The 14th Festival of Italian Cinema in Singapore has been a major success with film goers. The 10-day event presented the best movies of 2015 along with a series of “classics”, including Federico Fellini’s masterpiece “8½“, co-presented by the Italian Institute of Culture with the Institut Français de Singapour to celebrate the 120th anniversary of Gaumont, which co-produced the film.
The Italian Film Festival was held at the historic National Museum of Singapore, an official partner of the event with Golden Village Cinemas and the Singapore Film Society. The opening ceremony was attended by Italian ambassador, Paolo Crudele, EU ambassador, Michael Pulch, the president of the Singapore Film Society, Kenneth Tan, the director of the Singapore Chinese Film Festival, David Lee, and many representatives of institutions and the world of culture. The opening film was “Italo”, by young director Alessia Scarso, who attended the screening as a guest of honour. The evening ended with a lively discussion with the director, who was praised by the 250-strong audience.
Films on the programme
Also on the festival programme were “An Italian Name” by Francesca Archibugi, “Mafia and Red Tomatoes” by Giulio Manfredonia, “My Mother” by Nanni Moretti, “Blood of My Blood” by Marco Bellocchio, “God Willing” by Edoardo Falcone, “Wondrous Boccaccio” by the Taviani Brothers and “First Light” by Vincenzo Marra. The classics section included digitally restored masterpieces presented at the last Venice Festival: “Rocco and His Brothers” by Luchino Visconti and “I Mostri” by Dino Risi, and Fellini’s masterpiece.
