JOIN USBe it with their food, music, fashion or films, the Italians sure seem to know what they’re doing — as was made visible at the Italian Film Festival that recently took place at Jayamahal Palace Hotel.
What made this film festival unique is the fact that through the selection of films being screened, there was an attempt at showcasing the landscape of Italy. This was done with a two-pronged approach — the films were set in different parts of Italy to give the viewer a glimpse of the country in all its beauty; and the culture and way of life were represented in the form of human relationships and different subjects explored in the films.
Interestingly, all the films shown were made between 2002 and 2010, bringing the new-age Italian film-making to the fore. While Ferzan Ozpetek’s film, Mine Vaganti (‘Loose Cannons’) showed a traditional southern Italian family operating a pasta-making business, Il Vento Fa il Suo Giro (‘The Wind Blows Round’) by Giorgio Diritti followed the life of a cheese-maker in a mountain village in the Occitan Alps.
One of the most appreciated films was Basta un Niente (‘Before You Know It’), a perfect example of Italian comedy, seductively set in the backdrop of the Naples’ Gulf. The surreal, well-sketched out characters, Italian music, flirtatious nature of men and women and overall charm of the place were shown quite well in the carefully thought out film.
“It was a really funny film. More than the place, it gave me a sense of the daily conversations and relationships between people there. There is a need to have more film festivals of this type in the City,” says Ayushya George, a student of Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology.
During most of the screenings, a few foreigners could be spotted in the crowd, though the majority were Indians who wanted a glimpse of Italy through these films. “I really enjoyed the films. I don’t know much about Italy but I have been there twice and I like the language and people. I attended most of the screenings because the films were set across Italy and I wanted to see what else is there to the country,” shares Muniraj Gopal.
Some of the other films shown were the coming of age film, Mai Piu Come Prima (‘Never Again Like Before’); a popular comedy film called A Cavallo Della Tigre (‘Jail Break’) and lastly, a film on the culture around the historical Roman monument – the
Piazza Vittorio.