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FESTIVALS Italy

Margherita Buy, Sergio Castellitto and Cristian Mungiu at the Ventotene Film Festival

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- The three actors/directors will receive the Wind of Europe Award at this year’s edition of the festival, which takes place from 24 July to 2 August on the Pontine island

Margherita Buy, Sergio Castellitto and Cristian Mungiu at the Ventotene Film Festival
Margherita Buy, Sergio Castellitto and Cristian Mungiu

10 days of screenings, meetings and award ceremonies, in the spirit of a united Europe and racial integration. Next Monday, 24 July, the Ventotene Film Festival kicks off, running until 2 August and bringing guests, films and events to the small Pontine island where, in 1941, the foundations for Europe were laid with the Ventotene Manifesto. Commemorating this is the Wind of Europe International Award, which the festival, established and directed by Loredana Commonara, will present for the fifth year running to artists symbolising European culture, artists who express the values of fraternity and merging of cultures at the heart of Europe. This year the award, which was established with the High Patronage of the European Parliament, goes to actress Margherita Buy, actor/director Sergio Castellitto, and Romanian screenwriter, producer and director Cristian Mungiu, who will present their respective films Me, Myself and Her [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile
]
, Lucky [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Sergio Castellitto
film profile
]
and Graduation [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Cristian Mungiu
interview: Cristian Mungiu
film profile
]
.

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The pre-opening film of the festival is Fiore [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Claudio Giovannesi
film profile
]
by Claudio Giovannesi: on the morning of 24 July, the protagonist of the film, Daphne Scoccia, will present the film to inmates of Cassino Prison, as part of the “Cassino – Ventotene. In carcere prima della prima” project. The programme will continue with some of the most interesting films from last season. They include Sun, Heart, Love [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Daniele Vicari, Let Yourself Go! [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
by Francesco Amato, Julieta [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Pedro Almodóvar
film profile
]
by Pedro Almodovar, and Sing Street [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by John Carney, as well as La La Land, Captain Fantastic and Manchester By the Sea. Also back for the second year running is the #Open Frontiers# International Competition, which is reserved for docufilms that reflect on themes associated with European identity, legality, active citizenship, democracy and racial integration. The jury, chaired by Roberto Zaccaria (president of the CIR – the Italian Refugee Council) and made up of six refugees with cultural experiences and interests, will choose the winning film from the five finalists: 23 30 A Captive Story by David Marradés (Spain, 2015), Amerika Square [+see also:
trailer
interview: Yannis Sakaridis
film profile
]
by Yannis Sakaridis (Greece, 2016), Castro [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Paolo Civati (Italy, 2016), Strangers [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
by Elisa Amoruso (Italy, 2016), and Out Of The Woods by Marko Kostic (Serbia, 2017). This year also ushers in #Open Frontiers Young#, a new section dedicated to short films shot by students from Italian schools who, along with unaccompanied foreign minors, will make up the jury chaired by actress Anna Ferruzzo. Meanwhile the “Immagini&Fantasia” selection of films will cater for young audiences.

Some of this year’s guests, who will hold meetings with audiences, presentations and discussions on film, include director/screenwriter Francesco Bruni (Tutto quello che vuoi [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile
]
), actor Giulio Scarpati, and directors Antonio Piazza and Fabio Grassadonia (Sicilian Ghost Story [+see also:
film review
trailer
making of
film profile
]
). Jasmine Trinca (named Best Actress in Un Certain Regard at Cannes for Lucky) will receive the Julia Major Award, which is awarded to women who stand out in art and literature, and also goes to Senator Monica Cirinnà and Member of Parliament Sandra Zampa. Last but not least, this year the “Dialoghi al tramonto” section will feature a meeting on Europe and the development of Brexit, with writer and screenwriter Marco Mancassola and Silvia Costa, a member of the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education.

The Ventotene Film Festival is made possible by contributions from the Italian Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism and the Lazio Region along with support from SIAE – the Italian Society of Authors and Publishers.

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(Translated from Italian)

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