Created by husband-and-wife duo, Paolo Rotondo and Renee Mark, in 2016, the festival has grown from a small screening of films in one city to an extensive programme hosted at 20 cinemas.
Supported by the Italian Cultural Institute in Sydney, the Cinema Italiano Festival will take place over a period of seven months, with films scheduled to screen in: Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Whatakane, Tauranga, Takapuna, Nelson, Napier, Palmerston, Dunedin and Blenheim.
Rotondo, a Neapolitan director, writer and actor, spent his childhood in Italy, moving to New Zealand when he was 11 years old.
Best known for his portrayal of Andrew Solomon in the New Zealand soap opera, Shortland Street, Rotondo released his debut film, Orphans & Kingdoms, in 2016.
Mark, who is Māori, has a background in Law and has worked extensively with the Te Paepae Ataata – the Māori Film Commission – as its chief executive.
“We have tried to curate a programme that combines the best in contemporary Italian cinemas with masterpieces from Italy’s rich cinematic tradition and provides meaningful insights in society,” the pair said in a statement.
“Over the past two years, the Cinema Italiano Festival has been resilient and nimble enough to be able to reschedule our programme for 2022.
“Through our collaboration with Italy and many international companies, I have been reminded that sharing cinemas together is a tremendous privilege.”
The Cinema Italiano Festival will feature a retrospective on esteemed filmmaker, Roberto Rossellini, and two of his films, Stromboli and Roma città aperta (Rome, Open City), will be screened.
The Italian Cultural Institute in Sydney will present Il buco (The Hole), a film by Michelangelo Frammartino, as part of the programme.
The festival will commence on June 16 and run until January 2023.
For more information, visit the website.
