16/09/2009

After the strong opening of Michele Placido’s Grande Sogno [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (third place in the box office, just over €1 from its opening weekend and a per screen average of €3,300 from 400 screens), other Italian competition titles from Venice are coming to the forefront.

Giuseppe Tornatore’s Baarìa [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], snubbed by the Venice jury headed by Ang Lee (who said, however, that he liked the Oscar winner’s new film), was triumphantly received at the Toronto International Film Festival in a special presentation. Press releases from production company Medusa speak of ten minutes of applause and audiences and photographers swooping down on the director and lead actors Francesco Scianna and Margareth Madè. Summit Entertainment has been successfully selling the film throughout the entire world.

Toronto’s Discovery section will tomorrow host another Italian Venice title, debut director Giuseppe Capotondi’s The Double Hour [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Giuseppe Capotondi
film profile], winner on the Lido of the Coppa Volpi Award for Best Actress (Ksenia Rappoport), the Pasinetti Prize to actor Filippo Timi and the Arca Award for Best Italian Film. The film will be released domestically by Medusa on October 9.

Last Monday, the prestigious Canadian showcase also premiered La Prima Linea [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Luc & Jean-Pierre Dardenne
interview: Renato De Maria
film profile], the controversial story by Renato De Maria on former terrorist Sergio Segio. Producer Andrea Occhipinti said audiences responded very well to the film.

The Italian release of La Prima Linea is set for November 27.

(Translated from Italian)