Italiano
L’Altro Cinema/Extra is the Festival Internazionale del Film di Roma section where you can meet one of the world’s greatest living actors in the flesh, namely Al Pacino, or participate in an encounter with Olivier Assayas, the French director considered heir to Truffaut and Bresson. It is where Michael Cimino will illustrate the best dance sequences in cinema history and where you can watch a video of Peter Greenaway talking about Rembrandt (in Rembrandt’s J’ accuse).
L’ Altro Cinema/Extra also collates images and stories from every corner of the world: from earthquake survivors in Armenia (Gyumri) to young Californian animators (Cal Arts), from Jean Claude Van Damme’s Belgium (JCVD) to Finland seen through the eyes of a young Italian-Finnish woman director (Il prossimo tuo).
It will show the Denmark of Oscar® winner Thomas Vinterberg (with the international premiere of his latest film, When a Man Comes Home) alongside an intangible, exotic and existential portrait of Argentina (in the world premiere of Tres Deseos).
It is the section where you can come across a Spanish genius of cinematic special effects (El ultimo truco) and follow Meryl Streep preparing a Brecht play (Theater of War). It is where you can watch images produced by blind Iranian women filmmakers (7 Blind Women) and where the most successful documentary on this year’s festival circuit will be screened (Man on Wire).
L’ Altro Cinema/Extra is a little different to the traditional kind of festival section: you can enter the theatre and ask David Cronenberg a question, and then go into another and listen to Bob Marley on the big screen (in the film Exodus ’77).
Occhio sul Mondo/Focus 2008 is dedicated to Brazil. Not since the days of Cinema Novo have the eyes of the world been fixed on Brazil as they are today. We have opted for the cross-disciplinary approach towards the arts that is the signature style of Occhio sul Mondo/Focus, affording us the privilege of delving into not just cinema, but also the visual arts, social commitment, and – it goes without saying – music.
A showcase dedicated to contemporary cinema offers a complete panorama of Brazilian production, with very different works ranging from auteur films to documentaries to domestic box-office hits. One special feature of this showcase is the tribute to Joao Moreira Salles, an extremely versatile filmmaker involved in all aspects of film creation. Then there is the Italian-Brazilian co-production Estômago/Una storia gastronomica directed by Marcos Jorge, which won 4 out of 6 prizes at the 2007 Rio Film Festival.
The Retrospective focuses on all the arts within the section and presents portraits of leading Brazilian artists and cultural figures.
A series of encounters with filmmakers, musicians, actors and critics helps the festival audience better understand the identity of a nation that is extraordinarily complex – on a social, human, geographical, historical and cultural level.
The spectacular opening event of the Festival Internazionale del Film di Roma, directed by Arto Lindsay and with stage design by Ernesto Leto, is a justly deserved tribute to Brazilian music. Piazza Navona will provide the backdrop to a parade blending the traditional carnival music of the Afro Blocos from north eastern Brazil with the melodic harmonies of the bossa nova.
The third edition of the Festival Internazionale del Film di Roma pays tribute to Pierre Verger with a photographic exhibition, the first to be held in Italy, put on in collaboration with the Fondazione Pierre Verger based in Salvador di Bahia. The importance of Verger’s role within the 3rd Festival is additionally emphasised by the presence of a documentary about the life and work of the photographer and ethnographer, entitled Pierre Fatumbi Verger: Mensageiro entre Dois Mundos,directed by Lula Buarque de Hollanda.
