The Italian Film festival in Málaga celebrates its 6th edition from the 13th to the 21st May with 6 films.
- The film, Las ocho montañas, directed by Felix Van Groeningen, will open the series of screenings.
- During the festival week, the internationally known Italian artist, Alice Pasquini, will create a work of urban art next to the Centre of Contemporary Art in Málaga.
- The Victoria Brewery and La Polivalente will be the venues for the opening party and closing ceremony respectively.
Málaga, 10th May, 2023 – The Albéniz Cinema in Málaga will once again be the chosen venue for the exhibition of Italian cinema in the sixth edition of its festival, organised by the Dante Alighieri Society. This year’s festival will be celebrated from the 13th to the 21st May with a programme that will feature six current audio-visual works, a grand opening party in the Victoria Brewery with a performance by Laamar, and side activities for all audiences, including the creation of a mural by the urban artist Alice Pasquini.
The press conference presenting the lineup and the new features of this year’s edition took place today in the Patio de las Banderas of the Town Hall of Málaga. The event, chaired by the Councillor of Culture for Málaga, Noelia Losada, was attended by Giovanni Caprara, President of the Dante Alighieri Society in Málaga, and Agustín Gómez, Director of the event, as well as Teodora Danisi, Councillor of Culture for the Italian Embassy in Madrid and Marialuisa Pappalardo, Director of the Italian Institute in Madrid.
The Councillor of Culture for the Town Hall of Málaga, highlighted the importance of this edition of the festival for the impact that it will leave, with the mural of Alice Pasquini, stating that “I think it is a fantastic idea, which allows the memory of the Italian Film Festival to remain for years to come in a neighbourhood like Soho, on the doors of a school that welcomes children of various nationalities, next to a centre of contemporary art. Málaga is a city that is cosmopolitan in nature and for that reason, we take pride in highlighting that we are lucky to have numerous Italian residents, and an important number of local residents determined to deepen their knowledge of Italian art. The proof that we have always been like this is that Picasso, one of the most internationally recognised natives of Málaga, had a surname of Genovese origin, who was without a doubt both the son and descendent of the Mediterranean, the sea which bathes Italians and Spaniards alike”.
The Councillor of Culture for the Italian Embassy in Madrid, congratulated the organisation “for the enthusiasm and professionalism which is shown by the preparation and implementation of this 6th edition of the Italian Film Festival in Málaga, which has become an unmissable event within the wide range of what Italian cinema offers in Spain. Undoubtedly, the film industry reaffirms itself as an extraordinary means of mutual recognition and communication between Italy and Spain, two countries united by their deep love for culture, in which their own symbols of national cultural identity can be found.
The Director of the Italian Institute in Madrid highlighted the status of Italian culture as being “in a moment of great energy and projection towards the future. In all artistic sectors, our extremely rich past provides a solid foundation to begin innovating and experimenting, creatively reworking traditions and creating new languages. The film industry, figurative arts, performing arts and music form part of the DNA of Italian culture; thanks to our work and prestigious collaborations with local institutions, we are delighted to be able to support a deeper knowledge of contemporary Italian productions in Spain.”
Caprara thanked the city of Málaga, the Italian Film Festival, and all of those in attendance for their important commitment and support of Italian culture. He has highlighted the continuous progress of the Festival in its relationship with Italian culture and the city of Málaga, noting that “with each edition, we have continued to strengthen our relationship with the Italian audiovisual industry, while at the same time positioning the festival in the cultural sphere of the city with a very important approval from the public and the organisations that support us.”
Screenings
On Monday 15th May, we will begin with a grand premiere in Spain. The film, Le otto montagne, by Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch will be screened. It tells a story of the highs and lows of a deep friendship. The work based on the novel by Paolo Cognetti features Luca Marinelli in his return to the big screen after Martin Eden (2019), as well as Alessandro Borghi, Filippo Timi and Elena Lietti.
The work Calcinculo will be the second screening of the festival, in which its director, Chiara Bellosi, shows from three different perspectives how social and cultural norms and heritages can brutally affect the body: Benedetta’s mother (Barbara Chichiarelli), frustrated by having the body and talent necessary to be a dancer yet not being one; Amanda’s (Andrea Carpenzano), who sees her body commodified by a society that is unable to see beyond binary thinking; and Benedetta’s (Gaia di Pietro), taught to feel uncomfortable in her own body. The young actress Gaia di Pietro will attend the screening and the discussion with the audience in the auditorium.
On Wednesday 17th May, Dante will premiere for the first time in Spain. The 80-year old filmmaker from Bologna, Pupi Avati, shows a unique audiovisual biography of the author of “La Divina Comedia”, based on the work of Giovanni Boccaccio, composed between 1357 and 1362.
Thursday will mark the screening of the Italian comedy Siccatà, inspired by the recent Covid pandemic, which sarcastically stages a hopelessly ill humanity. The film’s director, Paolo Virzì, offers a dystopian tale set during the lockdown of 2020, and does so armed with the strength of a cast and production team of cosmic dimensions, which have helped him to create realistic images of a city projected into a dry and withered future, something that could only occur due to the fault of human beings.
On Friday, La inmensidad will premiere, in which Emanuele Crialese directs Penélope Cruz in a story that takes us back to 1970s Italy to introduce us to a married couple unable to separate. Inspired by Crialese´s experience, the film tells the story from a mystic nostalgia of a young mother who has to deal with a world hostile to women and determined to take her energy and make her fade away little by little.
The comedy La inspiración: El gran pirandello by Roberto Andò, closes the series of screenings of the festival on Saturday 20th May. The film, set in Sicily in 1920 stars Tony Servillo, Valentino Picone and Salvo Ficarra and tells the story of a famous writer who travels to his hometown for a funeral. At the funeral he meets two theatre-loving gravediggers who alternate their work in the cemetery with their great passion, theatre. Both rehearse plays as amateurs; however everything changes when the writer appears and witnesses the talent of the two gravediggers.
All of the films will be shown in the Albéniz cinema at 7:30pm, with general entry fees of €6 (reduced fee of €5 for partners of the Dante Alighieri Society). The complete six-day pass will cost €33 (reduced rate of €27). Tickets can be purchased directly at the cinema box office or through the website www.unientradas.es
Side activities
On Friday 13th May, the grand opening party will take place at the Victoria brewery with a performance by the Italian singer-songwriter Lamaar. Her music pairs her unique voice with an intense love for Latin, traditional and folk music, in a mixture of different styles ranging from flamenco to Balkan music, blues and soul. Admission is free for everyone until full capacity is reached.
This year, the festival has a major project for the city of Málaga and for the entire province with the collaboration of the urban artist Alice Pasquini, of recognised prestige within the international cultural community. For this occasion, Pasquini has been assigned the role of creating the poster that will represent the film proposal for the 2023 edition of the festival, leaving a tangible mark on the city, an unforgettable memory of this cultural event, of its passage through Málaga and of the presence of Italian culture in the Andalusian city, with a unique piece of urban art on one of the walls adjacent to the Centre of Contemporary Art of Málaga, the CAC (Calle Navalón). The creation of the mural will begin on the 10th May, after the press conference, and will be completed on the 15th May. During these 5 days, the public will be able to enjoy the creation of this work of urban art in person which will remain in the city as a commemoration to the Italian festival.
The closing ceremony will take place in La Polivalente with the performance of Tu Pirandello, e io? on Sunday 21st May at 7:30pm, in collaboration with the Italian theatre company, Lacunarii.
About the Italian Film Festival in Málaga
The Italian Film Festival in Málaga was born in 2018 as an expression of the strong will of the Dante Alighieri Society to promote Italian language and culture through different events, which take the seventh art as the main form of artistic expression. https://fcimalaga.es
About the Dante Alighieri Society in Málaga
The Dante Alighieri Society is an Italian cultural association founded in Rome in 1889 with the main objective of spreading Italian language and culture around the world.
The headquarters in Málaga were founded in 2005 and are located in the historic centre of the city, in Plaza Uncibay 9. The work carried out by the association is focused mainly on the organisation of Italian language courses and on the celebration of cultural events each of different nature intended for both lovers of Italian culture, as well as for anybody who shows an interest in the Italian language.
About Alice Pasquini
Alice Pasquini, Italian artist of international and contemporary cultural fame, leaves behind her roots and implements her artistic technique in urban art projects across every continent. Her art is shown in galleries, museums and urban spaces in over 100 cities around the world. She graduated from the Academy of Fine Art in Rome and has lived and worked in Great Britain, France and Spain. During her time in Madrid in particular, she took classes in animation at the School of Arts and Animation, receiving a diploma in Critical Art Studies from the Complutense University. The Roman artist, both in her role as a street artist and as a painter, illustrator and set designer, has developed different competencies in her research: in particular, she has explored feminine vitality and formally manipulated the three-dimensional possibilities of her work. Sydney, New York, Barcelona, Oslo, Moscow, Paris, Copenhagen, Marrakech, Berlin, Ho Chi Minh City, Madrid, London, Toronto and Rome are some of the cities in which it is possible to find her work.
https://www.alicepasquini.com/it/news
For more information:
Teba Siles
prensa@mncomunicacion.com
