Open Roads: New Italian Cinema will be held at New York’s Lincoln Center May 31-June 8, 2006. Thirteen of the latest Italian films and a selection of Shorts make up the programme of this year’s VI edition organized by Filmitalia and the Lincoln Center Film Society with the contributions from the Cinema Department of the Italian Ministry for Cultural and Heritage Activities.
Following the great success of past editions, this year’s calendar of screenings is predicted to ‘sell out’ just like last year. Open Roads confirms itself as the major U.S. event dedicated to contemporary Italian cinema and is one of the most followed showcases of European cinema, held in the prestigious setting of Lincoln Center.
La festival is organized in collaboration with Cinecittà Holding, Italian Cultural Insititute in New York, Alitalia, Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò-N.Y.U, American Continental Properties Group, 41° parallelo, this year i salso supported by the Province of Rome and Slow Food Roma who will provide food and wine tastings which will include wines from Castelli Romani and other local wine producers from the province of Rome , promoting exceptionally high quality products.
“Open Roads: New Italian Cinema” will be presenting the films in the programme to the New York audience as well as a selected group of American buyers (Sony Pictures Classics, Focus Features, New Yorker Films, Think Films, just to name a few ) who will be involved in the opening ceremony as well as in the meeting which will follow with the artist delegation and Press.
The film programme of Open Roads was selected by Richard Peña of the Film Society of Lincoln Center in collaboration with Antonio Monda from NYU and Griselda Guerrasio from Filmitalia will consist of four daily screenings of the thirteen films selected. New this year to the programme are eight Shorts which have been selected in collaboration with the National Syndicate of Italian Film Journalists ( SGNC ).
The delegation consisting of directors and actors will be accompanied by the President of Filmitalia Giovanni Galoppi, representing in a great number the films in the programme : beginning with Carlo Verdone, whose return to New York is met with aniticipation by the New York audience who warmly welcomed him at last year’s edition. Also in this year’s edition are Barbora Bobulova, Gabriele Salvatores, Sergio Rubini and Kim Rossi Stuart who plays double billing as the highly regarded first time director of Anche Libero Va Bene, just released in Italian theatres, as well as his starring role in the film Romanzo Criminale.
Among the American guests also taking part in this event are Martin Scorsese, Joel and Ethan Coen, Arthur Penn, Isabella Rossellini, Matt Dillon, Jonathan Franzen and Frances McDormond.
With Open Roads Filmitalia continues on its path of working to increase Italian cinema’s infiltration in the most difficult markets, and in this case the U.S. market which known to be one of the hardest markets to enter.
It is with initiatives like this one, that Italian cinema can earn wider regcognition and appreciation from critics, film distributors and the general public.