Italian Film Festival 2018
This is the first year I have attended the Vancouver Italian Film Festival. I bought tickets because they were a good deal and I love movies.
My father was born in Celano and came to Canada as a child. I grew up in Vancouver around a ton of Abruzzese and Celanese, and my grandmother didn't really speak English. As a kid relatives would visit from Italy and there would be this whole other side of life that would come alive during holidays and family get togethers. I spent some time in Italy when I was 25 and had a great experience, and I also studied Italian in university. From time to time, I take a class at UBC to try and keep some of the language up - my Italian sucks, it's pretty rough, I use the wrong grammar all the time but I can fumble my way through a conversation. It's come in handy when going to the opera or when trailers of movies are shown without subtitles.
My Voyage to Italy (Il Mio Viaggio in Italia) - Martin Scorsese
This was Scorsese's love letter to Italian cinema. He introduced us to Fellini, Rossellini, Visconti, De Sica, Antonioni and others. He weaved the importance of these filmmakers to Italian cinema with tales of his childhood - recounting stories of Elizabeth Street and his Sicilian heritage. I remember watching a couple of Fellini movies while I was in university but didn't really understand or have the patience to appreciate them. Given the societal and political context of the time, it gave me a different lens to see these classic movies and I have plans to take them out of the library to see them again.
In Search of Fellini
This story of a girl from small-town Ohio who discovers Fellini movies in 1993, then jets to Rome to find him was full of heart. The counter plot about her mother's terminal cancer missed the mark but was the catalyst for her getting there. While the adventure was a tad cartoony, Lucy found herself in the Eternal City. Rome is an intense place - and this film captured it's big personality. The acting was also good. The message that art can inspire people to live life to the fullest wasn't lost on anyone and it was an enjoyable watch.
Smetto Quando Voglio (I Can Quit Whenever I Want)
Such a fun show! This whacky story of charming anti-heroes was exciting and hilarious but also full of heart. The premise of a college professor and his academic buddies creating a legal drug to push in nightclubs, when the mafia finds out and tries to shut them down. I laughed pretty hard a few times and found the story moved so well. The cast had chemistry and I am looking forward to seeing the sequel.
Spettacolo
This quiet but beautiful documentary that is set in the town of Monticchiello (population 136), focusing on their penultimate event of the summer season: the town play. The film features on how the director and citizens of the town come together to write and perform a play that focuses on local/regional/national/international socio-economic-political issues that face Monticchiello. Sometimes, the decision to perform a play that takes on controversial stories divides the town (construction of vacation villas as an example).
Veloce Come Il Vento (Italian Race)
I LOVED THIS FILM. LOVED. A story that centres on a strong female lead that is about family, Italy, race cars and features a training montage! YES! After Giulia and Nico's father passes away suddenly, their older brother Loris returns to their lives after living as a drug addict for many years. Giulia is a burgeoning race car driver who has to win the GT championship in order to keep their family house and their family together. Loris trains her and they figure out how to rebuild their strained relationship. The actors were great, the car scenes super exciting, the heart and emotion of how drug addiction affects families...it had me on the edge of my seat the whole time!
The Music of Silence
This was a story based on Andrea Bocelli's memoir. This film was in English, set in Toscana where a young man and his family doesn't let his blindness stop him from achieving his dream of becoming a professional opera singer. Yes some of the accents were bad and the dialogue a little stilted but it had heart and great music. I couldn't believe how much the lead actor looked and moved like Bocelli. It just kind of ended but was an enjoyable watch.
Art has a way of breathing life into history and emotion touching each and everyone of us. Being transported to Italy while watching these films during the 2018 IFF has meant an immense amount to me and I can't wait to see what they program next year!
This festival has helped me reconnect to my heritage and in turn, to my dad (who passed away last summer).
The line up of films has been incredible - I will have attended 6 films in total, each story very different from each other, bringing life to Italy, Italian sensibilities and stories of Italian people. Here's a little about each of the films I saw:
This was Scorsese's love letter to Italian cinema. He introduced us to Fellini, Rossellini, Visconti, De Sica, Antonioni and others. He weaved the importance of these filmmakers to Italian cinema with tales of his childhood - recounting stories of Elizabeth Street and his Sicilian heritage. I remember watching a couple of Fellini movies while I was in university but didn't really understand or have the patience to appreciate them. Given the societal and political context of the time, it gave me a different lens to see these classic movies and I have plans to take them out of the library to see them again.
In Search of Fellini
This story of a girl from small-town Ohio who discovers Fellini movies in 1993, then jets to Rome to find him was full of heart. The counter plot about her mother's terminal cancer missed the mark but was the catalyst for her getting there. While the adventure was a tad cartoony, Lucy found herself in the Eternal City. Rome is an intense place - and this film captured it's big personality. The acting was also good. The message that art can inspire people to live life to the fullest wasn't lost on anyone and it was an enjoyable watch.
Smetto Quando Voglio (I Can Quit Whenever I Want)
Such a fun show! This whacky story of charming anti-heroes was exciting and hilarious but also full of heart. The premise of a college professor and his academic buddies creating a legal drug to push in nightclubs, when the mafia finds out and tries to shut them down. I laughed pretty hard a few times and found the story moved so well. The cast had chemistry and I am looking forward to seeing the sequel.
Spettacolo
This quiet but beautiful documentary that is set in the town of Monticchiello (population 136), focusing on their penultimate event of the summer season: the town play. The film features on how the director and citizens of the town come together to write and perform a play that focuses on local/regional/national/international socio-economic-political issues that face Monticchiello. Sometimes, the decision to perform a play that takes on controversial stories divides the town (construction of vacation villas as an example).
Veloce Come Il Vento (Italian Race)
I LOVED THIS FILM. LOVED. A story that centres on a strong female lead that is about family, Italy, race cars and features a training montage! YES! After Giulia and Nico's father passes away suddenly, their older brother Loris returns to their lives after living as a drug addict for many years. Giulia is a burgeoning race car driver who has to win the GT championship in order to keep their family house and their family together. Loris trains her and they figure out how to rebuild their strained relationship. The actors were great, the car scenes super exciting, the heart and emotion of how drug addiction affects families...it had me on the edge of my seat the whole time!
The Music of Silence
This was a story based on Andrea Bocelli's memoir. This film was in English, set in Toscana where a young man and his family doesn't let his blindness stop him from achieving his dream of becoming a professional opera singer. Yes some of the accents were bad and the dialogue a little stilted but it had heart and great music. I couldn't believe how much the lead actor looked and moved like Bocelli. It just kind of ended but was an enjoyable watch.
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