FOCUS ITALIA 2009
The best of Italian cinema in Uruguay
From April 4-18, on occasion of the XXVII Uruguay International Film Festival, the section FOCUS ITALIA 2009 brings the best of contemporary Italian cinema to Montevideo for the third consecutive year. The year 2008 was the year of Italian cinema’s comeback , the great Italian cinema of long ago marked by neo realism and Italian comedy, a reflection of Italian society. Contemporary Italian cinema was again in the spotlight, gaining prestige and critical acclaim worldwide.
A representative selection of the feature films responsible for this comeback will screen in Uruguay.
This year more than ever, FOCUS ITALIA 2009 presents the finest of contemporary Italian cinema with one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year , Gomorra, by Matteo Garrone adapted from the controversial best-selling book by the same name, written by the most threatened young journalist of today, Roberto Saviano. A “dark comedy” like the tongue and cheek Tutta la vita davanti by Paolo Virzì (in International Competition), which gives a realistic look at today’s cruel job world, which offers little hope for university graduates. Films that revive historical memory such as Il Divo by Paolo Sorrentino, a story told with great irony about Giulio Andreotti’s political circle. Andreotti served as Italy’s Prime Minister seven times and is one of Italy’s Men of Power.
FOCUS ITALIA 2009 is divided into 4 sections:
Filmitalia
(selection of the best feature films of the past two years)
Italiadoc
(documentaries that analyze a country’s society, culture and history)
In Memory of Italian Cinema
(documentaries - interviews – visual archives on great personalities in Italian cinema, from Mastroianni, Sophia Loren and Antonioni)
Retrospective by Ursula Ferrara
(experimental animations by award-winning Tuscan artist whose work continues to earn acclaim around the world)
Thanks to FOCUS ITALIA 2009, the Uruguayan spectator will have an even better opportunity than most Italian spectators to discover the “new” Italian cinema since most of these films have screened outside of the usual commercial circuits and only in a few art theatres.
FOCUS ITALIA 2009
Exhibit of contemporary Italian cinema
Date: April 4-18, 2009
Place: Montevideo, on occasion of the XXVII International Film Fesival of Uruguay