The 15th edition of the Ortigia Film Festival starts on July XNUMXth

The 15th edition of the Ortigia Film Festival starts on July XNUMXth.

On the way from 15 at the 22 July the XV edition of Ortigia Film Festival, the international film festival of the city of Syracuse, founded by Lisa Romano and directed by her with Paola Poli. The actress acts as Godmother Christine Marino.

50 titles in competition and out of competition, including 2 national previews, 3 world premieres and 13 regional previews.
A festival that promises to be rich and varied in the selection of works, and attentive to the social issues present among the titles of the feature films and documentaries in competition. This year too, a focus on women is confirmed with the Cinema Women section which presents highly topical international titles. Not to forget the green vocation of the festival with a section aimed at the environment.
“An important edition, attentive as always to social and environmental issues and full of relevant titles and artists, actors and directors of great importance”. Thus the artistic director of the Festival, Lisa Romano, adds: "in drawing up this year's program, we wanted to follow a trait d'union that would connect different poetics and points of view, managing to create a vivid fresco of new trends and traditions".

“Once again – said the mayor, Francesco Italia – we applaud Lisa Romano and her staff for having managed to prepare a program of great cinematographic value and linked to current issues. There is a common thread that unites this important event which now has its place on the national scene and the efforts that, as administrators, we are making to make Syracuse a set for important international productions, so as to enter the ranks of the great cities of 'Italian art'.
For councilor Fabio Granata, “The Off now represents a stable and excellent event in the Syracuse summer. This small but great Festival has in fact managed to earn the right recognition in the world of national cinema thanks to the skilful and innovative work of Lisa Romano and her staff and is awaited by citizens and travelers as one of the most popular and popular events ”.

There are three competitive sections: the Feature Film Competition for first and second Italian works, the Documentary Competition and the International Short Film Competition.
President of the Jury of the Feature Film Competition is Laura Delli Colli with her Margherita Ferrandino and Elena Lietti. Moderating the festival evenings: Steve Della Casa, Claudia Catalli and Daria Luppino.
7 feature films in competition. On Sunday 16 July, a regional preview of Come Pecore tra i Lupi by Lyda Patitucci with Isabella Ragonese and Andrea Arcangeli will be presented. An action movie about the story of revenge and redemption of a policewoman who infiltrates a criminal gang. Director Lyda Patitucci and Andrea Arcangeli meet the public.

Monday July 17 it will be the world premiere of L'Anima in pace, the first work by Ciro Formisano, starring, among others, Livia Antonelli and Donatella Finocchiaro. Between social discomfort and the desire for redemption, it is the story of Dora who leads an existence on the margins in a society in which redemption, a viaticum towards a new life, sometimes has a high price. The director and the performers Donatella Finocchiaro and Livia Antonelli met the public.

Following, again on 17 July, will be the turn of Ciuré, by Giampiero Pumo set in Palermo seen from a different perspective than usual, Ciuré is the story of two worlds distant from each other that end up meeting and colliding, giving life to a 'unexpected love story. The director will present the film with the interpreter Vivian Bellina.

Tuesday July 18 it will be the turn of Piano Piano's first work by Nicola Prosatore. A coming of age made in Naples set in 1987 in the extreme outskirts of the Neapolitan city against the backdrop of that happy football season led by Diego Armando Maradona to win his first championship. The director and performer Antonia Truppo will present the film.

Wednesday July 19th, for the films in competition Shark's Teeth, first film by Davide Gentile with Tiziano Menichelli, Virginia Raffaele, Claudio Santamaria and Edoardo Pesce.
A coming-of-age story with a fairytale spirit but a realistic approach. The backdrop is the setting in a semi-abandoned villa in which the young protagonist finds a swimming pool inhabited by a shark. A sentimental education, rather than criminal, accompanied by the music of Edoardo Bennato. Director Davide Gentile meets the public.

Thursday July 20th it will be the turn of Spaccaossa, Vincenzo Pirrotta's directorial debut. In a warehouse in Palermo, a group of people crush the bones of consenting victims to collect insurance compensation. With Vincenzo Pirrotta himself, Selene Caramazza, Aurora Quattrocchi, Ninni Bruschetta, Simona Malato, Luigi Lo Cascio, Giovanni Calcagno, Filippo Luna, Maziar Firouzi.
A cast of Sicilian excellence for a story steeped in discomfort that has its roots in the news. The director and the actor Filippo Luna meet the public.

Friday July 21th, to close the films in competition, Billy will be screened, the debut film by Emilia Mazzacurati, with Carla Signoris, Alessandro Gassmann and Giuseppe Battiston. Billy is a story of contrasts and a road movie without the journey. A reverse coming of age in a province of the North-East. At 9 years old Billy was a child prodigy, full of life, who invented and hosted a successful music podcast. Today, at 19, the liveliness of childhood is a clear memory that haunts him, because he no longer knows what to do with his life. Director Emilia Mazzacurati meets the public.

To open the XV Edition of Ortigia Film Festival on Saturday 15 July, the special screening of Stranges d'Amuri, Giuseppe Fiorello's directorial debut, which will be screened at 21.30 pm in Arena Minerva in the presence of the director and the performers Samuele Segreto and Anita Pomario.
Giuseppe Fiorello will be the guest of honor of the first evening and will receive the OFF XV Special Award. The film is dedicated to Giorgio and Antonio, victims of the Giarre crime, which occurred in 1980 in the province of Catania. A double murder that has never been clarified, which led to the birth of the first Arcigay club in Italy in 1980 in Palermo.
The short films section in competition opens on Saturday 15 July, Sognando Venezia by Elisabetta Giannini, with a regional preview, in the presence of the director and performers Francesco Di Leva and Morena Di Leva.
The international documentary competition opens with a world premiere of Grain – portrait of Fabio D'Emilio by Simone Valentini. The director and photographer Fabio D'Emilio will present the documentary at the festival. In the Sixties, no one in Italy took photos during concerts due to technical difficulties, no one except Fabio D'Emilio who, thanks to a journalist's pass, stopped hundreds of concerts of immortal artists with his lens.

There are three non-competitive sections: Cinema Women dedicated to young female directors on the international scene; Cinema & the Art of the Word. These are accompanied by an environmental themed section: La Voce del Mare in collaboration with the Plemmirio Marine Protected Area.

For Cinema Women, a section curated by Claudia Catalli in collaboration with the artistic direction of the Festival, we start on 16 July with She Said (Also Io) by Maria Schrader, a regional preview. Produced by Brad Pitt, it tells the story of the strength of two courageous women who helped give birth to the #MeToo movement. The film earned a Golden Globe nomination and two BAFTA nominations.

It then continues on July 17th with the regional preview of Euridice Euridice by Lora Mure-Ravaud
with Ondina Quadri, Alexia Sarantopoulou and Daria Menichetti. Ondina is a radiant and happy young woman. She lives with Alexia and they are in love. Their relationship is passionate and sensual. One day for Alexia she leaves for Greece and she doesn't come back. The screening is in collaboration with the Festival du cinéma de Brive. The protagonist Ondina Quadri meets the public.

On July 21st it will be the turn of Insultati. Belarus by Caterina Shulha in regional premiere. The cast includes Stefano Fresi, Ambra Angiolini, Luca Argentero, Ivano De Matteo, Giacomo Ferrara.
The film is the recording of the theater piece that brings to the stage the difficult political situation that Belarus is experiencing. One of the most talented actresses of her generation, Caterina Shulha makes her directorial debut with a film that gives voice to her people and is linked to an important project in support of women and children fleeing the war in Ukraine or repression in Belarus. Director Caterina Shulha meets the public.
Two titles for the Cinema & Word Art section. On 18 July, a regional preview will be presented of Gli Altri by Daniele Salvo, with Ida Di Benedetto, Gioia Spaziani, Peppe Servillo, based on the novel of the same name by Michele Prisco, winner of the Strega Prize. An interior thriller starring a woman whose door is knocked on one day to tell her of the death of her brother. But Amelia Jandoli never had any. The director and actress Ida Di Benedetto meet the public in a talk moderated by Steve Della Casa.

On July 19th the meeting on the series, The Good Mothers directed by Elisa Amoruso and Julian Jarrold, based on the book The Good Mothers: The True Story of the Women Who Took on the World's Most Powerful Mafia by Alex Perry. Series winner of the Berlinale Series Award at the last Berlin Film Festival.
A choral tale centered on the true story of three women played by Gaia Girace, Valentina Bellè and Simona Distefano, who grew up within the most ferocious and richest clans of the 'ndrangheta, who decide to collaborate with a courageous magistrate (Barbara Chichiarelli) who works for destroy it from the inside. The director Elisa Amoruso and the interpreter Barbara Chichiarelli meet the public in a talk moderated by Laura Delli Colli in which they will talk about the transposition from the book to the series with the screening of some clips and backstage excerpts.

The Jury of the Documentary Competition will be led by Giulia Cosentino, director and screenwriter, and the director Pierfrancesco Li Donni, teachers of the Sicily branch of the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, with CSC Palermo students on the jury.
There are six documentaries in competition. Kicking off on Saturday 15th July with the world premiere of Grain – portrait of Fabio D'Emilio, by Simone Valentini, focusing on the figure of the iconic rock photographer. On Sunday 16 July, it will be the turn of Devoti Tutti by Bernadette Wegenstein in regional preview. Through magical-realist animations in the style of baroque chiaroscuro, Devoti Tutti gives the martyr Saint Agatha of Catania a voice that she never had: that of Donatella Finocchiaro. Director Bernadette Wegenstein and Donatella Finocchiaro meet the public.
Monday 17 July will be the turn of Still Standing by Mirko Pincelli. The documentary, in its national premiere, is the unpublished story of Sindh and its people: the Sindhis. Made over the course of three years in seven different countries. The province of Sindh in Pakistan was one of the cradles of civilization, as well as being the only Pakistani province that remained undivided since the partition of 1947 when the diaspora of Sindhis began who left the newly formed Pakistan with the intention of reaching India.
Tuesday 18 July will be the turn of Cocorico' Tapes by Francesco Tavella, in regional preview.
Anyone who didn't live through the nineties, during the golden age of Cocoricò, can hardly understand what that disco in Riccione meant for thousands of people. Cocoricò continues to remain a myth today, both for those who have spent entire evenings there under its legendary pyramid and for those who have only heard about it. To tell the story of the temple of techno music, there seems to be only one way: to give space to the testimonies of those nights when everything seemed possible.
The director, producers Giacomo Benini, Luca Nervegna and the performer Principe Maurice meet the festival audience.

On Thursday 20 July, a regional preview will be presented of Lala by Ludovica Fales with Samanta Paunković, Zaga Jovanović, Ivana Nikolić, Rašid Nikolić, Fiorello Miguel Lebbiati, Paola Michelini.
Lala, Samantha and Zaga are the same age, they share the same desires and dreams. They are three young Italians, who Italy does not recognize because their parents were born elsewhere. Their stories take shape in a collective journey in search of the identity of a generation denied rights. In a kaleidoscope of intersecting stories, the film becomes the manifesto of a generation, a mosaic of voices of boys and girls who are all "Lala". Director Ludovica Fales meets the public.

Friday 21 July will be the turn of After Work by Erik Gandini presented as a regional preview, it is a reflection on the space occupied by work in everyone's life and on what its possible disappearance, due to technological evolution, could entail.
After Work explores the working conditions in Korea, Kuwait, the United States and Italy and questions what the advent of robots and the spread of artificial intelligence to replace human work will entail. Director Erik Gandini meets the public.

There will be six special screenings out of competition. It starts on Sunday 16 July with the special screening of Lemons by Sophia Emmett and Theo Shorrocks which stars Emily Hinchliffe, James Leslie, Lochlan Munroe and Nino Calabretta. The screening is linked to the Young Film Academy (YKA) as part of Progetto Paradiso, a cross-cultural educational film initiative between the UK and Italy. The film was produced by students aged between 16 and 20.
After their Sicilian grandmother passes away, cousins ​​Lou, Miles and Hunter embark on a nostalgic journey to reproduce her famous lemonade recipe. As they grapple with personal ambitions and futures, their bond is tested and they are forced to confront their respective life paths. The students of the Young Film Academy meet the public.

On Wednesday 19 July, in collaboration with the Cineteca dello Strait, the Eye of Shiva will be screened. the Treasure of the Cave of the Mantovani Brothers and R. Gardenghi. This is a restoration of a film found in Ortigia, a 9,5 mm film, one of the first for home use in the 20s. Its peculiarity is that it is located on a "camera negative", that is, a film taken directly from the video camera with which the films were recorded in 1926. The exceptional thing is that it had not been edited. The director, R. Gardenghi, about whom we know nothing, had only filmed and written the editing on some pieces of paper, without ever carrying it out. It was an interesting and atypical restoration job. The film was cleaned and edited, following the director's instructions a hundred years later. The film was then digitized. The director of the Cineteca dello Strait, Maurilio Forestieri, met the public and told the story of the film.

Followed, again on Wednesday 19th, by the special screenings in collaboration with the BAFF Film Festival, of the short films Ieri by Edoardo Paganelli and Ballatoio N. 5 by Chiara De Angelis, winners of the BAFF Short Film Award 2023.
Thursday 20 July, it will be the turn of Pillirina by Fausto Cavaleri, in world premiere, with Maria Grazia Cucinotta. A work in which the ancient Sicilian legend of Pillirina lives again in the heartfelt narration of a fisherman. Her voiceover reveals that she saw a woman wandering on a promontory, that she heard her cry for her lost love at sea. The interpreter Maria Grazia Cucinotta and the hair stylist Toni Pellegrino meet the public.

Last Words by Jonathan Nossiter will be presented as a regional preview on Saturday 22 July, starring Nick Nolte, Kalipha Touray, Charlotte Rampling, Alba Rohrwacher, Stellan Skarsgård and Silvia Calderoni. Year 2085. After heavy floods have flooded and destroyed the planet, a young man embarks on a journey in search of one last community of men. The boy carries with him an enigmatic treasure: cinematographic films.

For the International Short Film Competition, the Jury will be chaired by the actress Barbara Chichiarelli together with her colleagues Rita Abela and Bruno Di Chiara. 10 short films in competition, ranging across genres and themes, with 3 regional previews and one national.
Sognando Venezia by Elisabetta Giannini, Cicatrici by Paolo Civati, Onàn by Diego Toussaint Ortiz, all in regional preview and Panic Attack by Anthony Assad in national preview. The other shorts in competition are: Manco Morto by Emma Cecala, Jocu by Marco Santi, Me and you by Valentina De Amicis, Amarradas by Carmen Córdoba González, Nica by Giuditta Vasile, Open Call by Katia Crivellari.

Four screenings for the La Voce del Mare section in collaboration with the Plemmirio Marine Protected Area. Salsedine by Riccardo Stopponi will be presented on Thursday 20 July. A journey through six Italian regions, which offers an overview of the stories, traditions and cultures linked to the fishing professions. Director Riccardo Stopponi meets the public.
The Great Connection by Christen Bac will be presented on Friday 21 July. When a fiber optic cable suddenly appears on the ocean floor, the mythological creatures gather to discuss: will this be their salvation?
Following, When the sea retreats by Francesco Lorusso, in regional preview. When the sea retreats, dancing is the only advice available, so that memories can resurface when the waves recede, revealing an otherwise submerged seabed.
Always following on July 21st is Via del Ferro by Francesco Cannavà with Fabio Pilato, in regional preview. Tormented by an illness, a man prepares for surgery by sculpting iron to make sea creatures immortal. Francesco Cannavà and the protagonist Fabio Pilato meet the public.

Ortigia Film Festival, takes place in the squares of the historic center of the city of Syracuse (Unesco World Heritage) and is included in the calendar of the most important film festivals in the Mediterranean basin. The Festival has developed a strong identity linked to Italian cinema, but at the same time, it has renewed and expanded its offering, exploring new realities in the audiovisual field and gaining space at a national and international level. The visibility and consensus obtained over the years from the institutions have allowed the festival, founded by Lisa Romano with the Sa.Li.Ro' cultural association, to receive the prestigious medal from the President of the Republic and, over the years, the support from: Mic, Sicilian Region, Department of Tourism, Sport and Entertainment, Department of Tourism, Sport and Entertainment - Sicilia Film Commission, as part of the Sensi Contemporanei project, Ars and Municipality of Syracuse, Siae, Unesco, Rai, Rai Cinema Channel. Media Partner of the 15th edition of the festival, Ciak, Cinecittà News, Cinematographe and Taxidrivers.