Nov 22, 2007, 16:59 GMT
Buenos Aires - Buenos Aires hosts a 'Week of Italian Cinema' from Thursday, with recent films that did not make it across the ocean on the regular commercial circuit.
This informal festival organized jointly by the cinema authorities of Italy and Argentina is bound to acquire a particular relevance.
Buenos Aires is not only known for having a cultural scene that welcomes films well beyond Hollywood, but it is also the capital of a country where some 20 million people - about half of the total population - are estimated to have at least one Italian ancestor.
'Argentina was once the main market for Italian cinema in the world,' Argentine film critic Nestor Tirri told Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa.
Tirri - the author of the 2006 book Habiamos Amado Tanto a Cinecitta (We Loved Cinecitta So Much) - stressed that renowned Italian filmmakers like Ettore Scola 'always thought of the Argentine public' when going about their works and recognized the weight of the Argentine public.
'There is a historic link,' the specialized critic noted.
Tirri recalled that the Argentine public followed the golden era of Italian cinema very closely and 'was anxious to see major Italian cinema again.'
Of current works on offer, the critic was less than enthusiastic, but still pleased.
'There is no (Federico) Fellini, there is no (Vittorio) De Sicca,' Tirri admitted.
Still, the expert acknowledged that contemporary Italian cinema, without being great, is generally good, and stressed that the factor denying Argentinians access to films from the European country on a more regular basis is pure and simply 'the market.'
But that will now change, at least for a week.
The commercial complex Cinemark Palermo will show from Thursday to Wednesday six Italian films which have been successful in Italy's box office in recent years.
Tickets will cost 10 pesos (3.20 dollars) per film, when 17 pesos is the standard price at the same complex.
Carlo Verdone's Il Mio Miglior Nemico (My Best Enemy), Cristina Comencini's La Bestia Nel Cuore (Don't Tell), Alessandro D'Alatri's La Febbre (Fever), Giovanni Veronesi's Manuale d'Amore (The Manual of Love), Pupi Avati's La Seconda Notte Di Nozze (The Second Wedding Night) and Ferzan Ozpetek's Saturno Contro (Against Saturn) will be shown to the Argentinian public for the first time.
In a parallel event, under the title 'La Meglio Gioventu' (The Best Youth), the cinema at the Museum of Latin American Art in Buenos Aires (MALBA) will show between Thursday and Sunday 12 debut features by Italian directors aged 35-40.
The museum defined these works as 'among the most important that the cinema of that country has produced in the past decade,' and set ticket prices at 9 pesos.
The MALBA will further show some animated short films by Ursula Ferrara and a restored copy of Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 feature La Battaglia Di Algeri (The Battle of Algiers).
Katia Ricciarelli, 61, will be in the Argentinian capital - where she already performed in her capacity as a renowned soprano - to present her work in Avati's film. Her performance as Liliana Vespero in the 2005 feature earned Ricciarelli the Nastro d'Argento for best actress.
Several of those whose work will be shown at the MALBA will also be in Buenos Aires over the coming week, among them directors Vincenzo Marra, Francesco Paterno, Stefano Pasetto, Daniele Gaglianone, Marco Ponti and Laura Muscardin.
On Sunday, the museum will host a roundtable discussion on Italian cinema, and it is also scheduled to welcome Pontecorvo's widow and renowned Argentine director Fernando 'Pino' Solanas.
The Italian delegation will be complete with officials from the cinema division of the Culture Ministry (MIBAC) and Filmitalia - the Cinecitta holding company created to promote Italian cinema abroad.
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