As they say in Italy, “eat well, laugh often, love much”, and the Lavazza Italian Film Festival will do just that in September to celebrate its 20th birthday.
The 20th edition of the festival will showcase 26 of the best new Italian films from the last year as well as classic cinematic gems, special presentations, aperitivo nights, receptions and galas across screens in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart and Byron Bay from September 17.
“For 20 years we have shared our love of cinema and Italian culture striving to present the best new films from Italy for film-lovers and Italophiles around the country,” festival director, Elysia Zeccola, said.
“The best critically acclaimed and award-winning films share the spotlight with the biggest box office hits, creating an entertaining program for audiences young and old.”
The first highlights offer a glimpse into the program which celebrates Italian cinema, filmmakers and personalities at their very best.
They include: the Australian premiere of Ron Howard’s highly anticipated biopic Pavarotti; Edoardo De Angelis’ powerful and award-winning new film The Vice of Hope; Stefano Mordi’s taut thriller The Invisible Witness; Andrea Zaccariello’s super stylish and absorbing murder mystery I’m Not A Killer; winner of Best Comedy Film at the Nastri d’Argento Awards 2019, Bangla; and much more.
This year, the festival will also showcase the greatest artists of Italian history with Films on Art: The Italian Masters, including: Michelangelo - Endless, about the life and works of the incomparable genius Michelangelo Buonarroti, played by Enrico Lo Verso; and Amazing Leonardo, a high-end biopic which marks the 500th anniversary of Leonardo da Vinci’s death starring Italian A-lister Luca Argentero (Eat Pray Love) as the artist, scientist and inventor.
The festival will also pay tribute to the great Bernardo Bertolucci, following his passing last November.
In honour of the director, the festival will show his films: 1900, the 1976 historical drama featuring an international ensemble cast including Robert De Niro, Gérard Depardieu, Dominique Sanda and Donald Sutherland; and his political thriller The Conformist, a visually intoxicating adaptation of Alberto Moravia’s novel about an upper-class follower of Mussolini.
Presented by Palace Cinemas, the 2019 Lavazza Italian Film Festival will take place from September 17 to October 23, with dates varying across locations.
The festival’s full program will be announced in August.
For more information, visit the festival’s website.
