Just days after the 30th edition of the Toronto International Film Festival has ended, one draws the final conclusions : Italian cinema is closely followed and earns rounds of applause from the Canadian and International public, in what is now considered one of the major festival and market events worldwide.
The Italian presence was coordinated by Filmitalia and in particular by the company’s C.E.O., Adriana Chiesa di Palma who attended all of the events and screenings during the festival.
Mario’s War by Antonio Capuano and The Passion of Joshua, the Jew by Pasquale Scimeca, presented in Contemporary World Cinema, both received an enthusiastic welcome from the audience in attendance, followed by lengthy and vivacious debates between the spectators and delegation of artists, accompanying each film( Antonio Capuano and Valeria Golino for Mario’s War and Pasquale Scimeca for the Passion of Joshua, the Jew ). The Passion of Joshua, the Jew, besides captivating the public’s interest, and praise from members of the Jewish communities, was also a commercial success : American distribution negociations are already underway.
Great commotion and involvement surrounding the film All the Invisibile Children screened as a Special Presentation in the prestigious Elgin Theatre, (seating capacity of 1200) in front of a packed audience. The film , also thanks to its Canadian showcase, was sold to around 60 countries, and was introduced by Piers Handling, the director of the TIFF, followed by a statement from Embassy advisor , Stefano Cacciaguerra, from the General Department for the Cooperation and Development of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs . Also present was producer Chiara Tilesi, accompanied by the directors Stefano Veneruso, Katia Lund and Spike Lee, besides representatives from the World Food Program and UNICEF,patrons of the project.
Punto Italia was also this year, the point of reference for the Italian presence, set up and coordinated in partnership by Filmitalia, the Italian Trade Commission and Italian Cultural Institute in Toronto, located at the Sutton Place Hotel, center of all festival and market activities.
Italian cinema and representatives from the Italian delegation, were guests of honour at the Italian party organized by Filmitalia, ICE and IIC in the prestigious Versace showroom, which was inaugurated on this same occasion in one of the most elegant aereas of Toronto.
During the Festival, Adriana Chiesa Di Palma signed an agreement with TeleLatino and OmniTelevision, which forsees that these stations will provide frequent broadcasts on Italian cinema, throughout the year: news, interviews, presentations of films in production, all the information and visibility benefiting our film industry.