Italiano
The nineteenth Rome Film Fest will present a series of screenings pertaining to the world of sports and its unforgettable protagonits.
The first event will take place tomorrow, Thursday October 17th at 6:30 pm in Sala Sinopoli of the Auditorium Parco della Musica Ennio Morricone, with the screening of U.S. Palmese by the Manetti Bros.: the two directors have made a romantic sports comedy set in Palmì, with detours to Milan and Paris, in which characters, sports, love, affections, flaws, acts of spite and of disrespect collide and finally blend to find balance.
The next day at 4 pm at the MAXXI, there will be a screening of Ferrari: Fury & the Monster by Steve Hoover, a documentary that, in period footage and new interviews, evokes the story of an authentic timeless legend such as Ferrari, indelibly embedded in the collective imagination.
On the same day at 4.30 pm, Sala Sinopoli will be the venue for the screening of La Valanga Azzurra by Giovanni Veronesi. Personally interviewing the protagonists of a unique time in history, the director evokes their epic story (from the unforgettable rivalry between Gustav Thöni and Ingemar Stenmark of Sweden to the triumphant 1976 Olympic Games in Innsbruck), but does not forget the darkest moments either (from the fatal accidents to the private tragedies).
On Saturday October 19th at 6:30 pm in the Teatro Olimpico, there will be a presentation of Eroici! 100 anni di passione e racconti di sport (Corriere dello Sport, the 100 years) by Giuseppe Marco Albano. Starting with the prestigious celebration of the one-hundred year history of the Corriere dello Sport, the documentary explores the deepest essence of sports, a veritable social and cultural collector, and the evolution in the way sports are experienced and reported.
Sunday October 20th at 6 pm, the Teatro Studio Gianni Borgna will host La Máquina, the series directed by Gabriel Ripstein, centred on the fight for personal redemption, in which boxing becomes the stage for a fight that is as physical as it is psychological. The two protagonists, Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, will be the protagonists of an encounter that will take place on the same day at 4 pm in Sala Sinopoli.
Monday October 21st at 9 pm in Sala Petrassi the screening will feature Nasty by Tudor Giurgiu, Tudo D. Popescu and Cristian Pascariu. “Nasty” is the nickname for tennis’ enfant terrible, Ilie Nastase, who became a legend with his countless victories on the most prestigious courts of the world. The film offers us a portrait in the round of the champion, his generosity, extravagance, and brash theatrical style.
Wednesday October 23rd at 6 pm at the Teatro Olimpico, there will be a screening of Ago by Giangiacomo De Stefano. The film evokes the life and career of Giacomo Agostini, one of the greatest racers in motorcycle history, but one of the symbols of 1960s and 70’s Italy as well, of a society that had made mechanical means an essential pillar of everyday life, raising them to a symbol of progress and innovation.
Thursday October 24th at 5:45 pm, the Teatro Studio Gianni Borgna will host the screening of Cattivi maestri by Roberto Orazi. The protagonist of the documentary is Vincenzo Fuoco, thirty-five years old and a boundless passion for football, ever since he was a little boy. When at the age of eleven he played in the team of his town, Villa d’Adda, he was bought by a professional team and that was where he met a sports manager and serial predator, who wormed his way into his life and that of his family. Today, Vincenzo has left this nightmare behind him.
The next day at 9 pm at the Teatro Olimpico, the screening will feature Maestro, il calcio a colori di Tommaso Maestrelli by Francesco Cordio and Alberto Manni. The two directors bring to the screen the story of the revolutionary coach Tommaso Maestrelli, a pioneer of what is known as “total football” and a bold dreamer who challenged the domination of the great teams from the North, to bring the Lazio football club – then made up of unknown footballers – to win a historical championship.
17 October at 6:30 pm – Sala Sinopoli | Grand Public
U.S. PALMESE
by Antonio Manetti, Marco Manetti, Italia, 2024, 122’
Cast: Rocco Papaleo, Blaise Afonso, Giulia Maenza, Lisa Do Couto Teixeira, Max Mazzotta, Massimo De Lorenzo, Gianfelice Imparato, Massimiliano Bruno, Claudia Gerini
Palmi: a small city in the metropolitan area of Reggio Calabria, 18,000 inhabitants, a football team, U.S. Palmese, four times in the C league and twenty-one in the D league. But one day, one of the fans thought to organise a collection in town to hire Etienne Morville, a young black French champion from the Paris banlieue whose bad temperament got him fired from the Milan club. Starting with the exuberant enthusiasm of Rocco Papaleo, who scoots around in his three-wheel Ape car tossing flyers and wheedling signatures for the donations, the romantic sports comedy by the Manetti Bros. is set in Palmi, with detours to Milan and Paris, where characters, sports, love, affections, flaws, acts of spite and disrespect collide and finally blend to find balance. The cast features Claudia Gerini, Massimiliano Bruno and the young actors Blaise Alfonso ad Giulia Maenza.
18 October at 4 pm – MAXXI | Special Screenings
FERRARI: FURY & THE MONSTER
by Steve Hoover, USA, 2024, 80’
The name Ferrari has always been synonymous with success, engineering genius and artisanal passion. Its history intersects with that of personalities such as the founder Enzo, the great engineer and designer Mauro Forghieri or the racing driver Niki Lauda, who in 1975 brought the Ferrari to the top of the Formula 1 world. Without forgetting legendary race cars such as the Ferrari GTO, which many to consider the greatest car of all times. The documentary reviews a history that in part brings to mind invaluable box office hits such as Ferrari by Michael Mann or Ford v Ferrari, but adopts a different perspective to evoke, through historical materials and recent interviews, the story of a truly timeless legend, indelibly embedded in the collective imagination.
18 October at 4:30 pm – Sala Sinopoli | Special Screening
LA VALANGA AZZURRA
by Giovanni Veronesi, Italy, 2024, 95’
Cast: Gustav Thöni, Piero Gros, Paolo De Chiesa, Ingemar Stenmark
In the 1970s, the Italian national alpine ski team became the feather in the cap of Italian sports, generating unprecedented interest, which was also economic, for a discipline that is generally considered marginal. Personally interviewing the protagonists of a unique era. Giovanni Veronesi evokes its epic history (from the unforgettable rivalry between Gustav Thoni and Ingemark Stenmark from Sweden to the triumphant 1976 Olympic Games in Innsbruck), but does not forget the darkest moments (from the fatal accidents to the private tragedie). The director’s contagious good spirits, his knowledgeable recourse to repertory materials and the uncompromising honesty of the interviewees make the documentary a record that resonates beyond sports to become a collective social portrait revealing the many facets of an entire country.
19 October at 6:30 pm – Teatro Olimpico | Special Screenings
EROICI! 100 ANNI DI PASSIONE E RACCONTI DI SPORT (CORRIERE DELLO SPORT, THE 100 YEARS)
by Giuseppe Marco Albano, Italy, 2024, 70’
Cast: Adriano Panatta, Arianna Errigo, Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Giovanni Malagò, Federica Pellegrini, Gianmarco Pozzecco, Carlo Ancelotti, Ivan Zazzaroni, Alberto Tomba
On the prestigious occasion of the one-hundredth anniversary of the Corriere dello Sport, one of the most widely-read daily newspapers in Italy, the documentary explores the deepest essence of sports, a veritable social and cultural collector, and the evolution in the way they are practiced and reported. The story unfurls from a double perspective: on the one hand, it gives a voice to the great athletes and protagonists of Italian sports; on the other, it documents the foundation, production and distribution of the newspaper, a veritable archive of our country’s collective memory. The result is a powerful and compelling account in which stories and anecdotes are destined to remain eternal, to shape the way that Italians experience and celebrate their sporting passions.
20 October at 6 pm – Teatro Studio Gianni Borgna | Freestyle Series
LA MÁQUINA
by Gabriel Ripstein, Mexico, 2024, 110’ (ep. 1-2)
Cast: Gael García Bernal, Diego Luna, Eiza González, Lucía Méndez, Jorge Perugorría, Andrés Delgado, Karina Gidi, Dariam Coco
Following a crushing defeat, Esteban “La Máquina” Osuna (Gael García Bernal) seems to have reached the end of his boxing career. Fate, however, has a surprise in store: his manager and trusted friend Andy Lujan (Diego Luna), convinced by the strength of his determination, decides to give him one more chance. However, the shadow of a ruthless organisation returns to haunt them, transforming his comeback into a matter of life or death. Esteban must face his inner demons and at the same time protect his family. Directed by Gabriel Ripstein, La Máquina is an engrossing and action- packed series that focuses on the struggle for personal redemption, in which the ring becomes the stage for a battle that is as physical as it is psychological.
21 October at 9 pm – Sala Petrassi | Best of 2024
NASTY
by Tudor Giurgiu, Tudor D. Popescu, Cristian Pascariu, Romania, 2024, 104’
Cast: Ilie Năstase, Ion Țiriac, Jimmy Connors, Stan Smith, John McEnroe, Billie Jean King, Rafael Nadal, Boris Becker, Yannick Noah, Gheorghe Hagi, Nadia Comăneci, Björn Borg
“Nasty” is the perfect nickname for the enfant terrible of tennis: Ilie Năstase, the Romanian champion who became a legend in the 1970s for his countless victories on the sport’s most prestigious courts. Elegant and charismatic, but also cocky and downright arrogant, Năstase shook up the prim and proper world of tennis in his day, becoming the first rebel rock star of the game. Presented at the Cannes Film Festival, the film draws on an enormous amount of archive footage from the world over and treats audiences to a portrait of the champion in the round, from his generosity, extravagance, and brash theatrical style to his terrible temper and foul mouth. In a year like this, with tennis dominating the global collective imagination, revisiting the story of the most “entertaining” tennis champ seems just right.
23 October at 6 pm – Teatro Olimpico | Special Screenings
AGO
by Giangiacomo De Stefano, Italy, 2024, 80’
Cast: Giacomo Agostini, Marc Marquez, Nico Cereghini, Guido Meda, Gianni Morandi, Carlos Lavado, Lino Dainese
Giacomo Agostini was not only one of the greatest motorcycle racers in history, he was also one of the symbols of Italy in the 1960s and 70s, of a society that had made mechanical means an essential pillar of daily life, raising them to a symbol of progress and innovation. The film evokes his life and career, often relying on heretofore unseen repertory images and the accounts of those who knew him or grew up admiring his accomplishments (from Nico Cereghin to Guido Meda, from Marc Màrquez to Claudio Costa, from Carlos Lavado to Gianni Morandi). It paints a portrait of a modern Parsifal who challenged death over and over coming out the winner, a legend who rose above and beyond the field of sports directly into the collective imagination of an entire nation.
24 October at 5:45 pm – Teatro Studio Gianni Borgna | Special Screenings
CATTIVI MAESTRI
by Roberto Orazi, Italy, 2024, 59’
Cast: Vincenzo Fuoco
Vincenzo Fuoco is thirty-five years old and has a boundless passion for football, ever since he was a child. When at the age of eleven he played on the local team of his town, Villa d’Adda, he was bought by a professional team and that was where he met a sports manager and serial predator, who wormed his way into his life and that of his family. Today, Vincenzo is no longer living this nightmare, he has found his love for football again and decided to tell his story, in the documentary directed by Roberto Orazi, the author of Human Organ Traffic, A Mao e a Luva, Dentrofuori.
25 October at 9 pm – Teatro Olimpico | Special Screenings
MAESTRO, IL CALCIO A COLORI DI TOMMASO MAESTRELLI
by Francesco Cordio, Alberto Manni, Italy, 2024, 98’
Cast: Massimo Maestrelli, Andrea Maestrelli, Nicolò Maestrelli, Edoardo Albinati, Tonino Raffa, Franco Ordine, Giancarlo Oddi, Luigi Martini, Bruno Giordano, Antonio Guido, Guido De Angelis, Riccardo Cucchi, Stefano De Grandis, Enrico Bendoni, Mercedes Catalano, Massimo Tecca
The story of the revolutionary coach Tommaso Maestrelli, a pioneer of what is known as “total football” and a bold dreamer who challenged the domination of the great teams of the North, guiding the Lazio football club, then made up of unknown footballers, to the triumphant win of a historic championship. The documentary however is not just an overdue tribute to a great man of sports, fifty years after his death, but also a journey across twentieth-century Italy, through a mix of archive films, interviews with experts and the accounts of people who lived through those years. A means to show the key contribution of sports to the evolution of Italian society, mores and culture, with which they are forever entwined.
