13/04/2017 - The eighth edition of the Bari International Film Festival is set to unspool from 22-29 April, chaired for the first time by director Margarethe von Trotta

International premieres, a competition featuring ten titles from all over the world, another competition for first and second Italian works, a film class every day, plus special events, illustrious guests, tributes and, starting this year, a theatre laboratory – the programme of the Bif&st – Bari International Film Festival seems to get richer every year. The eighth edition of the gathering will be held from 22-29 April, directed, as always, by Felice Laudadio and chaired for the first time by German director Margarethe von Trotta.

Nine films will be screened as Italian or world premieres in the Teatro Petruzzelli: among them are La tenerezza [+see also:
film review
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interview: Gianni Amelio
film profile] by Gianni Amelio, the story of two families set in a Naples that is rarely seen on screen, starring Elio Germano and Micaela Ramazzotti; the British title Unlocked [+see also:
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film profile] by Michael Apted, a tale of espionage starring Noomi Rapace and Orlando Bloom; the French-Portuguese co-production Stalin’s Couch [+see also:
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film profile] by Fanny Ardant, with Gérard Depardieu and Emmanuelle Seigner; Return to Montauk [+see also:
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film profile] by Volker Schlöndorff (Germany/France/Ireland); and Miss Sloane [+see also:
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film profile] by John Madden, starring Jessica Chastain (USA/France).

The International Panorama sees ten films in competition (the jury for which comprises 30 audience members and is chaired by actress Chiara Caselli) and two out of competition, having either their Italian or international premieres. The titles range from Carole Matthieu [+see also:
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film profile] by Louis-Julien Petit, starring Isabelle Adjani, and the Serbian-Indian co-production Land of the Gods [+see also:
film review
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interview: Goran Paskaljević
film profile] by Goran Paskaljevic to The Lost Brother [+see also:
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film profile] by Israel Adrián Caetano, starring Angela Molina and Leonardo Sbaraglia, Upstream [+see also:
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interview: Marion Hänsel
film profile] by Marion Hänsel, with Olivier Gourmet and Sergi López, and Their Finest [+see also:
film review
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interview: Lone Scherfig
film profile] by Lone Scherfig, with Gemma Arterton and Jeremy Irons. There will be a world premiere for the Italian title in competition, Tutto quello che vuoi [+see also:
film review
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film profile] by Francesco Bruni, starring Giuliano Montaldo, Andrea Carpenzano and Donatella Finocchiaro. Out of competition, we have De premier [+see also:
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film profile] by Erik van Looy and Nobili bugie [+see also:
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film profile] by Antonio Pisu, with Claudia Cardinale, Giancarlo Giannini and Gianni Morandi.

In the competition for first and second Italian works, 12 titles will be assessed by a jury of audience members, chaired by Fipresci general secretary Klaus Eder. They include At War with Love [+see also:
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making of
film profile] by Pierfrancesco Diliberto, There Is a Light [+see also:
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interview: Fabio Mollo
film profile] by Fabio Mollo, Worldly Girl [+see also:
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making of
interview: Marco Danieli
film profile] by Marco Danieli, Omicidio all’italiana [+see also:
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film profile] by Maccio Capatonda, Ears [+see also:
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interview: Alessandro Aronadio
film profile] by Alessandro Aronadio and I Can Quit Whenever I Want 2: Masterclass [+see also:
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film profile] by Sydney Sibilia, among others.

The Bif&st’s permanent jury, made up of nine Italian critics belonging to the SNCCI (National Union of Italian Film Critics), has also announced the recipients of its awards, which will be handed out day by day: Best Director goes to Claudio Giovannesi for Fiore [+see also:
film review
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Q&A: Claudio Giovannesi
film profile], Best Producer to Attilio De Razza and Pierpaolo Verga for Indivisible [+see also:
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interview: Edoardo de Angelis
film profile], Best Screenplay to Francesca Archibugi and Paolo Virzì for Like Crazy [+see also:
film review
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Q&A: Paolo Virzì
film profile], which has also snagged Best Lead Actress (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), and Best Lead Actor to Riccardo Scamarcio for Pericle the Black [+see also:
film review
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interview: Stefano Mordini
film profile], besides many others.

The people tasked with leading this year’s nine film classes, scheduled to take place every day, are Andrei Konchalovsky, Alessandro Gassmann, Greta Scacchi, Pupi Avati, Carlo and Enrico Vanzina, Dario Argento, Fanny Ardant and Margarethe von Trotta, Jacques Perrin and Volker Schlöndorff. Among the special events and tributes at this edition of the gathering, there is a series of four films dedicated to Antonio Gramsci, 80 years after his passing, plus an initiative organised by Médecins Sans Frontières, which will bring the #Milionidipassi Experience to Bari, thus giving the audience the chance to put themselves in the shoes of migrants, through special 360-degree goggles. The Film Editing Laboratory headed up by editor Roberto Perpignani will this year be enriched by a Theatre Laboratory, led by director Francesco Giuffré and centred on adapting Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment for the stage. Lastly, among the conferences, we should highlight the one devoted to “The Creative Europe MEDIA Sub-programme and the Animation Sector”.

(Translated from Italian)