: Shaina Koren's "The Rebound," a Miami-made film about the Miami Heat Wheels basketball team. American filmmakers and Oscar nominees Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's "Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You," a candid look at the legendary barrier-breaking TV producer of the 1970s. Jennifer Redfearn’s "Tocando La Luz" (Touch the Light) (USA), which follows three interwoven stories of blind residents in Havana, Cuba. "Weiner," by American filmmaker Elyse Steinberg (directed with Josh Kreigman), a look at the entertainment spectacle of American politics through the media frenzy surrounding Anthony Weiner's 2013 comeback campaign. Marcia Tambutti "Allende's Beyond My Grandfather Allende" (Allende, mi abuelo Allende) , a Chilean/Mexican co-production that won the first-ever Documentary Award presented at 2015 Cannes Film Festival. Lexus Ibero-American Feature Film Competition
World Premiere: Brazilian screenwriter Vera Egito's "Restless Love" (Amores Urbanos), her feature film directorial debut, set in São Paulo. North American Premiere: Cuban filmmaker Jessica Rodriguez's "Dark Glasses" (Espejuelos oscuros), partially presented as a work-in-progress at the 2015 Festival in the Emerging Cuban Independent Film/Video Artist program presented by The Related Group. North American Premiere: Colombian filmmaker Angela Maria Osorio Rojas (directed with her partner Santiago Lozano Alvarez)'s "Siembra" (also competing for the Jordan Alexander Ressler Screenwriting Award), a tale of an uprooted coastal fisherman learning to build a new life in the urban center of Cali. Daniela Goggi's "Abzurdah," a drama about a young high school student driven to anorexia over her affair with an older man, a box office smash hit in its native Argentina. Ana Katz’s "Mi amiga del parque," also from Argentina, a psychological drama workshopped in the Festival’s Encuentros program in 2015, and making its international debut at Sundance Film Festival 2016. Jordan Alexander Ressler Screenwriting Award
Israel filmmaker Yaelle Kayam's debut film "Mountain," about the wife of an Orthodox scholar living next to Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, who discovers her own mountain of unexpressed sexual desire deep within. Cinema 360
U.S Premiere: German filmmaker Theresa von Eltz's "4 Kings" (4 Könige), a touching drama of four emotionally troubled youths learning to trust each other at a recovery facility. French filmmaker Catherine Corsini's "Summertime" (La belle saison), starringCécile de France as a Parisian at the forefront of the women's liberation movement in the early 1970s. French filmmaker Maïwann’s "My King" (Mon roi), which won a Best Actress award at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival for Emmanuelle Bercot. Indian filmmaker Leena Yadav's "Parched," a luminous drama about three women from rural India liberating themselves from demeaning patriarchal traditions. Visions
World Premiere: Miami filmmaker Monica Peña's experimental sophomore feature film, "Hearts of Palm" (also competing in Knight Competition), featuring music by lead actor Brad Lovett. Lee Brian Schrager's Culinary Cinema
Japanese filmmaker Naomi Kawase's "Sweet Bean" (An), a beautiful story of an elderly dorayaki maker passing on the wisdom of her culinary craft. Megan Riakos' " Crushed," a murder-mystery thriller set on a vineyard in rural Australia. These titles join the previously announced women directors from Spain in the 2016 Official Selection:Paula Ortiz’s "The Bride" (La novia); Gracia Querejeta’s "Happy 140" (Felices 140), "We Are Pregnant" (Embarazados); and Veronica Escuer & Cristina Jolonch's "Snacks, Bites of a Revolution" (Snacks: Bocados de una revolución).
More announcements will follow as the Festival prepares to unveil its complete program. In addition to the sponsors acknowledged above, the Festival also thanks Telefilm Canada, Frederick Wildman & Sons, German Films, the Consulate General of Canada in Miamiand the Consulate General of Germany in Miami for program-specific support.
- 1/12/2016
- by Carlos Aguilar
- Sydney's Buzz
La vita possibile
Director: Ivano De Matteo
Writer: Valentina Ferlan
Italian actor turned director Ivano De Matteo continues to solidify his prolific reputation following the critical acclaim of his last film, 2014’s The Dinner (which bears a striking resemblance to Paolo Virzi’s Human Capital). While that title was headlined by Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Alessandro Gassman, the young director nabs two more of Italy’s most renowned performers, Marherita Buy and Valeria Golina for his next project, La vita possibile (The Possible Life), a Franco/Italian co-production. The plot concerns a mother and son fleeing the clutches of an abusive man as they try to make a better life for themselves.
Cast: Margherita Buy, Valeria Golino, Bruno Todeschini, Andrea Pittorino
Production Co./Producers: Marco Poccioni, Marco Valsania
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. Tbd (domestic/international).
Release Date: With his last title premiering out of Venice, we’re wondering if this...
Director: Ivano De Matteo
Writer: Valentina Ferlan
Italian actor turned director Ivano De Matteo continues to solidify his prolific reputation following the critical acclaim of his last film, 2014’s The Dinner (which bears a striking resemblance to Paolo Virzi’s Human Capital). While that title was headlined by Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Alessandro Gassman, the young director nabs two more of Italy’s most renowned performers, Marherita Buy and Valeria Golina for his next project, La vita possibile (The Possible Life), a Franco/Italian co-production. The plot concerns a mother and son fleeing the clutches of an abusive man as they try to make a better life for themselves.
Cast: Margherita Buy, Valeria Golino, Bruno Todeschini, Andrea Pittorino
Production Co./Producers: Marco Poccioni, Marco Valsania
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available. Tbd (domestic/international).
Release Date: With his last title premiering out of Venice, we’re wondering if this...
- 1/5/2016
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
The Dinner poses an interesting question, several actually. And I’m not talking about whether to go with red or white wine, wise-acres. It’s an exploration of families, of the dynamic of two adult brothers, their wives and children. Established roles are reversed and secrets are shared as old clashes rise to the surface. The film also gives us two moral options and asks on which (or whose) side would you go. It gives us a lot to mull over as the desert cart wheels toward the table.
The title refers not to a big family feast, but rather an intimate weekly dinner for two couples, the brothers and their wives, in an upscale restaurant in Rome. At least one half of the table never looks forward to this “obligation”. That would be brother Paolo (Luigi Lo Cascio), a busy surgeon who shares a big apartment with his wife...
The title refers not to a big family feast, but rather an intimate weekly dinner for two couples, the brothers and their wives, in an upscale restaurant in Rome. At least one half of the table never looks forward to this “obligation”. That would be brother Paolo (Luigi Lo Cascio), a busy surgeon who shares a big apartment with his wife...
- 11/11/2015
- by Jim Batts
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Transporter 2
Written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen
Directed by Louis Leterrier
France, 2005
It took three full years for Frank Martin (Jason Statham) to make his return to the silver screen following the modest success that was The Transporter in 2002, but not a lot had changed in the interim, notwithstanding a few cosmetic details. Frank still offers his services privately to whomever is willing to pay, only now he has established himself in Miami. In very James Bondian fashion, the previous film’s leading lady is nowhere to be found. This time, it is Audrey (Amber Valleta), beautiful wife to brilliant doctor Jefferson Billings (Matthew Modine), who opines over the rugged entrepreneur. The Billings have hired Frank a month ago to drive their young son Jack to and from school. Frank has, rather surprisingly, developed something of a rapport with the youth, which prompts him into action on...
Written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen
Directed by Louis Leterrier
France, 2005
It took three full years for Frank Martin (Jason Statham) to make his return to the silver screen following the modest success that was The Transporter in 2002, but not a lot had changed in the interim, notwithstanding a few cosmetic details. Frank still offers his services privately to whomever is willing to pay, only now he has established himself in Miami. In very James Bondian fashion, the previous film’s leading lady is nowhere to be found. This time, it is Audrey (Amber Valleta), beautiful wife to brilliant doctor Jefferson Billings (Matthew Modine), who opines over the rugged entrepreneur. The Billings have hired Frank a month ago to drive their young son Jack to and from school. Frank has, rather surprisingly, developed something of a rapport with the youth, which prompts him into action on...
- 9/26/2015
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
The Dinner (I Nostri Ragazzi) director Ivano de Matteo Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
Ivano de Matteo philosophised with me, first at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and then at the Barbetta Open Roads: New Italian Cinema lunch, about justice, ethics, adapting Herman Koch's novel with screenwriting partner Valentina Ferlan, and how a switch in lighting can make a subliminal difference.
Massimo Lauri (Alessandro Gassman):"I wanted to create an aseptic, cold environment."
I threw Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, Alfred Hitchcock's Rope, a scene from Paolo Virzi's Human Capital (Il Capitale Umano) with Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and the texture of nightmares into the family circle of his film The Dinner (I Nostri Ragazzi).
Alessandro Gassman, Luigi Lo Cascio, Barbora Bobulova, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Rosabell Laurenti Sellers, and Jacopo Olmi Antinori form a formidable ensemble where each part can shatter the whole.
A man (Adamo Dionisi) completely looses his calm...
Ivano de Matteo philosophised with me, first at the Film Society of Lincoln Center and then at the Barbetta Open Roads: New Italian Cinema lunch, about justice, ethics, adapting Herman Koch's novel with screenwriting partner Valentina Ferlan, and how a switch in lighting can make a subliminal difference.
Massimo Lauri (Alessandro Gassman):"I wanted to create an aseptic, cold environment."
I threw Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita, Alfred Hitchcock's Rope, a scene from Paolo Virzi's Human Capital (Il Capitale Umano) with Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and the texture of nightmares into the family circle of his film The Dinner (I Nostri Ragazzi).
Alessandro Gassman, Luigi Lo Cascio, Barbora Bobulova, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Rosabell Laurenti Sellers, and Jacopo Olmi Antinori form a formidable ensemble where each part can shatter the whole.
A man (Adamo Dionisi) completely looses his calm...
- 6/8/2015
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Title: Il nome del figlio (The name of the son) Director: Francesca Archibugi Starring: Alessandro Gassman, Valeria Golino, Luigi Lo Cascio, Rocco Papaleo, Michaela Ramazzotti. Based on the French movie ‘Le Prénom’ (What’s in a name) which adapted for the screen the same title play, ‘Il nome del figlio’ (The name of the son) uses the same mockery of a controversial name, to unleash a series of revelations during a supposedly tranquil dinner amongst friends. Paolo (Alessandro Gassman) is an outgoing and playful real estate broker married to Simona (Michaela Ramazzotti), a beautiful woman from the outskirts of Rome who has become an author of spicy bestsellers and is pregnant [ Read More ]
The post Il nome del figlio (The name of the son) Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Il nome del figlio (The name of the son) Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 1/24/2015
- by Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi
- ShockYa
New York-based distribution company Film Movement has picked up North American rights to Ivano De Matteo’s The Dinner in Rome this week. Based on the best-selling Dutch novel by Herman Koch, the title took home the Best European Film award at Venice Days. Cate Blanchett is rumored to be making her directorial debut with an English-language adaptation of the book. The Italian adaptation stars Giovanna Mezzogiorno, Luigi Lo Cascio and Alessandro Gassman, and chronicles a dinner party gone horribly wrong. Two well-to-do couples who seem to have it all begrudgingly endure a posh monthly dinner together.
read more...
read more...
- 10/21/2014
- by Ariston Anderson
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Two families are torn apart by crime in the Italian drama-thriller, The Dinner. Here's Ryan's review...
It’s surely a mother’s worst nightmare, or at least one of them: you’re at home, watching Crimewatch on the sofa, and you suddenly realise that the shadowy figure in the grainy CCTV footage on the television looks uncannily like your son. Isn’t that him, brutally assaulting a homeless person?
The Dinner (I nostri regazza) tells the story of two sets of well-to-do parents who fear that their respective teenage son and daughter may have carried out this vicious crime. As it becomes clear that their children really are the culprits, the resulting emotional fallout threatens to tear the parents’ relationships apart.
Both sets of parents are wealthy and respected. On one side, there’s paediatric doctor Paolo (Luigi Lo Cascio) and his wife, Clara (Giovanna Mezzogiorno). On the other,...
It’s surely a mother’s worst nightmare, or at least one of them: you’re at home, watching Crimewatch on the sofa, and you suddenly realise that the shadowy figure in the grainy CCTV footage on the television looks uncannily like your son. Isn’t that him, brutally assaulting a homeless person?
The Dinner (I nostri regazza) tells the story of two sets of well-to-do parents who fear that their respective teenage son and daughter may have carried out this vicious crime. As it becomes clear that their children really are the culprits, the resulting emotional fallout threatens to tear the parents’ relationships apart.
Both sets of parents are wealthy and respected. On one side, there’s paediatric doctor Paolo (Luigi Lo Cascio) and his wife, Clara (Giovanna Mezzogiorno). On the other,...
- 10/15/2014
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Main Competition
Golden Marc.Aurelio for Best Film: "Marfa Girl" by Larry Clark
Best Director Award: Paolo Franchi, "And They Call It Summer" ("E la Chiamano Estate")
Special Jury Prize: "Ali Has Blue Eyes" ("Alì ha gli occhi azzurri") by Claudio Giovannesi
Best Actor Award: Jérémie Elkaïm, "Hand in Hand" ("Main dans la main")
Best Actress Award: Isabella Ferrari, "And They Call It Summer" ("E la Chiamano Estate")
Best Emerging Actor Award: Marilyne Fontaine, "A Child With You" ("Un enfant de toi")
Best Technical Contribution: Arnau Valls Colomer, for the cinematography of "Never Die" ("Mai morire")
Best Screenplay Award: Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue for "The Motel Life"
Cinemaxxi Competition
The International Jury, chaired by Douglas Gordon and composed of Hans Hurch, Ed Lachman, Andrea Lissoni and Emily Jacir, awarded:
CinemaXXI Award (for feature-length films): "Avanti Popolo" by Michael Wahrmann
Special Jury Prize . CinemaXXI (for feature-length films): "Picas...
Golden Marc.Aurelio for Best Film: "Marfa Girl" by Larry Clark
Best Director Award: Paolo Franchi, "And They Call It Summer" ("E la Chiamano Estate")
Special Jury Prize: "Ali Has Blue Eyes" ("Alì ha gli occhi azzurri") by Claudio Giovannesi
Best Actor Award: Jérémie Elkaïm, "Hand in Hand" ("Main dans la main")
Best Actress Award: Isabella Ferrari, "And They Call It Summer" ("E la Chiamano Estate")
Best Emerging Actor Award: Marilyne Fontaine, "A Child With You" ("Un enfant de toi")
Best Technical Contribution: Arnau Valls Colomer, for the cinematography of "Never Die" ("Mai morire")
Best Screenplay Award: Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue for "The Motel Life"
Cinemaxxi Competition
The International Jury, chaired by Douglas Gordon and composed of Hans Hurch, Ed Lachman, Andrea Lissoni and Emily Jacir, awarded:
CinemaXXI Award (for feature-length films): "Avanti Popolo" by Michael Wahrmann
Special Jury Prize . CinemaXXI (for feature-length films): "Picas...
- 11/19/2012
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
The Rome Film Festival, which runs Oct. 28-Nov. 5, will pay tribute to Ugo Tognazzi on the 20th anniversary of his death with the world premiere of "Ritratto di mio padre" (Portrait of My Father), a documentary by his daughter Maria Sole Tognazzi.
In addition, every film in competition in the fest's various sections will be preceded by a montage of Tognazzi's greatest performances spanning his entire career.
The fest will also screen the actor's son Ricky Tognazzi's new film "Il padre e lo strainer," based on the novel of the same name by Giancarlo De Cataldo and starring Alessandro Gassman and Ksenia Rappoport.
In addition, every film in competition in the fest's various sections will be preceded by a montage of Tognazzi's greatest performances spanning his entire career.
The fest will also screen the actor's son Ricky Tognazzi's new film "Il padre e lo strainer," based on the novel of the same name by Giancarlo De Cataldo and starring Alessandro Gassman and Ksenia Rappoport.
Giovanna Mezzogiorno attends the Jury Photocall at the Palais des Festivals during the 63rd Annual Cannes Film Festival. (Watch Jaeger-LeCoultre Master Twinkling Diamonds. Photo: Jaeger-LeCoultre / WireImage.com.) Mezzogiorno recently played Ida Dalser, Benito Mussolini’s mistress, in Marco Bellocchio’s Vincere. Filippo Timi played both Mussolini and his son, Albino. Among Mezzogiorno’s other movies are Stefano Chiantini’s L’amore non basta (Love Is Not Enough); Love in the Time of Cholera, opposite Javier Bardem; the Oscar-nominated Don’t Tell; and Love Returns with Margherita Buy. This year, Mezzogiorno can be seen in Rocco Papaleo’s Basilicata Coast to Coast, starring Alessandro Gassman. Click on the photo to enlarge it.
- 5/18/2010
- by Zhea David
- Alt Film Guide
Paolo Sorrentino’s Il Divo, a biopic of seven-time Italian prime minister Giulio Andreotti, and Matteo Garrone’s organized crime thriller Gomorrah, both starring Toni Servillo, were the top nominees for the Italian Academy’s 2009 David di Donatello awards. Il Divo led the field with 16 nominations, followed by Gomorrah with 11. Both films, which are in the running in the best picture category, have already won several international awards: Il Divo received the Special Jury Award at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival and a European Film Award for best actor Toni Servillo (also for Gomorrah); Gomorrah won Cannes’ Grand Prix and five European Film Awards, including best film and Servillo’s shared best actor prize. Gomorrah was also Italy’s submission for the 2009 best foreign language film Academy Award, but was surprisingly bypassed at nomination time. Others vying for the David di Donatello for best film are Fausto Brizzi’s romance Ex,...
- 4/10/2009
- by Massimo David
- Alt Film Guide
Berlin International Film Festival
ROME -- In Quiet Chaos, directed by Antontello Grimaldi (Bits and Pieces) and featuring Italian enfant terrible actor-director Nanni Moretti, what unfolds is a father's love for his 10-year-old daughter as he copes with the unexpected death of his wife. This marks the first time Moretti has starred in a film not directed by him in 13 years.
Quiet Chaos, which recently screened at the Berlin International Film Festival and is playing in Italy, will not disappoint international audiences that have come to appreciate Moretti's trademark irony and growing maturity as an actor. Make no mistake, this is a Moretti vehicle as there are few scenes in which he does not appear.
After a painfully stiff opening, the film slowly but assuredly loses its literary feel -- it was adapted from the eponymous novel by Sandro Veronesi by Moretti, Laura Paolucci and Francesco Piccolo -- to find its pace and heart. In the same moment that media executive Pietro Paladini (Moretti) and his brother Carlo (Alessandro Gassman) save two women from drowning, Pietro's wife dies from a fatal fall. Left alone with his daughter, Claudia (Blu Yoshimi), he worries about her lack of emotion over the loss as well as his own. Neither has broken down since the death, enveloped by a strange calm, and he does not understand why.
Shortly thereafter, on the first day of school, Pietro promises Claudia that he will wait for her in front of the building all day, without moving. He proceeds to do just that. One day turns into two, then a week and eventually months as he sits in a park in front of the school, observing and getting to know the other mothers, neighborhood residents and regular passersby.
His co-workers and family try to persuade him to get a grip on himself and return to work. Slowly, however, they start seeking Pietro not to offer consolation but to get advice. He becomes caught up in a pregnancy, the breakdown of the marriage of the woman he saved and his company's forthcoming merger.
A reluctant guru who wants only to be left alone, Pietro tries to make sense of his feelings and, in an effective use of narrative, creates lists in his head to keep himself occupied such as the airlines he has flown and houses he has lived in throughout his life.
Managing to avoid facile sentimentality, the story grows emotionally more and more engaging thanks to Moretti's impeccable comic timing and neurotic acumen. While we never forget we are watching Moretti, we do see a deeper side to him as his brusque awkwardness finds a perfect outlet here.
Not knowing how to help Claudia, in his own fumbling yet unrelenting way Pietro seems more surprised than anyone to realize that showing his daughter he loves her means offering her trustworthiness and stability, which we are led to believe did not come easily to him before Laura's death.
Moretti makes ample room for the other actors, from Gassman, whose playboy nonchalance is balanced by his deep love for his brother, to Silvio Orlando, who plays Pietro's nebbish colleague. Yoshimi is wonderfully low-key as the precocious yet hard-to-read Claudia. French stars Hippolyte Girardot and Charles Berling also give solid turns in their secondary roles.
Quiet Chaos already has sparked controversy for a sex scene between Moretti and Isabella Ferrari. Certainly not scandalous by European standards, the sequence is difficult to watch because Moretti is often called Italy's Woody Allen and like the American icon has always been known for his woman-crazed yet relatively sexless intellect and comedy. It therefore seems like watching a family member having sex, and rough sex at that, which makes the scene all the more perplexing. At best, it might have been intended to show that his increasing tenderness is truly new to him, but it is in such contrast to the rest of his character that it simply makes Pietro less sympathetic.
Luckily, Moretti carries the film through to its touching finale with an emotional restraint that belies the profound desire for salvation of an imperfect man and father.
QUIET CHAOS
Fandango, RAI Cinema, Portobello, Phoenix Film Investment
Credits:
Director: Antonello Grimaldi
Screenwriters: Nanni Moretti, Laura Paolucci, Francesco Piccolo
Producer: Domenico Procacci
Executive producer: Eric Abraham
Director of photography: Alessandro Pesci
Production designer: Giada Calabria
Music: Paolo Buonvino
Costume designers: Alexandra Toesca
Editor: Angelo Nicolini
Cast:
Pietro Paladini: Nanni Moretti
Marta: Valeria Golino
Eleonora Simoncini: Isabella Ferrari
Carlo: Alessandro Gassman
Claudia: Blu Yoshimi
Jean Claude: Hippolyte Girardot
Boesson: Charles Berling
Samuele: Silvio Orlando
Running time -- 117 minutes
No MPAA rating...
ROME -- In Quiet Chaos, directed by Antontello Grimaldi (Bits and Pieces) and featuring Italian enfant terrible actor-director Nanni Moretti, what unfolds is a father's love for his 10-year-old daughter as he copes with the unexpected death of his wife. This marks the first time Moretti has starred in a film not directed by him in 13 years.
Quiet Chaos, which recently screened at the Berlin International Film Festival and is playing in Italy, will not disappoint international audiences that have come to appreciate Moretti's trademark irony and growing maturity as an actor. Make no mistake, this is a Moretti vehicle as there are few scenes in which he does not appear.
After a painfully stiff opening, the film slowly but assuredly loses its literary feel -- it was adapted from the eponymous novel by Sandro Veronesi by Moretti, Laura Paolucci and Francesco Piccolo -- to find its pace and heart. In the same moment that media executive Pietro Paladini (Moretti) and his brother Carlo (Alessandro Gassman) save two women from drowning, Pietro's wife dies from a fatal fall. Left alone with his daughter, Claudia (Blu Yoshimi), he worries about her lack of emotion over the loss as well as his own. Neither has broken down since the death, enveloped by a strange calm, and he does not understand why.
Shortly thereafter, on the first day of school, Pietro promises Claudia that he will wait for her in front of the building all day, without moving. He proceeds to do just that. One day turns into two, then a week and eventually months as he sits in a park in front of the school, observing and getting to know the other mothers, neighborhood residents and regular passersby.
His co-workers and family try to persuade him to get a grip on himself and return to work. Slowly, however, they start seeking Pietro not to offer consolation but to get advice. He becomes caught up in a pregnancy, the breakdown of the marriage of the woman he saved and his company's forthcoming merger.
A reluctant guru who wants only to be left alone, Pietro tries to make sense of his feelings and, in an effective use of narrative, creates lists in his head to keep himself occupied such as the airlines he has flown and houses he has lived in throughout his life.
Managing to avoid facile sentimentality, the story grows emotionally more and more engaging thanks to Moretti's impeccable comic timing and neurotic acumen. While we never forget we are watching Moretti, we do see a deeper side to him as his brusque awkwardness finds a perfect outlet here.
Not knowing how to help Claudia, in his own fumbling yet unrelenting way Pietro seems more surprised than anyone to realize that showing his daughter he loves her means offering her trustworthiness and stability, which we are led to believe did not come easily to him before Laura's death.
Moretti makes ample room for the other actors, from Gassman, whose playboy nonchalance is balanced by his deep love for his brother, to Silvio Orlando, who plays Pietro's nebbish colleague. Yoshimi is wonderfully low-key as the precocious yet hard-to-read Claudia. French stars Hippolyte Girardot and Charles Berling also give solid turns in their secondary roles.
Quiet Chaos already has sparked controversy for a sex scene between Moretti and Isabella Ferrari. Certainly not scandalous by European standards, the sequence is difficult to watch because Moretti is often called Italy's Woody Allen and like the American icon has always been known for his woman-crazed yet relatively sexless intellect and comedy. It therefore seems like watching a family member having sex, and rough sex at that, which makes the scene all the more perplexing. At best, it might have been intended to show that his increasing tenderness is truly new to him, but it is in such contrast to the rest of his character that it simply makes Pietro less sympathetic.
Luckily, Moretti carries the film through to its touching finale with an emotional restraint that belies the profound desire for salvation of an imperfect man and father.
QUIET CHAOS
Fandango, RAI Cinema, Portobello, Phoenix Film Investment
Credits:
Director: Antonello Grimaldi
Screenwriters: Nanni Moretti, Laura Paolucci, Francesco Piccolo
Producer: Domenico Procacci
Executive producer: Eric Abraham
Director of photography: Alessandro Pesci
Production designer: Giada Calabria
Music: Paolo Buonvino
Costume designers: Alexandra Toesca
Editor: Angelo Nicolini
Cast:
Pietro Paladini: Nanni Moretti
Marta: Valeria Golino
Eleonora Simoncini: Isabella Ferrari
Carlo: Alessandro Gassman
Claudia: Blu Yoshimi
Jean Claude: Hippolyte Girardot
Boesson: Charles Berling
Samuele: Silvio Orlando
Running time -- 117 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/21/2008
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- Today's nine title announcement for the Berlin Festival’s main competition section (the 58th edition runs between Feb. 7-17.) is an early sign that the 2008 year in film is rich in international film from all corners of the globe and that the upcoming Cannes film festival is going to be loaded once again with heavyweight titles. Out of the titles I'm most looking forward to seeing are the little known Mike Leigh project called Happy-Go-Lucky and Erick Zonca’s French thriller Julia starring Tilda Swinton, and the postponed domestic release of Isabel Coixet’s Elegy. Here is the 9-list:Feuerherz (Heart of Fire) Germany/Austria (adapted from the bestseller by Senait Mehari) by Luigi Falorni (The Story of the Weeping Camel) with Letekidan Micael Julia France by Erick Zonca (The Dreamlife of Angels) with Tilda Swinton, Aidan Gould, Saúl Rubinek Lady Jane France By Robert Guédiguian (Le Promeneur du champ de Mars,
- 1/9/2008
- IONCINEMA.com
NEW YORK -- The filmmakers reveal their James Bond-like franchise aspirations a little too nakedly in this sequel to the 2002 thriller that became a sleeper international hit, but it must be said that "Transporter 2" really does deliver the goods. A fast-paced B-movie that features a series of spectacularly staged and choreographed action set pieces, this second effort starring British actor Jason Statham as the taciturn but deadly driver will no doubt surpass the original's boxoffice take and clearly pave the way for future installments.
Switching from a BMW to a stunning black Audi A8 that complements his character's standard uniform of black suit and tie, Statham again demonstrates his blend of charisma and physical prowess in his second go-round as Frank Martin, the former Special Forces operative who serves as a "transporter" for hire. Having relocated from the French Mediterranean to Miami, Frank has a temporary gig working for a wealthy couple (Matthew Modine, Amber Valletta), for whom he drives their 6-year-old son (Hunter Clary) to and from school. Much like Denzel Washington's similar character in "Man on Fire", Frank has developed a real bond with his young charge.
So he naturally springs into action when the tyke is kidnapped by a gang of ruthless criminals, led by a typically tanned Eurotrash villain (Alessandro Gassman, son of Vittorio) and his sexy homicidal girlfriend (Kate Nauta), who prefers to shoot her guns while wearing only her underwear. Tracking down the kidnappers while simultaneously avoiding the authorities -- thanks to his French buddy (Francoise Berleand) who is conveniently being held at the police station -- Frank uncovers a plot to ingest the kid with an airborne poison that will kill everyone with whom he comes into contact, including his DEA father.
The plot, of course, is merely an excuse for the nonstop action sequences, superbly staged by director Louis Leterrier and martial arts choreographer Cory Yuen (they were, respectively, the "artistic director" and director of the original). Highlights include a car chase taking place on the beach and a multilevel parking lot, among other locations; a race between a bus and a speedboat, the latter of which naturally takes to land; an amazing fight sequence in which Frank dispatches a gang of hoods with a fire hose; and a battle on a small jet that culminates with the plane crashing into the ocean.
The last episode well illustrates the over-the-top aspects of the action, which veers into outlandish Bond-style territory without having the budget to support it. The main character is such a compelling figure that he really doesn't need to be showcased in such credibility-stretching sequences, presented without a trace of tongue-in-cheek humor.
Transporter 2
20th Century Fox
A Europacorp production in co-production with TF1 Film Production in association with Current Entertainment with the participation of Canal+ and TPS Star
Credits:
Director: Louis Leterrier
Producers: Luc Besson, Steven Chasman
Screenwriters: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Executive producer: Terry Miller
Director of photography: Mitchell Amundsen
Production designer: John Mark Harrington
Editors: Christine Lucas Navarro, Vincent Tabaillon
Martial arts choreographer: Cory Yuen
Original score: Alexandre Azaria
Costume designer: Bobbie Read
Cast:
Frank Martin: Jason Statham
Gianni: Alessandro Gassman
Audrey Billings: Amber Valletta
Lola: Kate Nauta
Mr. Billings: Matthew Modine
Dimitri: Jason Flemyng
Tarconi: Francoise Berleand
Stappleton: Keith David
Jack Billings: Hunter Clary
Max: Shannon Briggs...
Switching from a BMW to a stunning black Audi A8 that complements his character's standard uniform of black suit and tie, Statham again demonstrates his blend of charisma and physical prowess in his second go-round as Frank Martin, the former Special Forces operative who serves as a "transporter" for hire. Having relocated from the French Mediterranean to Miami, Frank has a temporary gig working for a wealthy couple (Matthew Modine, Amber Valletta), for whom he drives their 6-year-old son (Hunter Clary) to and from school. Much like Denzel Washington's similar character in "Man on Fire", Frank has developed a real bond with his young charge.
So he naturally springs into action when the tyke is kidnapped by a gang of ruthless criminals, led by a typically tanned Eurotrash villain (Alessandro Gassman, son of Vittorio) and his sexy homicidal girlfriend (Kate Nauta), who prefers to shoot her guns while wearing only her underwear. Tracking down the kidnappers while simultaneously avoiding the authorities -- thanks to his French buddy (Francoise Berleand) who is conveniently being held at the police station -- Frank uncovers a plot to ingest the kid with an airborne poison that will kill everyone with whom he comes into contact, including his DEA father.
The plot, of course, is merely an excuse for the nonstop action sequences, superbly staged by director Louis Leterrier and martial arts choreographer Cory Yuen (they were, respectively, the "artistic director" and director of the original). Highlights include a car chase taking place on the beach and a multilevel parking lot, among other locations; a race between a bus and a speedboat, the latter of which naturally takes to land; an amazing fight sequence in which Frank dispatches a gang of hoods with a fire hose; and a battle on a small jet that culminates with the plane crashing into the ocean.
The last episode well illustrates the over-the-top aspects of the action, which veers into outlandish Bond-style territory without having the budget to support it. The main character is such a compelling figure that he really doesn't need to be showcased in such credibility-stretching sequences, presented without a trace of tongue-in-cheek humor.
Transporter 2
20th Century Fox
A Europacorp production in co-production with TF1 Film Production in association with Current Entertainment with the participation of Canal+ and TPS Star
Credits:
Director: Louis Leterrier
Producers: Luc Besson, Steven Chasman
Screenwriters: Luc Besson, Robert Mark Kamen
Executive producer: Terry Miller
Director of photography: Mitchell Amundsen
Production designer: John Mark Harrington
Editors: Christine Lucas Navarro, Vincent Tabaillon
Martial arts choreographer: Cory Yuen
Original score: Alexandre Azaria
Costume designer: Bobbie Read
Cast:
Frank Martin: Jason Statham
Gianni: Alessandro Gassman
Audrey Billings: Amber Valletta
Lola: Kate Nauta
Mr. Billings: Matthew Modine
Dimitri: Jason Flemyng
Tarconi: Francoise Berleand
Stappleton: Keith David
Jack Billings: Hunter Clary
Max: Shannon Briggs...
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