CATALOG

CATALOG

What you came to find is not there, what was yours is gone...
Cinema Paradiso

CONTENTS

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL THE DIRECTOR

Biography Filmography Interview

02

06 07 09

FESTIVAL FILMS
CINEMA PARADISO MALNA THE LEGEND OF 1900 BAARA EVERYBODYS FINE
13 23 33 41 47

SCHEDULE LOCATION
Bagheria Special event Feasts and Traditions Hotels and Restaurants

52

55 59 60

MAP

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ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

Festival Filmography
CINEMA PARADISO MALNA THE LEGEND OF 1900 BAARA EVERYBODYS FINE
The Addio, yesterday Festival looks back at the films of Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore made over the past twenty-five years. For the first time, Tornatores major works will be presented in his hometown of Bagheria, in the province of Palermo, Sicily. Filmgoers will have the opportunity to share in the lives of Tornatores characters as they return to their pasts, seeking something they have lost but cannot recapture. The festival will be held March 12 through 19, 2012 to coincide with the feast day of St. Joseph, the most important holiday in BAGHERIA. Tornatore has a deep love of his hometown and has drawn inspiration from it for many of his films, where the town is not only an environmental backdrop, but also infuses the films with a fresh and natural style. The visitors can not only enjoy the festival in Bagheria, but also will have a wonderful time with the natural beauty in Sicily. The festival sponsored by Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco.

FILM FESTIVAL | 02

THE DIRECTOR
GIUSEPPE TORNATORE

His films can be categorized as nostalgic, because as well as being retrospective in temporal and thematic terms, the affective impact of his work is also reminiscent of Classical Hollywood Cinema at its most melodramatic, a quality which occasionally borders on the sentimentality of the silent era. William Hope
GIUSEPPE TORNATORE, an Italian director, is characterized by high production values, a visual style that combines the experimental with the aesthetically polished, and by his films intimately subjective, lyrical, and often emotionally compelling narratives. He was born on May 27, 1956 in Bagheria near Palermo, Sicily. Sicilian-born Giuseppe Tornatore proved a prodigy of sorts, beginning his career as a prize-winning still photographer. While in his mid-teens, he began directing, first for the stage and then by making the short film Il Carretto/The Wagon. Eventually Tornatore caught the attention of RAI television and was hired to hem documentaries and TV movies. In 1982, he garnered attention for his documentary Ethnic Minorities in Sicily, which picked up a prize at the Salerno Film Festival. He shifted to fictional features co-writing the script to 1983s Centro Giorni a Palermo/A Hundred Days in Palermo. Three years later, he debuted his first full-length feature as director, Il Camorrista/The Professor/The Cammora Murder (1986), a drama about a journalist who runs afoul of gangsters. As he began to earn notoriety, Tornatore caught the attention of producer Franco Castaldi who nurtured what became the directors breakthrough film. When Nuevo Cinema Paradiso opened in Rome in 1988, it met with a less than stellar reception. The director, who favors long takes, worked under Castaldis prodding and guidTHE DIRECTOR | 06

ance, to cut and reshape the material. The new version debuted at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival where it was met with high praise and picked up a Special Jury Prize. A sentimental but powerful paean to the power of the movies set in Tornatores hometown, Cinema Paradiso depicted the odd friendship between a movie-loving boy and the projectionist at the local theater. Audiences around the world responded positively, particularly to its tour de force final sequence of censored clips, and the film went on to win numerous awards and prizes including the 1989 Academy Award as Best Foreign-Language Film. Stanno Tutti Bene/Everybodys Fine (1990) proved a slightly disappointing follow-up, however. Trafficking in the directors now trademarked sentimental style, the movie revolved around an aging widower (well played by Marcello Mastroianni) who decides to visit his children and learns that each has been lying to him about their lives. While the intriguing premise of depicting a parents aspirations for his children offered great potential, Tornatore tended to dilute its power by focusing more on the landscapes of his travels and Everybodys Fine was deemed a failure. After contributing a segment to the anthology film La Domenica Specialmente/Especially on Sunday (1991), the filmmaker returned to his native area to teach aesthetics at the University of Palermo. Resuming his film

Filmography

Lultimo gattopardo: Ritratto di Goffredo Lombardo (2010) Baara (2009) The Unknown Woman (2006) Malna (2000) The Legend of 1900 (1998) Ritratti dautore (1996)

The Star Maker (1995) Lo schermo a tre punte (1995) A Pure Formality (1994) Especially on Sunday (1991) Everybodys Fine (1990) Cinema Paradiso (1988) Il camorrista (1986)

career in 1994, Tornatore wrote, directed and edited the fascinating, if eccentric, thriller Una Pura Formalita/A Pure Formality. Dropping his usual sentimentality, he instead focused on a cat-and-mouse game of interrogation between a police inspector (Roman Polanski) and a suspected murderer (Gerard Depardieu). While the setting was mostly held to a poorly lit room in the local police station, the director managed to make the proceedings interesting not only through his expert editing and fluid camera movement but also by eliciting strong performances from his two leads. Slipping back into his usual style, Tornatore next fashioned LUomo delle Stelle/The Star Maker (1995), what many see as a companion piece to Cinema Paradiso. Returning to the Sicily of the 1950s, the titular character is a con man who preys on the hopes and dreams of villagers by pretending to be a talent scout. Complications ensue when an aspiring actress stows away in his van and the pair embark on a romance. Ravishingly photographed by Dante Spinotti and featuring a lovely score by Ennio Morricone, it earned a 1995 Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. For his next major film, Tornatore turned to a one man stage monologue for inspiration. A modern fable about a musical prodigy who spends his entire life on board

the ship on which he was born, The Legend of 1900/ La Leggenda del Pianista sullOceano/The Legend of the Pianist on the Ocean (1998) marked Tornatores first English language film. Lushly scored by Morricone and starring Tim Roth as the adult musician, it debuted in Italy with a running time of nearly three hours. Critics hailed several of the set pieces (most notably a piano duel between Roths character and Jelly Roll Morton, played by Clarence Williams III) but felt the overall narrative was too slight to handle the epic-like treatment afforded. Even in its US debut in 1999, with nearly an hour cut and a new title (The Legend of 1900), many still felt the simple story was overblown.

THE DIRECTOR | 07

INTERVIEW WITH
GIUSEPPE TORNATORE
By Amaury Prez, 01 / 12 / 2010

Amaury Prez: Welcome to the TV program Contracorriente. We are in the ICAIC study, in Prado and Trocadero streets, in the heart of Havana City, and great Italian filmmaker Giuseppe Tornatore accompanies us with an overwhelming kindness. Good night, thanks for coming to Cuba. I had the opportunity to watch Baaria at the premiere in Havana. Without free flattery, I confess that I left the theatre in shock. Arent you afraid that the profession kills the innocent child and the young of your early films? Giuseppe Tornatore: No, I am well aware that sometimes giving much importance to the profession, technique, can empty the content of the story. I have always tried to exorcise the risk because my guide and my background in my work are the people, their feelings, and their destinies. I always try to safeguard the emotions authenticity in my actors, my characters, my stories, making the best of techniques, but preventing they prevail, which would be an unforgivable mistake. AP: I feel a beautiful relationship among Cinema Paradiso, Malena and Baaria. For example, I remember that the character of Cinema Paradiso says this place is mine, and then in Malena it is said change dollars. Do you accept among these three films there is a relationship? GT: Thats right. I have not thought of it in Malena, but I must confess that Cinema Paradiso and Baaria are totally connected. There are two stories are linked each other. AP: When I watched the copy of Cinema Paradiso for first time, I realized that there were 54 more minutes. You said in an interview that producer Franco Cristaldi had requested a shorter version, and there is even a female character that disappeared off the best known version of this film. What is that?

GT: The first time the film came to light it was a disaster. It did not like anyone. The film lasted long. They said that the lack of success was because it was too long. I was just pleased, actually, because I believed much in that film. I was convinced that the length was the problem to some extent, and I cut an entire chapter, a great cut. When the protagonist, already grown, returns to the country and found the girl, all this sentimental brackets was deleted. The film had a huge success of criticism, the public and especially the market. It was bought by many countries, and from that moment on the film became a huge success that never ends since 20 years ago, and every time I go to a country, to submit any of my films, the fourth question of the journalist is Cinema Paradiso. Then, thanks to the U.S. producer and distributor of the film, we made a DVD with the original version. AP: You have worked with great actors: Marcello Mastroianni, Gerard Depardieu, Roman Polanski...a huge list, but with newcomers like Monica Bellucci and Ksenia Rappoport. How do you handle the fact that actors often speak different languages? GT: Working with actors is what I love the most in my profession. I love them a lot and try to protect them, because I can make a mistake in my films: as to the clothing or the scenery, or lights, but if my actors are in perfect harmony with the character I have written, the film can be saved. I can make the best photography of the world, the most beautiful, but if my actors do not know how to restore the essence of my characters, everything falls in deaf ears. So I try to find actors who better fit my characters. If a character leads me to a great actor, I look for him or her. But if the character has the characteristics of the unknown,

THE DIRECTOR | 09

I can make the best photography of the world, the most beautiful, but if my actors do not know how to restore the essence of my characters, everything falls in deaf ears. Giuseppe Tornatore
such as in La sconosciuta, I can go out and look around the world to find that person that convinces me. One of the most interesting aspects of a film is the pursuit of the actor, fair face, fair voice, and a look that should restore the true essence of the character. AP: Do you always do the casting? GT: Always. AP: There is a subject that can not be disregarded, the subject of Tornatore Morricone. Can you conceive your movies without Ennio Morricones music? GT: If I had to mention the thought of Ennio Morricone, my answer is yes. You can imagine my movies without the Morricones music. He has a very disappointed vision of the relationship between image and music related to image. However, I am pretty much convinced of what he does, and how important is the code that allows you to find an effective and harmonious relation with the film soundtrack. Having said all this, the relationship with Ennio is quite important. We have both a high affinity. I love music very much, but I can not write it or read it. To make myself understood, I must resort to long puns, allegories he manages to collect and transfer into music. We have worked hard. Our collaboration has been very complex in each of films because we do not feel pleased with ease. We always try to find the best solution and we never give anything for granted. We started working on the musical score for the film long before shooting begins. AP: The other day at the Riviera movie theatre, when we met, I asked you for your project Leningrad. There has been speculation in the Spanish press that you have not started to shoot it because you are waiting for Nicole Kidman. Is it true? GT: I have worked and Im still working on a script that started in 2004. I have never stated that I had thought of Nicole Kidman, she was the one who talked to the journalists. The film has not been done for other reasons. At that time (2004), I had thought of her and Nicole was very excited about the project. In the future, perhaps I do it with Nicole, or just another actress.

THE DIRECTOR | 10

CINEMA PARADISO
(1988)

MARCH 12, 2012 2PM 4PM

AWARDS
OSCAR, 1990, Best Foreign Language Film SILVER CONDOR, 1991, Best Foreign Film AWARD OF THE JAPANESE ACADEMY, 1991, Best Foreign Film CANNES FILM FESTIVAL, 1989, Grand Prize of the Jury GOLDEN GLOBES, 1991, Best Foreign Language Film

CAST

Marco Leonardi Jacques Perrin Philippe Noiret Antonella Attili Enzo Cannavale Isa Danieli Leo Gullotta Pupella Maggio Agnese Nano Leopoldo Trieste Salvatore Cascio Tano Cimarosa Nicola Di Pinto Roberta Lena Nino Terzo

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Salvatore Tot Di Vita - Teenager Salvatore Tot Di Vita - Adult Alfredo Maria Di Vita - Younger Spaccafico Anna Usher Maria Di Vita - Older Elena Mendola Father Adelfio Salvatore Tot Di Vita - Child Blacksmith Village Idiot Lia Peppinos Father

CINEMA PARADISO | 13

SYNOPSIS
During the 1980s in Rome, Italy, famous Italian film director Salvatore Di Vita (Jacques Perrin) returns home late one evening, where his girlfriend sleepily tells him that his mother called to tell him that someone named Alfredo (Philippe Noiret) has died. It is made clear that Salvatore tends to shy away from committed relationships and that he has not been back to his home village of Giancaldo, Sicily in 30 years. As she asks him who Alfredo is, Salvatore flashes back to his childhood. The bulk of the film takes place in this flashback, which takes place shortly after World War II in the late 1940s. We meet Salvatore, the mischievous, highly intelligent son of a war widow. Six-year-old Salvatore, nicknamed Toto, discovers his love for films early and spends every free moment at the local moviehouseCinema Paradiso, where he develops a friendship with the fatherly projectionist, Alfredo, who takes a shine to the young boy and often lets him watch movies in the projection booth. In the several scenes of the movies being shown, there is frequent booing from the audience, during the censored sections. The films suddenly jump, missing a critical kiss or embrace. The local priest has ordered that these sections be cut out. They lie on Alfredos floor. At first, Alfredo had seen Toto as a pest, but eventually he teaches Salvatore how to operate the film projector. The montage ends as the moviehouse catches firefilm in those days was made of highly flammable nitrocellulose. Salvatore saves Alfredos life, but not before the film reels explode in Alfredos face, leaving him permanently blind. The Cinema Paradiso is rebuilt by a citizen of the town, Ciccio, who invests his football lottery winnings in it. Salvatore, though still a child, is hired to be the new projectionist, as he is the only one in town who can run the machines. The film abruptly jumps forward a decade or so. Salvatore, now in high school, is still the projectionist at the Cinema Paradiso. His relationship with the blind Alfredo has

only strengthened, and Salvatore often looks to him for adviceadvice that Alfredo often dispenses by quoting classic films. We also see that Salvatore has started experimenting with filmmaking using a home movie camera, and has met, and captured on film, a new girl, Elena, daughter of a wealthy banker. We watch Salvatore wooand winElenas heart, only to lose her due to her fathers disapproval. As Elena and her family move away, Salvatore leaves town to serve his compulsory military service. His attempts to write her and keep in touch are fruitless; his letters are always returned as undeliverable. Upon his return from the military, Alfredo urges Salvatore to move away permanently, counseling him that the town is too small to enable Salvatore to ever find his dreams. Moreover, the old man tells him that once he leaves, he must pursue his destiny wholeheartedly and never look back and never returnnever returning to visit, never to give in to nostalgia, never to write or think about them. Back in the present, we understand that Salvatore has obeyed Alfredo but is now returning home for the first time since he left to attend the funeral. Though his hometown has changed greatly, he now understands why Alfredo thought it was so important that he leave. Alfredos widow tells him that the old man followed Salvatores successes with pride and has left him somethingan unlabeled reel of film and the old stool that Salvatore once stood on to be able to operate the projector. Salvatore comes to know during his short stay, that Cinema Paradiso is being demolished to give way to city parking lots. As he looks at the proceedings, he recognizes many of the people who he had seen in the younger days as a projectionist at the Cinema. Salvatore returns to Rome. At this point in the 123-minute release, he watches Alfredos reel and discovers that it is a very special montage. It is of all the kiss scenes that the priest ordered to be cut out of the reels. Alfredo has spliced all the sequences together to form a single film. It finally seems that Salvatore has made peace with his past.

Living here day by day, you think its the center of the world. You believe nothing will ever change. Then you leave: a year, two years. When you come back, everythings changed. The threads broken. What you came to find isnt there. What was yours is gone.
Cinema Paradiso

CINEMA PARADISO | 16

CINEMA PARADISO | 17

There is no future, theres only the past. Even meeting last night was nothing but a dream, a beautiful dream.
Cinema Paradiso

REVIEW
By Roger Ebert / March 16, 1990 Chicago, SunTimes

Giuseppe Tornatores Cinema Paradiso, takes place in Sicily in the final years before television. It has two chief characters: old Alfredo (Philippe Noiret), who rules the projection booth, and young Salvatore (Salvatore Cascio), who makes the booth his home away from an indifferent home.
There is a village priest in Cinema Paradiso who is the local cinemas most faithful client. He turns up every week like clockwork, to censor the films. As the old projectionist shows the movies to his audience of one, the priest sits with his hand poised over a bell, the kind that altar boys use. At every sign of carnal excess which to the priest means a kiss the bell rings, the movie stops and the projectionist snips the offending footage out of the film. Up in the projection booth, tossed in a corner, the lifeless strips of celluloid pile up into an anthology of osculation, an anthology that no one will ever see, not in this village, anyway. As the patrons line up faithfully, night after night, for their diet of films without kisses, the boy watches in wonder as Alfredo wrestles with the balky machine that throws the dream-images on the screen. At first Alfredo tries to chase Salvatore away, but eventually he accepts his presence in the booth and thinks of him almost as his child. Salvatore certainly considers the old man his father, and (this is the whole point) the movies as his mother.I wonder if a theater has ever existed that showed such a variety of films as the Cinema Paradiso does in this movie. Tornatore tells us in an autobiographical note that the theater in his hometown, when he was growing up, showed everything from Kurosawa to the Hercules movies, and in Cinema Paradiso we catch glimpses of Charlie Chaplin, John Wayne and of course countless Hollywood melodramas in which men and women look smolderingly at one another, come closer, seem about to kiss, and then (with the jerk of a jump-cut) are standing apart, exchanging a look of deep significance. We become familiar with some of the regular customers at the theater. They are a noisy lotrude critics, who shout suggestions at the screen and are scornful of heroes who do not take their advice. Romances are launched in the darkness of the theater, friendships are sealed, wine is drunk, cigarettes smoked, babies nursed, feet stomped, victories cheered, sissies whistled at, and god only knows how this crowd would react if they were ever permitted to see a kiss. The story is told as a flashback; it begins with a prominent film director (Jacques Perrin) learning in Rome that old Alfredo is dead and making a sentimental journey back to his hometown. Then we see the story of the directors childhood and his teenage years, where he is played by Marco Leonardi. The earliest parts of the movie are the most magical. Then things grow predictable: There are not many rites of passage for an adolescent that are not predictable and not so many original ways to show the death of a movie theater, either. Tornatores movie is a reminder of the scenes in Truffauts Day for Night, where the young boy steals a poster of Citizen Kane. We understand that the power of the screen can compensate for a deprived life and that young Salvatore is not apprenticing himself to a projectionist, but to the movies. Anyone who loves movies is likely to love Cinema Paradiso, and there is one scene where the projectionist finds that he can reflect the movie out of the window in his booth and out across the town square so that the images can float on a wall, there in the night above the heads of the people. I saw a similar thing happen one night in Venice in 1972 when they showed Chaplins City Lights in the Piazza San Marco to more than 10,000 people, and it was then I realized the same thing this movie argues: Yes, it is tragic that the big screen has been replaced by the little one. But the real shame is that the big screens did not grow even bigger, grow so vast they were finally on the same scale as the movies they were reflecting.

CINEMA PARADISO | 20

MALNA
(2000)

MARCH 13, 2012 2PM 4PM

AWARDS

OSCAR, 2001, Best Cinematography, Best Music, Original Score BAFTA FILM AWARD, 2001, Best Film not in the English Language GOLDEN BERLIN BEAR, 2001, Best Cinematography GOLDEN SWANN, 2001, Best Costume Design GOLDEN GLOBE, 2001, Best Foreign Language Film

CAST

Monica Bellucci Giuseppe Sulfaro Luciano Federico Matilde Piana Pietro Notarianni Gaetano Aronica Gilberto Idonea Angelo Pellegrino Gabriella Di Luzio Pippo Provvidenti Maria Terranova Marcello Catalano Elisa Morucci

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Malna Scordia Renato Amoroso Renatos Father Renatos Mother Professor Bonsignore Nino Scordia Avvocato Centorbi (as Gilberto Idone) Segretario politico Mantenuta del Barone Dott. Cusimano Moglie Dott. Cusimano Lieutenant Cadel Lupetta

MALNA | 23

SYNOPSIS

The film is set in Sicily in 1940 during World War II just as Italy enters the war. Malenas husband, Nino Scordia, leaves to serve in the military. She learns that her husband has been killed. Malena tries to cope with her loss, as the town she has moved to tries to deal with this beautiful woman who gets the attention of all the local men, including the 12-year-old Renato. However, in spite of the gossip, she continues to be faithful to her husband. Renato becomes obsessed with Malena and starts fantasizing about her. She visits her father, an almost deaf professor of Latin, regularly and helps him with his chores. When a slanderous letter reaches his hands, their relationship suffers a catastrophic blow. In the meanwhile, the war worsens. The village is bombed and Malenas father is killed. She eventually has no money. The wife of the local dentist takes her to court, but Malena is acquitted. The only man Malena does have an innocent romance with, an army officer, is sent away. Malenas poverty finally forces her to become a prostitute. When the German army comes to town, Malena gives herself to Germans as well. Renato sees her in the company of two German officers and faints. His mother and the older ladies think that he has been possessed and take him to church for an exorcism. His father however takes him to a brothel; Renato has sex with one of the prostitutes while fantasizing that she is Malena. When the war ends, the women gather and publicly beat and humiliate Malena, who leaves for Messina. A few days later, Nino Scordia returns, to the shock of all the residents. He finds his house occupied by people displaced by the war. Renato tells him through an anonymous letter about Malenas whereabouts. Nino goes to Messina to find her. A year later, they return. The villagers, especially the women, astonished at her courage, begin to talk to Signora Scordia with respect. Though still beautiful, they think of her as no threat claiming that she had wrinkles near her eyes and put on some weight. In the last scene near the beach, Renato helps her pick up some oranges that had dropped from her shopping bag. Afterwards he wishes her Buona fortuna, Signora Malena (good luck, Mrs. Malena) and rides off on his bicycle, looking back at her for a final time, as she walks away. As this final scene fades out, an adult Renatos voice-over reflects that he has not forgotten Malena, even after the passage of so many years. He says, Of all the girls who asked me to remember them, the only one I remembered is the one who did not ask.

Of all the girls who asked me to remember them, the only one I remembered is the one who did not ask.
Malna

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MONICA BELLUCCI
Interviewed by James Mottram, BBC Film 4 April, 2010
JM: Do you think Malena is about jealousy? MB: Yes, but also envy. Envy is human nature. Everything in this film is not just a portrait of a Sicilian village during the 1940s or a portrait of beauty, but I think its a portrait of envy and how envy can destroy relations between human beings. In this case, it was beauty, but it couldve been anything else. To be beautiful was just a metaphor. JM: Has beauty ever been a handicap for you? MB: It is a handicap if youre stupid, but not if you are intelligent and know how to use your beauty. I feel fine and comfortable with myself, but not because Im beautiful. I know many beautiful people and their lives are just so terrible. They feel so uncomfortable with themselves. Being comfortable is not about what you look like, but how you feel. Im a lucky person because Ive been loved a lot. I have a great family. JM: What was the challenge in making Malena for you, bearing in mind you have few words in the film? MB : The idea of the film was a challenge. I wanted to see if I could make this part exist just by a body. It was possible to do it. Theres so many things that come out of Malena. I learned how a body could speak. Acting is not words. Holly Hunter didnt speak in The Piano, and she won an Oscar. Its the film that Guiseppe Tornatore wanted to direct. You just contribute the performance.

MALNA | 27

REVIEW
By Roger Ebert / March 16, 1990 Chicago, SunTimes

Giuseppe Tornatores Malena tells the story of a woman whose life is destroyed because she has the misfortune to be beautiful and have a great butt. The film torturously tries to transform this theme in scenes of comedy, nostalgia and bittersweet regret, but somehow we doubt its sincerity, maybe because the camera lingers so lovingly on the callipygian charms of the actress Monica Bellucci.
There is noting quite so awkward as a film that is one thing while it pretends to be another.The setup scenes are like low-rent Fellini. In a Italian town in 1940, a group of adolescent boys waits for the beautiful Malena to pass by. She is all they can imagine a woman could be, arousing their imaginations, and more, with her languorous swaying passage. Malena, who is a schoolteacher and of at least average intelligence, must be aware of her effect on the collective local male libido, but seems blissfully oblivious; her role is not so much dramatic as pictorial. The story is told by Renato (Giuseppe Sulfaro), who as the movie opens is admitted to the local fraternity of girl-watchers. They use Malena as subject matter for their autoerotic pastimes, but for Renato, she is more like a dream, like a heroine, like a woman he wants to protect from herself--with his bare hands, hopefully.The story involves Malenas bad luck after her husband is called up by the army and her good name is sullied by local gossip. She must abandon her teaching job because of the unjustified scandal and eventually is reduced by wartime poverty to dating German soldiers. This descent in the world requires her to spend a great deal of time half-dressed before Tornatores appreciative camera. She continues to shine brightly in Renatos eyes, however, even after his field of knowledge is broadened when his father takes him to a bordello for the old I give you the boy give me back the man routine. Fellinis films often involve adolescents inflamed by women who embody their carnal desires. (See Amarcord and 8 1/2. Please.) But Fellini sees the humor that underlies sexual obsession, except in the eyes of the participants. Malena is a simpler story, in which a young man grows up transfixed by a woman and essentially marries himself to the idea of her. It doesnt help that the movies action grows steadily gloomier, leading to a public humiliation that seems wildly out of scale with what has gone before and to an ending that is intended to move us much more deeply, alas, than it can.

MALNA | 28

Signora Malena, a more capable person than me... wrote that the only true love is unrequited love. Now I understand why. Its been so long since you last came out of your house. But the longer we are apart, the stronger my love becomes.
Malna

MALNA | 29

GIUSEPPE SULFARO
Interviewed by Kid In The Front Row. BBC Film 8 June, 2010

KITFR: When did you first know you wanted to be an actor? GS: It all started when my aunt read in a newspaper that Tornatore was looking for the protagonist of his new movie with Monica Bellucci. My aunt has always been convinced since I was a child that I had very expressive eyes, so I took pictures and sent them to the production, and from there began the road that allowed me to discover this world, which was completely unknown but fantastic at the same time. Tornatore began to select 2500 photos of kids from here and summoned 90. These 90 kids he met for an interview, where he liked to tease my adolescence! The first was followed by another two or three, the second meeting was a test on hand, from the 90 kids we were then 40. In the next audition an actress took the place of what would be Monica Bellucci. From 40 actors we were down to 9, then another meeting with Tornatore, who chose three finalists, then a video with the 3 finalists was sent to Miramax. Miramax was also thrilled with me, so from that day, I was catapulted into the world of cinema for a year. KITFR: In Malena. Its amazing that your performance was so perfect, considering you were only 14. What was the experience like for you?

GS: It was the best year of my life, I was away from home for about one year, I followed my father as I was underage, I did not go to school but when I went to the production, I kept in touch with my teachers, so I could integrate school. Filming began in September. I was the youngest and most spoiled, even though my father was very hard with me, but he understood the time and sometimes turned a blind eye and let me do what I liked. KITFR: Giuseppe Tornatore is such an amazing writer and director. What is his directing style like? And how would he direct you? GS: Initially, before six months of shooting, me and Tornatore talked about much of the script in general and, once we started filming every night we met and talked of the work to be done the next day. Sometimes Monica attended, this was so Monica and I gained great confidence that would help us in the hottest scenes, other times I let the scenes play at my leisure and if there was something he did not like we would talk about it and try to reach an agreement. I was very young and had my first experience at the cinema, he was very patient with me, as I was with him, since he is very meticulous and precise, sometimes too much. Tornatore carefully thought how to complete the whole film, as the attention to

MALNA | 30

detail in dubbing and editing... sometimes the perfectionism borders on madness! KITFR: Im trying to think of what it would be like to be 14 and working with Monica Bellucci. Was it exciting? Scary? With Monica I had a great relationship from the beginning. We talked about everything, obviously being 14 years old, after a couple of days you will begin meetings with Monica Bellucci to fall in love; this she understood and maintained this relationship of complicity to facilitate the work later. Well I was glad of this, Monica greeted me every morning with a little kiss on the lips, and it made me feel like her husband Vincent Cassel [Giuseppe smiles]. The film was turning into reality a reality that I knew would fade when the film was released. This was good and made me feel safer at work, sometimes I feel Monica and I remember with great joy and satisfaction the moments spent with her. KITFR: What to say more?!?! I was 14 when they called me to make the film and I had never seen a live naked woman, the first was Monica, now you can understand my teenage years. [the memory makes Giuseppe smile] it was a special and wonderful experience. Recently you have been doing TV work, which most of us

dont get to see in other countries. What have you been working on? GS: A couple of years ago I was in a film by Krzysztof Zanussi The Black Sun nothing special, but always a great experience. Then I was in Greece to shoot a film in original Greek, which was a good challenge; I was there for three months learning Greek just for the script. The film screenplay was nice, but technically quite poor even though the budget was not so strangely low ... but always an experience. I recently worked in Italy for a fiction with Thrence Hill, do not know if you know it, the new series will resume in December for another year. KITFR: Do you think you will always work in Italy, or would you like to work elsewhere? GS: If I had to leave Italy and learn another language, after acting in Greek it does not scare me or anything ... almost. KITFR: What Film Director would you most like to work with? GS: To be honest I do not have a favorite director to work with, the important thing is to work... but if I have to say a few names there are many like Pupi Avati, Ettore Scola, Giovanni Veronesi, Gabriele Muccino, Neri Parenti.

MALNA | 31

THE LEGEND OF 1900

(1998)

MARCH 14, 2012 2PM 4PM

AWARDS

EUROPEAN FILM AWARD, 1999, Best Cinematographer GOLDEN GLOBE, 2000, Best Original Score Motion Picture GUILD FILM AWARD SILVER, 2000, Foreign Film SILVER RIBBON, 1999, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Producer GOLDEN SATELLITE AWARD, 2001, Best Art Direction, Production Design

CAST

Tim Roth

...

Danny Boodmann T.D. Lemon Nineteen Hundred Max Tooney Danny Boodmann Jelly Roll Morton The Girl Farmer Pops, the Shopkeeper Harbor Master Mexican Stoker Neapolitan Stoker Black Stoker (as Femi Elufowoja Jr.) Chinese Stoker Irish Stoker Polish Stoker Boatswain

Pruitt Taylor Vince Bill Nunn

... ...

Clarence Williams III ... Mlanie Thierry Gabriele Lavia Peter Vaughan Niall OBrien Alberto Vazquez Luigi De Luca Femi Elufowojo Nigel Fan Roger Monk Leonid Zaslavski Bernard Padden ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

THE LEGEND OF 1900 | 33

SYNOPSIS

Shortly after the Second World War, Max, a transplanted American, visits an English pawn shop to sell his trumpet. The shopkeeper recognizes the tune Max plays as one on a wax master of an unreleased recording, discovered and restored from shards found in a piano salvaged from a cruise ship turned hospital ship, now slated for demolition. This chance discovery prompts a story from Max, which he relates both to the shopkeeper and later to the official responsible for the doomed vessel, for Max is a born storyteller. Though now down on his luck and disillusioned by his wartime experiences, the New Orleans-born Max was once an enthusiastic and gifted young jazz musician, whose longest gig was several years with the house band aboard the Virginian, a posh cruise ship. While gaining his sea legs, he was befriended by another young man, the pianist in the same band, whose long unlikely name was Danny Boodman T.D. Lemons 1900, though everyone just called him 1900, the year of his birth. Abandoned in first class by his immigrant parents, 1900 was found and adopted by Danny, a stoker, and raised in the engine rooms, learning to read by reading horseracing reports to his adoptive dad. After Dannys death in an accident, 1900 remained on the ship. Increasingly lured by the sound of the piano in the first-class ballroom, he eventually became a gifted pianist, a great jazz improvisationist, a composer of rich modern music inspired by his intense observation of the life around him, the stories passengers on all levels of the ship trusted him enough to tell. He also grew up to be a charming, iconoclastic young man, at once shrewd and oddly innocent. His talent earned him such accolades that he was challenged by, and bested Jelly Roll Morton in an intense piano duel that had poor Max chewing paper on the sofa in agonies of suspense. And yet for all the richness and variety of his musical expression, he never left the ship, except almost, once, in the aftermath of his infatuation with a beautiful young woman immigrant who inspired the music committed to the master Max discovers in the pawnshop. Max realizes that 1900 must still be on the ship, and determines to find him, and to find out once and for all why he has so consistently refused to leave.

Winter comes, you wish it was summer. Summer comes, you live in dread of winter. Thats why we never tire of travel.
The Legend of 1900

THE LEGEND OF 1900 | 34

ACTORS DISCUSS
By Ellen A. Kim, Hollywood.com Staff Wednesday, August 29, 2001

The fable went like this: A baby is born and abandoned aboard an ocean liner. Named for the year in which he was born, 1900 grows up on the ship, displays an extraordinary gift for music and becomes a legendary pianist, entertaining throes of passengers at a time.

After reading the rough translation of Bariccos monologue, Roth signed on, eager to play a different type of character. [He] had a purity and angelic quality and was very nave, Roth said. I liked that. It also gave Roth the chance to reteam with Clarence Williams III, his co-star in 1997s Hoodlum. Williams plays the only real-life character in the film, jazz pianist Jelly Roll Morton. Hearing of 1900s brilliance, Morton boards the ship, and the two face off in a tense piano duel. But the actors previous acquaintance made filming easier. We can work as actors as shorthand, Williams said of Roth.

But he has no proof of his existence; he belongs nowhere. His world is the ship, and he never sets foot on land.
The tale, written as a dramatic monologue by Italian novelist Alessandro Baricco, found itself in the hands of Giuseppe Tornatore, director of the Oscar-winning Cinema Paradiso. Tornatore expanded the story into an epic-size feature, and the result is The Legend of 1900 . Tim Roth, often seen in gritty, violent roles in films such as Pulp Fiction , Reservoir Dogs and Rob Roy, for which he was nominated for an Oscar, takes a surprising turn as the gentle, innocent title character.

We do have long discussions, but its not about the performance. We have long discussions about that restaurant across the street ... or what were gonna eat that day. But when we walk onto that soundstage, hes already prepared, Im already prepared, and we put it together.
Clarence Williams

I was getting a bit bored with myself and have been for some time, I think it happens to actors after a while, so I was looking for something different.
Tim Roth

THE LEGEND OF 1900 | 36

Surrounded by jazz musicians in his youth, Williams said Jelly Rolls fictional bit can be easily infused with the reality of the times. This was something that he could do better than anybody on the planet in his mind, Williams said. And coming out of a very, very segregated situation at that time in our country, and having to put up with less-than-stellar behavior by his fellow citizens. ... But he had this jewel. This was his. This separated him from the herd. ... You wanna come into my place? I cant go into your place, but you come into my place and Im king, and I mean it. And I will prove it night after night after night, by being better than anybody who would sit on that piano bench. The films unique circumstances are told through the eyes of Max, a trumpet player and 1900s best friend. For the role, Tornatore chose Pruitt Taylor Vince, star of 1995s Heavy and a veteran of small roles in Dr. Doolittle , Beautiful Girls and the television drama Murder One, for which he won an Emmy.

But he has no proof of his existence; The challenge for Vince, as well as the others, included acting with instruments none of them knew how to play. Roth says he left the technique up to the magic of special effects and focused on his character separate from the piano.
I had to get the man right, Roth said. So you work on that, his place in that world; and then the piano is something thats an extension of him. He plays in the way that he thinks. So is the quiet, genteel dreamer Roths new character type? Roth, who plays a clairvoyant hypnotist in his next project, says he wont rule out revisiting his villainous side, but he now looks at his future choices with more caution. Im a bit more wary of the gun thing, especially living in America in general, Roth said. So, I will take that very seriously. I dont want to do the childish route for that, except if it was a big old shoot-em-up Western type of thing, which is quite clearly for fun. But Ive got to be very careful about that kind of stuff now.

I thought it was just the most beautiful thing Id ever read, And the fact that it was Giuseppe Tornatore and Tim Roth. So, at first I was so blown away by the idea of this man handing me the role of the storyteller in this giant epic of his. After I got over that, I had to face playing it.
Pruitt Taylor Vince

THE LEGEND OF 1900 | 37

THE LEGEND OF 1900 | 38

REVIEW
By Roger Ebert / March 16, 1990 Chicago, SunTimes

Because life is at such hazard, we value those who lead their lives all in one place, doing one thing. Such continuity is reassuring. We are buffeted by the winds of fate, but the Trappist tills his field and the blacksmith stands beneath his tree. There is a certain charm in the notion of a man who is born on board an ocean liner and never gets off. He does not move, yet is never still.
The mans full name is Danny Boodmann T.D. Lemon 1900. That is because as a squawling infant he was discovered on the luxury liner Virginian by a man named Boodmann, in a lemon box, in the year 1900. He is reared in the engine room, his cradle swaying as the ship rolls, and as an adult plays piano in the ships lounge. And what piano! So great is his fame that even the great Jelly Roll Morton comes on board for a duel.1900 is played as an adult by Tim Roth, he of the sad eyes and rueful grin. Night after night he sits at his keyboard, as crews change and ports slip behind. His best friend is Max (Pruitt Taylor Vince), a trumpet player in the ships orchestra, and his story is told through Maxs eyes. It begins almost at the end, when Max finds an old wax recording in an antiques shop, and recognizes it as 1900s love melody to the only woman who almost got him to leave the ship.The movie was directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, whose Cinema Paradiso was much beloved in 1988. Like a lot of European directors, he despairs of ever finding large U.S. audiences with subtitles, and shot this movie in English. The Legend of 1900 nevertheless seems mournfully, romantically Italian, and could be an opera. There is something heroic about a man whose whole life is ruled by the fixed idea that he must not step foot on dry land.There is also something pigheaded and a little goofy. That side of 1900 seems to lurk just out of sight in scenes like the one where he and Jelly Roll pound out tunes in what seems more like a test of speed and volume than musicianship. We sense, as 1900 plays, that he loves music less than himself that he is defending not his ability as a pianist but his decision to stay on the ship: See, he seems to be saying, I never went to New Orleans and yet look at my fingers fly.Decades come and go. Fashions change. 1900 remains steadfast even during the war. Then one day something happens to stir him to his fundament. A woman comes on board. The Girl, for so she is called, is played by Melanie Thierry as an angelic vision who never pauses on the deck unless she is perfectly framed by a porthole directly in the sight line of the moody pianist. It is true love. It must be: It gets him halfway down the gangplank.There is a mystery to an ocean liner. It is vast, yet self-contained. It has secrets, but they can be discovered. Somewhere even today, hidden on the Norway, which used to be the France, is a private first-class courtyard. You can find it. 1900 is the secret of the Virginian, whose shadows and secret passages he haunts like the hunchback of Notre Dame or the phantom of the opera.His story was originally written not as a screenplay or a novel, but as a monologue, by Alessandro Baricco. The film has inevitably been compared to Titanic , but has more in common with the little-known French film A Chambermaid on the Titanic (1997), about a man who wins a free ticket on the Titanic. The night before sailing, he is seduced by a woman who says she works on the ship. Does she? Or does she only want to steal his ticket? The monologue he makes of his experience grows in popularity until he has to perform it professionally.

THE LEGEND OF 1900 | 39

BAARA
(2009)

MARCH 15, 2012 2PM 4PM

AWARDS

DAVID DI DONATELLO AWARDS, 2010, Best Director EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS, 2010, Best Film FLAIANO FILM FESTIVAL, 2010, Best Cinematography, Best Editing GOLDEN GLOBE, 2010, Best Foreign Language Film VENICE FILM FESTIVAL, 2001, Best Director

CAST

Francesco Scianna Margareth Mad Raoul Bova Giorgio Faletti Leo Gullotta Nicole Grimaudo Gabriele Lavia ngela Molina Enrico Lo Verso Nino Frassica Luigi Lo Cascio Aldo Beppe Fiorello Ficarra

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Peppino Torrenuova Mannina Roman journalist Corteccia Liborio Sarina as a girl Teacher Sarina Minicu Giacomo Bartolotta Beggards son Speculator (as Aldo Baglio) Dollar selle Nino (as Salvatore Ficarra) Haberdasher

Donatella Finocchia ...

BAARA | 41

SYNOPSIS

The film recounts life in the Sicilian town of Baara, from the 1920s to the 1980s, through the eyes of lovers Peppino (Francesco Scianna) and Mannina (Margareth Mad). A Sicilian family depicted across three generations: from Cicco to his son Peppino to his grandson Pietro. Touching lightly upon the private lives of these characters and their families, the film evokes the loves, dreams and disappointments of an entire community in the province of Palermo over five decades: during the Fascist period, Cicco is a humble shepherd who, however, finds time to pursue his passion: books, epic poems, the great popular romance novels. In the days when people go hungry and during World War II, his son Peppino witnesses injustice by mafiosi and landowners, and becomes a communist. After the war, he encounters the woman of his life. Her family opposes the relationship because of his political ideas, but the two insist and get married, and have children. Subplots include one about a boy running an errand, a living fly locked inside a top, three rocks people try to hit in one throw, a man mutilating himself to avoid having to fight in the war, looting while the US conquers Sicily, making clothing from a US parachute, and Peppinos daughter calling her father a fascist for not allowing her to wear a mini-skirt. Running through the film however is the main subplot concerning the history of the Italian left, especially the Communist Party of which Peppino is a life long member. It charts his fight against injustice and eventual disillusionment in the face of corruption and compromise by his fellow politicians.

VENICE FILM FESTIVAL KICKS OFF WITH BAARIA

By Geoffrey MacNab Thursday, 3 September 2009
VENICE: The Venice film festival kicked off on Wednesday with Italian director Giuseppe Tornatores Baaria, a sentimental journey to his Sicilian hometown in an epic covering three generations. Sounds, people, frustrations, dreams, happiness, challengesI thought all of these themes could be turned into a movie, Tornatore told a news conference after the press screening at the 66th Mostra in the lagoon city. He said turning 60 had finally pushed him to complete a long-planned project, which spans the Fascist period, World War II, the rise of the Italian Communist Party and the first decades of the post-war era. Ennio Morricone, who scored the spaghetti westerns of Sergio Leone, wrote the soundtrack for Baaria more than 20 years after that of Cinema Paradiso, which won the Oscar for best foreign film in 1989. Noting that he spent the first 27 years of his life in Sicily, Tornatore said, Thats how I see things. Its my take on life. Describing the film as allegorical, the director said, All those who were born in a small town will find similarities.... We should recover our sense of duty, the ability to teach our children how important it is to forge a relationship with the rest of the community. Since both leads are SiciliansFrancesco Scianna was born in Bagheria (nicknamed Baaria) itselfthey are native speakers of the islands dialect. With a cast of many homegrown stars, including Monica Belluci who offers a cameo appearance as a prostitute, Italians will feast on a red carpet bonanza at the gala opening on Wednesday evening.

BAARA | 42

BAARA | 43

BAARA | 44

REVIEW
By Roger Ebert / March 16, 1990 Chicago, SunTimes

Guiseppe Tornatores latest is a true magnum opus. Set over the course of one hundred years in the Torrenuova family, at times, it feels a curious hybrid of D.H. Lawrence and Steven Spielberg shot through a Marxist prism. It achieves moments of exquisite cinema aided by gorgeous cinematography and great performances.
You sense this is Tornatores most personal work. He weaves a sprawling tapestry to create a working class epic paying tribute not only to his old neighbourhood Bagheria (Baara is the slang term), but the Sicilian national character. Hes proven to be a highly influential film-maker since the late 1980s with his focus on romanticised depictions of his countrys culture and way of life. What makes Tornatores film riveting is its dreamlike retelling of a country going from feudalism to modern politicisation wrapped around a good old-fashioned family saga.The performances are as perfect as they are stereotyped with the focus mainly on Peppino Torrenuova (Francesco Scianna), who goes from goat herder to member of the Italian parliament. We get to experience life under fascism, during wartime and the postwar building of a new society. Its not all politics. Theres the romance between Peppino and his gorgeous wife Mannina played by Sicilian model Margareth Mad and their daily struggles. Peppino spends all his time dreaming of a make believe utopian Russia, however, returns disillusioned but not disheartened by Communism. It unsettles his nerve but not his convictions. He knows the working classes and poverty stricken residents need protecting and representing. Hes their man. The great surprise twist is kept for the end when a young Peppino wakes up in modern day Palermo and walks around Baara. While it isnt entirely logical since what went before, it is audacious and certainly within the spirit of the film. Its a little bit like the stunt pulled by Paul Thomas Anderson at the end of There Will Be Blood. Radical perhaps, but it works. At the end of the film, Peppinos son asks his father, Why do people think were hotheaded? Peppino replies, Maybe because we are. Or we try to embrace the world but our arms are too short. Opening and closing with a young boy running through the streets as the camera glides and tracks, the sense of exhilaration and life is superbly captured. Baara is a cine-love letter to a neighbourhood and homeland. It might be one of the prettiest ever composed.

BAARA | 45

EVERYBODYS FINE
(1990)

MARCH 16, 2012 2PM 4PM

AWARDS

PRIZE OF THE ECUMENICAL JURY, 1990, Best Director DAVID DI DONATELLO AWARDS, 1991, Best Music (Migliore Musicista) SILVER RIBBON, 1991, Best Original Story (Migliore Soggetto Originale)

CAST

Marcello Mastroianni Michle Morgan Valeria Cavalli Marino Cenna Norma Martelli Roberto Nobile Salvatore Cascio Leo Gullotta Antonella Attili Ennio Morricone Fabio Iellini

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Matteo Scuro Woman in train Tosca Canio Norma Guglielmo Alvaro enfant Uomo armato sul tetto Matteos Mother Conductor Antonello

EVERYBODYS FINE | 47

SYNOPSIS

Matteo Scuro, a retired Sicilian bureaucrat and opera buff, has been stood up by his five adult children during the summer vacation, all of whom live in various cities on the Italian mainland with what he believes are responsible jobs. Despite their not visiting and the neighbours criticisms, he remains optimistic, considering that his children could not come because they are too busy. His children are named after popular opera characters, Tosca for Puccinis Tosca, Canio for Leoncavallos Pagliacci, Norma for Bellinis Norma, Guglielmo for Rossinis Guglielmo Tell and Alvaro for Verdis La forza del destino. He decides to surprise each of them with a visit, traveling by train, and finds none of them as he imagined, with each of his children seeming to reflect the opera character after whom they were named. Matteos train journeys take him to Naples, Rome, Florence, Milan and Turin to search for each of his children; he even spends one night on the streets among the homeless. Before his arrival at each of their homes, each of his grown children scramble to put on a facade to cover up their personal failings: One daughters ex-husband temporarily moves back in with her and their child. A son who lost his University professorship temporarily moves back into his old office. Another daughter hides the fact that she works as a lingerie model, etc. Finally after visiting all his children, Scuro returns to Sicily, visits his wifes grave, and reports to her with irony that their children are all fine.

The story of Matteos quest is simply told, but within it Tornatore creates an affecting vision of societal change and a web of complex emotions and connections among his characters.
Joe Brown

EVERYBODYS FINE | 49

REVIEW
By Joe Brown Washington March 16, 1990 Post Staff Writer

Following the international success of Cinema Paradiso, Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore comes back with Everybodys Fine, another bittersweet charmer.
As lyrical as Cinema Paradiso , and also concerned with aging, memory and irrevocable change, its a delicate, moving film (quite literally moving it was filmed at 75 urban and rural Italian locations, which is reason enough for seeing it). And in addition to an abundance of laughter, tears and memorable images, it leaves the viewer haunted by questions: Why must our families shatter and scatter? How is it possible, when city dwellers live so closely together, with so much to busy them, for people to die of loneliness? The scent of lemon trees wafting from the country tells peppy grandpa Matteo Scuro that Sicilian summer is near. Matteos fondest wish is to have his brood around his dinner table again, like in the old days, and he tells his unseen wife about a surprise he has planned for their five children he has rented five seaside bungalows for a family vacation. But the now-grown children (he named them for opera characters) are involved in their own lives and cant spare the time to return to Sicily. So Matteo (adorably played by white-haired Marcello Mastroianni in thick glasses that make his eyes look huge as a cartoon mouses) decides to visit them. By surprise. Bidding his wife farewell, provincial Matteo leaves Sicily for the first time, on a trip that takes him to Naples, Rome, Florence, Milan, Turin . . . Quietly stunning images evoke the beauty and chaos and alienation of modern Italy of any modern city. With wonder and sadness Matteo watches city workers sweep up the corpses of hundreds of birds who have dashed themselves in apparent confusion to the pavement; traffic is brought to a standstill and a host of commuters silently witness an elk standing defiantly in the freeway; elderly pensioners waltz around an eerie twilight ballroom. In a moviemaking marvel of technique and control, large crowds of urban extras freeze in place whenever Matteo calls his son Alvaro, only to reach his answering machine. The story of Matteos quest is simply told, but within it Tornatore creates an affecting vision of societal change and a web of complex emotions and connections among his characters. Matteo brought his kids up to be somebody; now, to protect him and avoid disappointing his high hopes, they play happy family for him, fooling him about what their lives have come to. Youll want to phone home as soon as Tornatores autumnal adagio ends.

EVERYBODYS FINE | 50

SCHEDULE

CINEMA PARADISO

March 12, 2012

2pm 4pm

A famous film director returns home to a Sicilian village for the first time after almost 30 years. He reminisces about his childhood at the Cinema Paradiso where Alfredo, the projectionist, first brought about his love of films. He is also reminded of his lost teenage love, Elena, who he had to leave before he left for Rome.

Location: VILLA PALAGONIA 2 nd floor

MALNA

March 13, 2012

2pm 4pm

On the day in 1940 that Italy enters the war, two things happen to the 12-year-old Renato: he gets his first bike, and he gets his first look at Malna. She is a beautiful, silent outsider whos moved to this Sicilian town to be with her husband, Nico. He promptly goes off to war, leaving her to the lustful eyes of the men and the sharp tongues of the women. During the next few years, as Renato grows toward manhood, he watches Malna suffer and prove her mettle. He sees her loneliness, then grief when Nico is reported dead, the effects of slander on her relationship with her father, her poverty and search for work, and final humiliations. Will Renato learn courage from Malna and stand up for her?

Location: VILLA PALAGONIA 2 nd floor

EVERYBODYS FINE | 52

THE LEGEND OF 1900 March 14, 2012

2pm 4pm

Max is a retired trumpet player, trying to sell his old instrument in a shop and ends up telling the tale of his best friend, Danny. Born on a ship at the start of the new century, Danny is taken in by a ship crew and was raised as his own son. After his stepfather died from an accident below deck, Danny is entranced by the sound of piano playing during an evening party. Late that night, the crew and the passengers are dumbfounded to hear Danny playing the piano effortlessly. And there, his career started as 1900, the legendary piano virtuosso, who has never ever set foot on dry land.

Location: VILLA PALAGONIA 2 nd floor

BAARA

March 15, 2012

2pm 4pm

The film begins in the 1920s, in the Sicilian town of Bagheria (a.k.a. Baaria) where Giuseppe Peppino Torrenuova works as a shepherd to financially help his poor family. Over the next 50 years Giuseppes life, as well as the life of the village, is observed. Giuseppe grows up, joins the Communist Party, marries a local girl (Mannina), has children and forges a political career for himself.

Location: VILLA PALAGONIA 2 nd floor

EVERYBODYS FINE

March 16, 2012

2pm 4pm

Matteo Scuro is a retired Sicilian bureaucrat (responsible mainly for the writing of birth certificates), a widower with five children, all of whom live on the mainland and hold responsible jobs. He decides to surprise each with a visit and finds none as he imagined. The film is a veritable travelogue across contemporary Italy, as Matteo journeys to Napoli, Roma, Firenze, Milano, and Turino to search for each of his children; he even spends one night on the streets among the homeless. Scuro returns to Sicily, visits his wifes grave, and reports with irony that stanno tutti bene.

Location: VILLA PALAGONIA 2 nd floor

EVERYBODYS FINE | 53

LOCATION BAGHERIA
Bagheria is a town and comune in the Province of Palermo in Sicily, Italy.
Baaria is Sicilian slang for Bagheria. Since its founding, the town has gone by the names of Bayharia, Baharia, and Baara. In 1658 Giuseppe Branciforti, Prince of Butera and former Viceroy of Sicily, built a large villa and established the region as the preferred location for villeggiatura by Palermitan elite. Villas like the fortified Villa San Marco (designed by Andrea Cirrincione) with angled bastions and a drawbridge soon followed. The area experienced a boom in villa building roughly coinciding with the period of Savoyard (171321) and Habsburg (172130) rule and continuing for several decades thereafter. The two most striking baroque residences, Villa Valguarnera and Villa Palagonia were designed by the architect Tommaso Maria Napoli in 1712 and 1715 respectively. Both were completed only decades later. Napoli had been influenced by his experiences in Rome and Vienna and this is reflected in his designs. Other architects and clients like Giuseppe Mariani and the Prince of Aragona also looked to prints of Roman exemplars when constructing the Villa Aragona in 1714. By 1763 tastes were changing. The Villa Villarosa, supervised by the young G.V. Marvuglia, was directly modelled on more neoclassical plans published by Jean-Franois Neufforge in 1760. In 1769 one of the descendants of the original Prince of Butera redesigned his estate into a well planned town, allowing him to collect rents from the inhabitants. Bagheria was a preferred stopping point for Europeans pursuing the Grand Tour in Sicily including Patrick Brydone, Goethe, John Soane, K. F. Schinkel and many others.

LOCATION | 55

VILLA PALAGONIA
The film festival will be held at Villa Palagonia. All the festival films will be shown in the hall of the Villa Palagonia March 12 16.
The Villa Palagonia is a patrician villa in Bagheria, 15 km from Palermo, in Sicily, southern Italy. The villa itself, built in 1715 by the architect Tommaso Napoli with the help of Agatino Daidone, is one of the earliest examples of Sicilian Baroque. However, its popularity comes mainly from the statues of monsters with human faces that decorate its garden and its wall, and earned it the nickname of The Villa of Monsters. This series of grotesques, created in 1749 by Francesco Ferdinando II Gravina, Prince of Palagonia, aroused the curiosity of the travellers of the Grand Tour during the 18th and 19th centuries, for instance Henry Swinburne, Patrick Brydone, John Soane, Goethe, the Count de Borde, the artist Jean-Pierre Houl and Alexandre Dumas, prior to fascinating surrealists like Andr Breton or contemporary authors such as Giovanni Macchia and Dominique Fernandez, and the painter Renato Guttuso. This superb and eccentric villa was already visited by famous travellers in the 17th century, who considered it the most original in the world and famous throughout Europe. Its construction began in 1715, on behalf of Don Ferdinando Gravina and Crujllas, 5th prince of Palagonia, peer of the realm, knight of Toson doro, a prestigious honour bestowed by the king of Spain. The visitors who come to the festival will not only see fantastic films, but also have an opportunity to enjoy and explore the historical magic of Villa Palagonia.

LOCATION | 56

SPECIAL EVENT

March 17-19

FEASTS AND TRADITIONS

Join the biggest event in Bagheria. Not only can you see and taste them, but you can dip into the colors and flavors of the towns past during the feast of the patron saint, St. Joseph.
The festival of St. Joseph is currently held on March 19 every year, a date that was chosen in order to allow Sicilian emigrants in other parts of the world to return and take part in the historical and folk memories of the town. But people will start on March 17. Amid the sounds of the tammurinara(drummers), and the colors of nougat and nut stands (turrunara and caliara), the folklore of Sicilian carts and the carters songs fill the streets of the town. The joy and excitement of the experience is like breathing magic air, as layers of history and past cultures arouse intense emotions in the visitor. The event culminates in a sensational fireworks display. On that day, the town inevitably comes to a standstill as residents assist in the procession of the simulacrum. There is also a large wood bonfire on the eve of the procession. The celebration of St. Joseph is a manifestation of the anthropological phenomenon of the contradictions of man, perpetually poised between the sacred and the esoteric, befitting an ancestral culture. Not to mention the prominence of gastronomy in these celebratory events, where the traditional Sicilian sweets known as sfince, soft pockets of fried pastry stuffed with sweet ricotta cheese and chocolate bits and topped with candied fruit, are a main attraction.

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HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS

While driving through the suburbs of Bagheria, you get the feeling that the architects fantasy conciously freed itself of any thinkable stylistic limits: buildings with bizarre shapes, painted in the strangest of colours rise up side by side with more traditional buildings in yellow tufaceous stone. All of them put together, however, give life to an incongruous but at the same time picturesque sight. Maybe theres something special in the air, something that once infected also the Prince of Palagonia, one of Bagherias most famous characters, the instigator of the mansion of the monster the principle attraction to this town. While sightseeing, you cannot miss the fantastic hotels and resraurants in the small town. Some of them are very special you can enjoy the great views while watching great films. Kafara Hotel and Villa Scaduto Residence are the best choice of hotels when you come to Bagheria. They offer the best views and service. Antica Pasticceria Don Gino and Don Ciccio are restaurants you should not miss. They not only offer the regional food, but also let you take in the authentic atmosphere of daily life in Bagheria.

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KAFARA HOTEL
Litoranea Mongerbino, 90010 Bagheria, Sicily, Italy
PRICE

$68 $80 Avg. price/night The Kafara Hotel, a few kilometers from Palermo, overlooks the sea at Capo Zafferano. The evocative natural panorama is coupled with the archaeological wonders of Solunto. The hotel is distinguished by its style, comfort and exceptional service - all enhancing your stay in this marvelous setting.
CHECK-IN : 2 p.m. CHECK-OUT : 11 a.m.

AMENITIES

Barbecue grill(s) | Elevator/lift | Fax machine Garden | Poolside bar | Private beach Restaurant(s) in hotel | Swimming pool - childrens Swimming pool - outdoor | Umbrella
RECREATION

Bicycle rentals | Playground | Rowing or canoeing Table tennis | Tennis

CONTACT

+39 091 957377 www.kafarahotel.it

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VILLA SCADUTO RESIDENCE

Corso Baldassare Scaduto, 9/11, 90011 Bagheria, Sicily, Italy
PRICE

$44 $72 Avg. price/night The residence is an ideal location for a relaxing vacation: just 6 miles from Palermo and a short walk from Bagheria, a town famous for its many Baroque-style villas. In Bagheria you can also visit Villa Palagonia, renowned for its marble work, curved faades and complex external staircase. On the first floor you will enjoy the wine bar and bistro, which offers tables out on the hotel grounds, where you can sample a welcome drink or a quick snack.
CHECK-IN : 2 p.m. CHECK-OUT : 11 a.m.

AMENITIES

Barbecue grill(s) | Elevator/lift | Fax machine Garden | Poolside bar | Private beach Swimming pool - childrens | Swimming pool - outdoor

RECREATION

Bicycle rentals | Playground | Rowing or canoeing Table tennis | Tennis

CONTACT

+39 091 984567 www.villascadutoresidence.it

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ANTICA PASTICCERIA DON GINO

Via del Cavaliere 87, Bagheria, Sicily, Italy
PRICE

$47-$60

The bar was founded in 1949 as a small kiosk next to Villa Palagonia Bagheria offering drinks, fried iris and ice cream. Over the decades, the locale grew to a full restaurant, with especially delicious pastries. The restaurant was renovated in 2010 and today the menu includes a rich variety of regional dishes.

OPEN TIME : 9am9pm GOOD FOR : Local cuisine CUISINES : Bakery DINING OPTIONS : Breakfast / Brunch

CONTACT

+39 091 968770 www.pasticceriadongino.it

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DON CICCIO
Via Dante, 66, 90011 Bagheria, Sicily, Italy
PRICE

$29-$37

La Trattoria Don Ciccio was founded in 1943 and the tradition of Bagherian cuisine has been passed down from father to son. The menu includes traditional dishes and house specialties, starting with pasta with sardines, to charcoal broiled meats from sausage to steak Palermo, and a tempting winesoaked orange and banana dessert.

OPEN TIME : 10am11pm GOOD FOR : Local cuisine CUISINES : Italian, Seafood DINING OPTIONS : Breakfast / Brunch / Dinner

CONTACT

+39 091 968770 www.pasticceriadongino.it

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MAP
FESTIVAL VILLA RESTAURANT HOTEL

N W S E

VILLA PALAGONIA Piazza Garibaldi 31-90011 Bagheria, Palermo, Italyly ANTICA PASTICCERIA DON GINO Via del Cavaliere 87, Bagheria, Palermo, Italy

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KAFARA HOTEL Litoranea Mongerbino, 90010 Bagheria, Palermo, Italy

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DON CICCIO Via Dante, 66, 90011 Bagheria, Palermo, Italy

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VILLA SCADUTO RESIDENCE Corso Baldassare Scaduto, 90011 Bagheria, Palermo, Italyly

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