The 23rd edition of Italian Film Focus features eight highly acclaimed Italian films – all of which have been featured at major international film festivals. Entry is free, and tickets are available one hour before the event.
The showcase runs from 4 to 6 December 2023 at Cinema Labia on Orange in Cape Town. Italian Film Focus also features a delegation of seven filmmakers, who will present their films and conduct workshops in local film schools.
The festival opens with the docufiction Gianni Versace: L’Imperatore dei sogni by Mimmo Calopresti, which will be presented by the director and producer Mariella Li Sacchi. It’s an absolute premiere outside of Italy, depicting the creative and visionary ambition of a fashion genius through skilful editing of fiction, archival material, and unpublished interviews.
A film that narrates the solitary and daring struggle of a woman is Anna by Sicilian director Amenta, who has already offered us the clear figure of another heroine from the south with his previous film The Sicilian Girl (La Siciliana Ribelle).
Two screenwriters
As for female characters and personalities, Italian cinema seems to rediscover interest in and awareness of women’s expressive strength, and audiences identify, even if the stories are about women who are not contemporary. This can be seen in the protagonist of There’s Still Tomorrow (C’è ancora domani) by Paola Cortellesi, which will be presented by the two screenwriters – Giulia Calenda and Furio Andreotti.
A story that blends tension and smiles, with the ‘heroine’ appearing resigned, accepting abuse because everyone else does, because, by her nature, she is peaceful and always finds a justification for the violence she is subjected to. However, in the end, she finds redemption by gaining awareness as a citizen. In the dual role of character and director, Cortellesi gives us a drama that is intimately familiar, but inevitably historical and social.
Giacomo Abbruzzese’s Disco Boy
With respect to characters pushed to the limit out of necessity but also by choice, the debut film Disco Boy by Giacomo Abbruzzese stands out. His background as a documentary filmmaker shows in the precision with which the frames are composed and the faces and landscapes are captured. It eventually transcends into a semi-dreamlike vision, which is no less effective in its political and historical significance. The director will be present at the screening.
The renowned director Marco Bellocchio presents his film Kidnapped, which tells a non-contemporary story hooked around a family nucleus. But here, diversity and injustice are not about a gender issue, but about what is defined as ‘race’ and religion. The Jew is seen as the other, as someone who must be ‘normalized’ and brought to the ‘right’ side. A depiction of an historical period and a truth seldom told and represented in Italian books and films.
The organisers also present the latest work of the tireless and always insightful Liliana Cavani, who tells us about a near future deeply rooted in the present. In a classic piece with high-level actors, she explores the unpredictable dynamics of a group of so-called friends when an external disruptive event occurs.
Th film selection also includes Chimera, the fourth film by another accomplished director – Alice Rohrwacher, presented and awarded at the latest Cannes Film Festival. With her unmistakable narrative style, which skilfully blends everyday life, myth, and rural landscape with depth and amusement, she takes us into a story of marginalized characters who ‘plunder’ history out of necessity and with a touch of madness.
Then a work where smiles abound and where everything begins with the best intentions begins with the celebration of a holiday, but things inevitably takes a turn. The film reveals our inability to manage human and professional relationships with maturity and sincerity, especially towards ourselves. This is what happens in Best Days (I Migliori Giorni) by Massimiliano Bruno and Edoardo Leo.
The festival is organized in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Italian Embassy in Pretoria, the Italian Cultural Institute, and the Italian Consulate in Cape Town.
What: Italian Film Focus 2023
When: 4 – 6 December 2023
Where: Cinema Labia on Orange, 68 Orange St, Gardens, Cape Town
Italian Film Focus tickets: Free entry, tickets available one hour before show
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