Three recent critically acclaimed Italian films, never before show locally, will be shown at the University of Memphis next month as a part of the Italian Film Festival USA.
This is the sixth year Memphis has hosted the Italian Film Festival. It is just one of 13 cities in the United States to participate in the festival.
The cities arrange their own selected Italian films to be displayed to the public. The festival runs from April 5-15, and all films will be screened at the University Center Theatre.
Barbara Klein, president of the festival, started the event with a wish to provide more of an opportunity for people to see contemporary Italian films.
“Few contemporary Italian films are shown in the Midwest, while there are many opportunities to see Italian films on the coasts, particularly in New York City and Los Angeles,” Klein said.
This will be the 12th annual Italian Film Festival USA, which aims to educate attendants about the language and culture of Italy.
The films are all shown in the original language with English subtitles below.
“Most of the cities in the festival are in the Midwest,” Klein said. “Almost all of the festival’s screenings are on university campuses, so the University of Memphis, with its wonderful Italian program, was a natural fit.”
The films are viewed and selected through a committee, who watched 107 Italian films this year before the official festival line-up was chosen.
Cosetta Gaudenzi, associate professor of Italian at the U of M, helped to coordinate the event.
“I think that professor Gaudenzi has selected the best of the lineup for showing in Memphis,” Klein said.
This year the U of M will screen three of the films from the Italian Film Festival USA lineup.
There will be two comedies shown, “Noi e la Giulia” (The Legendary Giulia) and “Se Dio vuole” (God Willing). “Noi e la Giulia” has won several awards, including best comedy in the Italian Golden Globes.
The third film is a drama, “lo, Arlecchino” (I, Harlequin).
“There is the drama “I, Harlequin,” which gives us a glimpse into the world of Commedia dell’Arte, a form of theatre characterized by masked ‘types’ that began in Italy in the 16th century,” Klein said. “One of the most famous characters is Arlecchino.”
The first film will show on April 5, with “The Legendary Giulia” at 7 p.m. “God Willing” will be shown April 12 at 7 p.m.
The festival will close out with “I, Harlequin” April 15 at 8 p.m. “We hope that the audience will be entertained by the films, come to appreciate foreign film and in particular Italian film, enjoy hearing the Italian language and learn about Italy,” Klein said.
The event is free to the public. Coffee and refreshments will be served.
