Presenting a programme which is more copious than ever, the 8th edition of the Stockholm Italian Film Festival begins Friday September 16th and ends Thursday September 22nd 2005. By now, this festival hails as Northern Europe’s main promotional event for Italian cinema. The Italian Film Festival is organized by the Swedish capital’s Italian Cultural InstituteFICC (Italian Federation of Cinemas), and under the artistic and organizational direction of Scandinavian film historian, Vincenzo Esposito, with contributions from the Cinema Department of the Italian Ministry for Cultural and Heritage Activities and in collaboration with the Italian Embassy of Sweden, AIP Filmitalia, “C. M. Lerici Foundation” (Stockholm), “Blackout” ONLUS (Naples), Flight Cooperations (Bologna), Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Once again the Cinema Sture, set in the elegant heart of Stockholm, will play host to this greatly anticipated event by the Scandinavian film enthusiasts.
The Italian Film Festival 2005’s guest of honour is director Giuseppe Tornatore, to whom a complete retrospective has been dedicated, along with a group study seminar coordinated by well known film critic Valerio Caprara (curator of the retrospective) and film historian Orian Roth Lindberg. Tornatore will officially inaugurate the retrospective, Saturday September 17th at 6.30 p.m., presenting “L’uomo delle stelle” (1995) to the Swedish audience. The following days will feature screenings of “Stanno tutti bene” (1990), “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso” (1989), “La leggenda del pianista sull’oceano” (1998), “Il camorrista” (1986), “Una pura formalità” (1994) e “Malèna” (2000).

The other sections of the Stockholm Italian Film Festival are: Panorama, dedicated to last season’s Italian cinematography; Focus On – Italian Cinema in the New Millennium, presenting the most representative titles in the last four to five years, Short Films, which presents a selection of the latest shorts produced; Cult Docs – I documentari di Erik Gandini, well known Italian Swedish author, particularly in Scandinavia.

Nine titles from last season have been selected for the section Panorama: Private by Saverio Costanzo, L’amore ritrovato by Carlo Mazzacurati, La porta delle sette stelle by Pasquale Pozzessere, Provincia meccanica by Stefano Mordini ( who will be in Stockholm for the screening, Sunday September 18th, at 8.45 p.m.), Lavorare con lentezza by Guido Chiesa, E’ più facile per un cammello by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, L’orizzonte degli eventi by Daniele Vicari, L’iguana by Catherine McGilvray and Saimir by Francesco Munzi.

The section Italian Cinema in the New Millennium, instead will be presenting eleven of Italy’s most representative films produced from the year 2000 to 2004: Io non ho paura (2003) by Gabriele Salvatores, Buongiorno notte (2003) by Marco Bellocchio, Non ti muovere (2004) by Sergio Castellitto, The Dreamers (2003) by Bernardo Bertolucci, Agata e la tempesta (2004) by Silvio Soldini, La stanza del figlio (2001) by Nanni Moretti, Mio cognato (2004) by Alessandro Piva, Dopo mezzanotte (2003) by Davide Ferrario, La leggenda di Al, John e Jack by Aldo, Giovanni e Giacomo e Massimo Venier, L’ultimo bacio (2000) by Gabriele Muccino, Ma che colpa abbiamo noi (2002) by Carlo Verdone.

The evening screenings will be preceeded by the shorts included in the section Short Films: the animated cartoon La guerra d’amore by Italian-Swedish author Annika Giannini, the intense L’ultimo rimasto in piedi by Ugo Capolupo, L’ultimo pistolero by Alessandro Dominici (with Franco Nero), Quello che vuoi by Anna Scaglione, Lo Guarracino by Michelangelo Fornaro, Deadline by Massimo Coglitore. Of particular interest in the section Cult Docs, – The Documentaries of Erik Gandini, based on the works of the Italian Swedish documentary artist, well known and highly regarded in Scandinavia. There are four titles in the programme: Raja Sarajevo (1994), Amerasians (1999), Sacrificio – Who Betrayed Che Guevara? (2001) and Surplus: Terrorized Into Being Consumers (2004).
In total, the Stockholm Italian Film Festival proposes thirty-seven films for the viewing pleasure of Swedish film enthusiasts.