ITALIAN FILM FESTIVAL 2009 (4 - 10 JUNE)
TICKETING INFORMATION
Ticketing opens 21 May. Tickets at $10 each ($9 for SFS members).
Book your tickets online at http://tickets.cathay.com.sg or at The Picturehouse Box Office located at Level 5 of The Cathay, 2 Handy Road, Singapore 229233.
PIANO SOLO (Piano Solo)
Screenings:
Thursday 4 June at 7.15pm
Wednesday 10 June at 9.15pm
synopsis
"Piano Solo" is the passionate and haunting true story based on the life of jazz pianist Luca Flores. A tragic destiny already awaits Luca on a road in Africa when, at a very young age, he sees his mother perish in a car accident. Luca Flores becomes an acclaimed figure on the Italian and international jazz scenes, appearing with legendary greats such as Chet Baker and Dave Holland. The beautiful pianist’s music is spellbinding, irresistible, as inescapable as an obsessive theme. From the novel by Walter Veltroni "Il disco del mondo – Vita breve di Luca Flores, musicista".
GOOD MORNING HEARTACHE (Riprendimi)
Screening:
Thursday 4 June at 9.15pm
Monday 8 June 9.15pm
synopsis
Two filmmakers begin to track every intimate moment in the lives of struggling actor Giovanni and his wife, Lucia, who works freelance as a film editor. Yet, this film study on precarious existence is suddenly shattered by deep emotion and simple human truth, as cruel as it is banal, when Giovanni walks out on Lucia and their infant right before the camera. The camera continues relentlessly filming the couple despite this unexpected real life crisis, and Lucia’s solitude and heartache are mercilessly dissected by the lens of cameraman Eros. Eros’ tenderness and admiration grows day by day as he observes Lucia’s uncompromising participation in everything life brings. And it is the precious beauty of loyalty and commitment, when this happens between two people, that can make the solitary journey of a strong young woman finally perfect and complete.
THE WIND BLOWS ROUND (Il vento fa il suo giro)
Screening:
Saturday 6 June at 7.30pm
synopsis
A small mountain village in the Occitaine Alps is gradually dying out, its income and the livelihood of its ageing population only maintained by the summer tourist season. Into this small, tight knit and conservative community comes a French shepherd, bringing his young family, his goats and his entrepreneurial skills as cheese-maker. Initially he is welcomed, if not with open arms, then at least with the sense that his arrival could reinvigorate village life. But the newcomer's experiences start to turn sour as misunderstandings multiply and the villagers begin to resent the intrusion his family and business cause to their oh so quiet lives.
DAYS AND CLOUDS (Giorni e nuvole)
Screening:
Sunday 7 June at 2.45pm
synopsis
The story of Elsa and Michele, a respectable well-off couple, but the bottom drops out of their world. Michele suddenly confesses that he has been out of a job for two months, having been dismissed by the very company he himself had created years before. Shocked by the crisis, Elsa suddenly seems to draw upon new energy to face the situation. Michele, on the other hand, completely discouraged by his vain attempts to find another job, completely loses control, swinging from futile wild hopes to listless apathy. The abyss between Elsa and Michele grows greater and greater, finally bringing them to the verge of a break up. Life for Elsa and Michele will certainly not be easy as they face the unknown and very different future, yet perhaps that future may even be for the better.
SKYLARK FARM (La masseria delle allodole)
Screening:
Saturday 6 June at 2.45pm
synopsis
Turkey, 1915: the Avakians are a rich Armenian family. Meanwhile, the political situation has grown more acute. Since coming to power in 1913, the government of Young Turks has made it their goal to create one vast Turkish empire; when in May Italy and France enter into an alliance against Turkey and Austria, the Young Turks order the massacre of the Armenian people. Aram and his family are discovered in their hiding place. The men are murdered and the women are forcibly deported. Their march will surely mean their death. Based on the Novel “Skylark Farm” by Antonia Arslan.
A WHOLE NEW LIFE AHEAD (Tutta la vita davanti)
Screening:
Friday 5 June at 7.15pm
Tuesday 9 June at 9.15pm
synopsis
Marta has just graduated from University. She is knowledgeable and has a quiet disposition. After going on several job interviews, she finds work as a telephone operator at a call center for a company which sells household appliances, and ventures into a world of young telephone operators and mad salesmen, motivational dances, company jingles, prize-givings, cheering and arranged punishments. Adapted from the novel "Il mondo deve sapere - Romanzo tragicomico di una telefonista precaria" by Michela Murgia.
THE GIRL BY THE LAKE (La ragazza del lago)
Screening:
Friday 5 June at 9pm
synopsis
It is eight o’clock in the morning: Mario, a deranged local young man, convinces young Marta to follow him to his farm, and the alarm goes off immediately. Inspector Sanzio, an experienced policeman, who recently moved to that remote area comes to the town. The younger collegue Siboldi, born in those valleys, becomes his guide also to get to know the family ties and relationships of that small community. The two of them, accompanied by Alfredo, Sanzio’s loyal collegue since his time in homicide, will have to stay in town because another crime is about to be committed; a crime probably connected to one of the families in the village, born from a sentimental or emotional tie: everyone that Sanzio meets and interrogates could be potential killer. The inspector enters into the story with unusual participation: even his own family is crossed by a sharp pain that runs parallel to the investigation. Based on the novel "Don’t look Back" by Karen Fossum.
BILLO, THE GRAND DAKHAAR (Billo, il gran Dakhaar)
Screening:
Sunday 7 June at 7.30pm
synopsis
Leaving behind his mother, his fiancée and his marabout (religious advisor), Senegalese tailor Billo sets off for Rome to make it big in the fashion world. Struggling at first, he eventually hooks up with a group of sympathetic Italians, and good things start to happen; he’s safe, settled and even selling his old clothes. Then a call from Senegal arrives, telling him that everything is set for his upcoming wedding but Billo in Italy has met Laura...
SCREENING SCHEDULE
| Screening Date | Time Show | Film Title | Runtime | Rating |
| Thursday 4 June | 7.15pm | Piano Solo | 104 mins | M18 (Some nudity and disturbing scenes) |
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| 9.15pm | Good Morning Heartache | 93 mins | M18 (Scenes of intimacy) | |
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| Friday 5 June | 7.15pm | A Whole New Life Ahead | 89 mins | R21 (Nudity and sexual scenes) |
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| 9pm | The Girl By The Lake | 95 mins | PG (Brief Nudity) | |
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| Saturday 6 June | 2.45pm | Skylark Farm | 122 mins | NC16 ( Some violence) |
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| 7.30pm | The Wind Blows Round | 110 mins | PG | |
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| Sunday 7 June | 2.45pm | Days And Clouds | 115 mins | M16 (Some course language and sexual references) |
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| 7.30pm | Billo, The Grand Dakhaar | 90 mins | ||
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| Monday 8 June | 9.15pm | Good Morning Heartache | 93 mins | M18 (Scenes of intimacy) |
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| Tuesday 9 June | 9.15pm | A Whole New Life Ahead | 89 mins | R21 (Nudity and sexual scenes) |
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| Wednesday 10 June | 9.15pm | Piano Solo | 104 mins | M18 (Some nudity and disturbing scenes) |
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- Information provided is correct at time of printing and subject to changes due to circumstances beyond the festival organisers’ control.
- All films come with English subtitles.
