RIFF: indie film with an increasingly international feel
- The 14th edition of the Rome Independent Film Festival will be held in the Italian capital from 8 to 14 May, with a programme that includes over 100 films and the winners of Berlin’s Teddy Award
With a competition of Italian feature films, one for international films, a wide selection of documentaries (including short documentaries) and short films, a focus on web series, and meetings and exchanges on the independent film scene, the RIFF - Rome Independent Film Festival is back. The 14th edition of the festival, which will be held from 8 to 14 May and is a well-established celebration of independent film, was presented yesterday at the Casa del Cinema. One of the most significant and unconventional additions to this year’s festival is the out-of-competition section featuring the seven winners of the Teddy Award, the international prize awarded to films with LGBT subject matter at the Berlin Film Festival, for 2014-2015. Among the films to be shown in the section are Pierrot Lunaire by Bruce Labruce and The Circle [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Stefan Haupt
film profile] by Stefan Haupt.
Five films will be competing in the Italian section of the festival, coordinated by Fabrizio Ferrari, which this year will have the use of an extra theatre (The Space Cinema Moderno, in addition to the usual Nuovo Cinema Aquila): the opening film, Mi chiamo Maya by Tommaso Agnese, is a story of urban adolescence and neglect, with Valeria Solarino e Carlotta Natoli; then there’s Crushed Lives - Il sesso dopo i figli by Alessandro Colizzi, a film about sex before, pending and after children, with Nicoletta Romanoff; also featured is Figli di Maam by Paolo Consorti, a “filmed performance” shot at the Museo dell’Altro e dell’Altrove in Metropoliz, about non-EU citizens in Rome; then there’s Late Season [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Danilo Caputo, the winner of the international Mattador prize for best screenplay, and finally, The Elevator [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Massimo Coglitore, with Caroline Goodall and Burt Young.
The eight international films in competition include Greek film A Blast [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Syllas Tzoumerkas
film profile] by Syllas Tzoumerkas (another opening film, on the economic crisis), the Czech Oscar candidate Fair Play [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Andrea Sedláčková, French thriller Cruel [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Eric Cherrière, Luna [+see also:
trailer
film profile]by well-known British illustrator Dave McKean and the Italian-Spanish poetic comedy Rocco tiene tu nombre by actor Angelo Orlando. Then there’s a wide array of Italian documentaries that move between the public and private spheres, and international documentaries with strong international undertones. These include Born in Gaza by Spanish director Hernán Zin, Return to Homs [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Talal Derki, Quando non suona la campana (When the school bell doesn’t ring, the drop out in Naples and Palermo) by Lorenzo Giroffi, on the phenomenon of school drop-outs, Othello’s Secret [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Francesco Ranieri Martinotti, on the legendary Roman restaurant frequented by film legends, and Burlesque. Storia di donne by Lorenza Fruci, which shares the real-life experiences of women who changed their lives through burlesque.
In the short film competition is Love Sharing, the directorial debut of actress Monica Scattini, who we have not seen much of as late. One of the side events of the festival is the forum “Dal romanzo al film” (“From book to film”) which looks at the interchange between literature and film starting with the virtuous example of the book “Alfa Romeo 1300 and Other Miracles” by Fabio Bartolomei and the film inspired by it, the multi-award-winning Noi e la Giulia [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Edoardo Leo, and the premieres of certain series (Evento Series) including Emergency Exit, which is based on the film of the same name, directed by Brunella Fili, and centres on the stories of young people abroad.
At the end of the festival the RIFF Awards will be given, for a value of over 50 thousand euros (the jury includes Bollywood star Vishakha Singh and music composer and winner of the Nastro d’Argento Award Louis Siciliano). The films in competition at the RIFF 2015 will also be posted on the new platform Indiefilmchannel.tv.
(Translated from Italian)
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