1.ING.qxd 11-10-2008 18:39 Pagina 1 Festival Internazionale del Film di Roma October 22 • 31 2008 1.ING.qxd 11-10-2008 18:39 Pagina 2 Founding Members Gian Luigi Rondi Comune di Roma President Regione Lazio Francesca Via Provincia di Roma General Director Camera di Commercio di Roma Fondazione Musica per Roma Artistic Direction Foundation Committee Coordinator, Piera Detassis President Official Selection Andrea Mondello President of Camera di Commercio di Roma Anteprima (Première) Gianni Alemanno Piera Detassis Mayor of Rome Cinema 2008 Piero Marrazzo Maria Teresa Cavina, Giorgio Gosetti President of Regione Lazio L’Altro Cinema (Extra) Nicola Zingaretti Mario Sesti President of Provincia di Roma Occhio sul Mondo (Focus) Gianni Borgna Gaia Morrione President of Fondazione Musica per Roma Alice nella città Gianluca Giannelli Board of Directors Gian Luigi Rondi, President Special projects Luca Barbareschi, Comune di Roma Mercato Internazionale del Film (The Business Street) Francesco Gesualdi, Regione Lazio Giorgio Gosetti Massimo Ghini, Provincia di Roma Fabbrica dei progetti (New Cinema Network) Maria Teresa Cavina Pietro Abate, Camera di Commercio di Roma Carlo Fuortes, Fondazione Musica per Roma Auditors Daniela Lambardi, President Gianfranco Piccini, Staff Auditor Giovanni Sapia, Staff Auditor Demetrio Minuto, Supply Auditor Antonella Greco, Supply Auditor General Director Francesca Via 1.ING.qxd 11-10-2008 18:39 Pagina 4 1.ING.qxd 11-10-2008 18:39 Pagina 6 1.ING.qxd 11-10-2008 18:39 Pagina 8 1.ING.qxd 11-10-2008 18:39 Pagina 10 1.ING.qxd 11-10-2008 18:39 Pagina 12 1.ING.qxd 11-10-2008 18:39 Pagina 14 1.ING.qxd 11-10-2008 18:39 Pagina 16 1.ING.qxd 11-10-2008 18:39 Pagina 18 am particularly pleased to send my greetings to the third edition of the Festa di Roma which, in a more explicit reference to its cinemato- I graphic aims, is now called the International Film Festival of Rome. I am also delighted to note that, while respecting the necessary balance every festival must find when opening up its program to international films, Italian cinema has given sufficient space to have a prominent profile in the line-up. Apart from highlighting the considerable Italian presence, both the Official Selection (comprising Anteprima – Première and Cinema 2008) and the other Festival sections offer a wide range of events, for example the look back at Italian Cinema Families. Apart from screening films, this review focuses on particularly significant personalities from our cin- ema’s past, together with those contributing to the success of our pres- ent output. It covers the best strands in our production, from comedy to drama, shining the spotlight on both performers and directors. A special greeting goes to the Festival’s new President, Gian Luigi Rondi, who has faced this fresh challenge with extraordinary vitality, proving his ability to renew the spirit and substance of this young, yet al- ready great cinematographic event. Finally, I send everyone my best wishes, hoping for success, also mirrored internationally, that will also bring benefits to our country’s culture as a whole. Sandro Bondi • Culture Minister [ 19 ] 1.ING.qxd 11-10-2008 18:39 Pagina 20 extend my warmest greetings to those responsible for the various sections making up our Festival, with a particular mention and the I highest regard for the work of my friend Piera Detassis. As well as coordinating the section heads with equanimity and wisdom, in full re- spect of their autonomy, she has also used her noted skill to oversee her fundamental Anteprima – Première section. I would also like to greet and heartily thank our extremely able General Director, the architect Francesca Via. She has given her support and assid- uous advice in the organisation, together with others, of those series of events that are anything but marginal; the exhibitions, encounters and trib- utes that aim to provide some of the greatest moments of resonance with- in the Festival. For example, the exhibition on Italian cinema and society in 1948, in memory of Dino Risi, will display one hundred images from his films to- gether with those from his public and private life. Alongside this are talks with artists such as Al Pacino, David Cronenberg, Michael Cimino and Olivier Assayas, flanked by an actor like Viggo Mortensen and two of our most prestigious performers, Carlo Verdone and Toni Servillo. In addition to the Dino Risi tribute, there will be events to recall other personalities equally dear to our hearts who positively represent our cin- ema, with a look back at the careers of Alida Valli, Nino Manfredi and a director ripe for reappraisal like Steno, screening some of their works. Using these as a starting point, together with the films in the various sec- tions and the exhibitions, will enable us to take a journey that is not merely evocative, but which follows some of the most famous film dynas- ties that still influence the way the world views our cinema today. In the meantime, an Occhio sul mondo, (“a glance at the world”, as suggested by the Italian name of the Focus Section) will help us enjoy and appreciate the achievements of contemporary Brazilian cinema, fifty years after the prodigious explosion of Cinema Novo. The assortment of exciting proposals on offer includes a major event like the Mercato del Film – The Business Street, a place for those industry ex- changes I hope will be increasingly constructive and copious. Then there are the three days for the General Assembly, presenting the chance to debate and study in-depth the main legislative and legal problems facing Italian cin- ema today, an occasion which will have my wholehearted support. Gian Luigi Rondi • President Fondazione Cinema per Roma [ 21 ] 1.ING.qxd 11-10-2008 18:39 Pagina 22 tarting this year, the Rome Film Fest becomes the International Film Festival of Rome. This Festival has a very strong identity that springs Sfrom Rome’s powerful associations with the film world and its great- est stars. Unforgettable Cinecittà in its heyday, with its blockbusters, its amaz- ing sets that were the envy of Hollywood, and the dazzling talent of its costume designers. The city of Rome is also an astonishing film set, and not just its fabled centre, but its outlying neighbourhoods as well, those dear to neorealist masters such as Antonioni, De Sica, De Santis, Rossellini, and Germi, vividly drawn by Pasolini and Zavattini, or immortalized by Fellini. Rome is a key venue for promoting film events; it is a remarkable hub for ser- vices that revolve around both feature film and documentary production. The Italian capital is a crossroads of countless cultures and civiliza- tions, the true epicentre of the Mediterranean, fertile ground for the sev- enth art. But Rome isn’t just living on past glories; its resurgence is pow- ered by the creative energies of its filmmakers and film crews, too. Our filmmakers have no lack of courage to hold up a mirror to Italian socie- ty, showing us Italy’s modern history as we ourselves have lived it. This Festival is only one of a number of initiatives uniquely suited to meeting the demand for high quality entertainment, while skilfully inter- preting the cultural pluralism of this city and this country. Pluralism: an asset that the capital has never failed to protect and capitalize on, a price- less resource for a growing event like the Film Festival, a driving force for economic development, which hinges on our great audiovisual industry and is fuelled by extensive public and private investments. I would like to thank all the other government and economic or cul- tural institutions promoting this event for their invaluable contribution to making this Festival a success: the Province of Rome, the Lazio Re- gion, the Chamber of Commerce, the Fondazione Musica per Roma, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia; as well as the private sponsors, with whom we are relaunching the image of Rome on the world stage. The Festival is the perfect calling card for our capital in all corners of the globe, since the art of cinema is one of the arts universally linked to Ital- ian creativity. Gianni Alemanno • The Mayor of Rome [ 23 ] 1.ING.qxd 11-10-2008 18:39 Pagina 24 he success of the first two editions of this Festival attests to the deep bond between Rome and cinema, one that is long-standing T and indivisible. For its part, the Lazio Region has always been on the front line in realizing projects that, like the International Film Festi- val of Rome, are designed to valorize one of Rome and Lazio’s most pre- cious cultural and economic resources. Our aim is once again to confirm the founding inspiration of an event created for the film going public at large, and at the same time dedicat- ed to showcasing quality cinema: a forum for airing ideas that draws film aficionados and professionals alike. And we intend to keep on growing, providing an array of cinematic experiences that is even richer and more varied, with ample room for Italy’s great cinematographic tradition and its latest exciting evolutions, while casting our collective gaze much further afield. Through cinema, we hope to consolidate the transformation of Rome and Lazio into a laboratory for new ideas and a cultural crossroads of limitless horizons. Piero Marrazzo • President of the Lazio Region [ 25 ] 1.ING.qxd 11-10-2008 18:39 Pagina 26 he remarkable public and critical success of the first two editions, in 2006 and 2007, was the reward for the intuition to stage a T great cinema festival in a unique setting provided by a city such as Rome.