Dec. 17 – The Spanish festival that honors Italian cinema just came to an end in Madrid. This year, the event took place at the Italian Institute of Culture and the Verdi Cinema in Madrid. 5,000 spectators had the chance to view, for free, some excellent examples of contemporary Italian cinema, making a stronger than ever comeback to the international scene: “Caesar Must Die” by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, “Sleeping Beauty” by Marco Bellocchio, “Commander and the Stork” by Silvio Soldini,” “The Ideal City” by Luigi Lo Cascio, “The Legend of Kaspar Hauser” by Davide Manuli, “The tightrope” Ivano De Matteo, and “Waiting room in Paradise” by Carlo Verdone. The Festival saw prestigious artists attend, such as Paolo Taviani, Marco Bellocchio, Silvio Soldini, Luigi Lo Cascio, Ivano De Matteo and Carlo Verdone as well as Gino Paoli, Danilo Rea, and the journalist Piero Badaloni author of the documentary “Michelangelo and the Sistine
Chapel: History of a masterpiece,” the writer Erri De Luca, for the short film “The Stars do the Night Shift,” directed by Edoardo Ponti. An homage to Michelangelo Antonioni also took place, on the occasion of the centenary of his birth, with the screening of three documentaries (“Gente del Po”, “Sicily” and “The look of Michelangelo”). The Lifetime Achievement Award, presented by the Ambassador of Italy in Spain, Leonardo Visconti di Modrone, was given to Paolo Taviani. As in previous years, a series of documentaries and short films were placed in competition, and judged by juries made up of professionals and experts of Spanish cinema. For the documentary selection, Constanza Quatriglio’s “Terramatta” was recognized as best work, while a special mention went to “La Nave Dolce”, by Daniele Vicari. For the short film competition, Piero Messina’s “Terra” won.
Cinema: the Italian festival honors the Taviani brothers
