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September 23, 2006
Italian Film Festival at Miami Beach
I've been a fan of Italian cinema since the day, many years ago, that I saw the double feature of Juliet of the Spirits and Red Desert. Although Italian cinema seems to have peaked from the days when Fellini, Antonioni and Visconti ruled, I also have to wonder if at this time when fewer foreign language films get any distribution here in the U.S, if we're not missing something. What I usually see are good, if not great, films. And as good as some of the films have been, there is no sense of cinema being re-invented such as with Eight and a Half.
One of the most interesting film festivals here in Miami Beach is the Italian Film Festival. Comprised of ten films over six days, from October 5 to 10, this is short and sweet. What makes this festival of some importance is that these are films that do not have U.S. theatrical distribution, and may often not be available on Region 1 DVD. Most of the titles are unknown to me, but there are a couple of titles to note.
One of the films, The Second Wedding is by Pupi Avati. At this time I have only seen two of Avati's horror films, but have read of other films making the film festival circuit. The big, ambitious, Crime Novel is the festival's major title. Michele Placido's film was a big winner of the 2006 David di Donatello awards in several categories although it lost out to Nanni Moretti's Il Caimano for Best Picture and Director.
Look for reviews of some, if not all of the films at this space.
Posted by Peter Nellhaus at September 23, 2006 09:40 AM