(Mar. 30) – In its fourth anniversary, the Italian Film festival (IFF) of the twin cities Saint Paul and Minneapolis is hosting premieres of seven recent Italian movies. It’s a good opportunity to keep up with the Italian film culture in a journey through the landscapes and stories of Italy and its people.
The IFF is a collaboration with the Istituto Italiano di Cultura of Chicago, the Consulate General of Italy in Chicago and the Minneapolis College of Art & Design, which will host all the events.
The festival begins today with a program on the great artist Michelangelo da Caravaggio, the genius of 16th-century Italian art. The evening includes a reception, a performance from the Minneapolis baroque ensemble Consortium Carissimi, an art-history discussion led by Italian scholar Prof. Roberta Bartoli, and a display of period costumes from the Guthrie and Children’s Theatre Company. At 8 p.m., there will be a screening of Angelo Longoni’s 2007 feature film “Caravaggio.” The artist’s defiant temperament, low companions and revolutionary technique make him an agreeably scandalous subject for biographical drama. The film’s cinematographer is the fabled Vittorio Storaro, a three-time Oscar winner for “Apocalypse Now,” “Reds” and “The Last Emperor.”
Saturday, in the afternoon, award-winning director Giovanna Taviani will be on hand to present her documentary “Return to the Aeolian Islands,” starkly beautiful volcanic outcroppings off the coast of Sicily. Taviani, a film scholar, critic and film-festival director, grew up in the world of cinema: her father and uncle are Italy’s most celebrated living filmmakers. The film interweaves tales of emigration and exile in the Mediterranean melting pot, the history of Italian cinema and snapshots of real life. Taviani will also conduct a master class on filmmaking at noon on Sunday. (Peg)
