The Odessa International Film Festivalis just round the corner and will be opening its doors on the 15th July 2011, it will be running for a full 8 days showing an aray of International Films. Odessa has gone rather unconventional this year where Italy is concerned, Odessa has been kind enough to screen three Italian entries, lets hear it for Odessa” hip hip hurrah”, now how they chose which of the three should be in competition however is a little bit suspect, I am putting it out there that Cetto La Qualunque has put money where his mouth is and demanded a place, Cetto gets what Cetto wants, no matter what. Yes, a surprising choise to enter in competition, when you are also screening Habemus Papam, We Have a Pope, I think you will agree.
Ok, let run with it no matter how extraordinary we might find it, Odessa is a super place for a break so why not take in a film on the way. Keep it elegant folks, elegance is the operative word in Odessa.
Jealousy is not a great threat to carry around with you, yet when you live in a village without a cinema, reading about the overflowing horn that is Rome, can make you feel just a tiny bit green. Nanni Moretti is staging his very own Film Festival, well if you have your very own cinema why not, it is the 7th edition and this year Moretti will be focusing on the newbies. If in Rome between the 5th to the 21st July 2011, have a reasonable grasp on Italian, why not swing by and take in a screening, Moretti will be present for a heated debate after each film together with the director of the film screened, never mind going a bit green, I am going fluorescent !
Why is the cinema call Nuovo Sacher ? Moretti loves Sacher Torta (smooth dark chocolate cake) and has named all his various companies ”Sacher” something or other, I know still it is his show so also his call.
Films screen are :
La pecora nera, The Black Sheep directed by Ascanio Celestini
Il primo incarico, The First Job directed by Giorgia Cecere
Tutti al mare, All at Sea directed by Matteo Cerami
Nessuno mi puo giudicare, No One Can Judge Me directed by Massimiano Bruno
Into Paradiso directed by Paola Randi
Hai paura del buio directed by Massimo Coppola
Diciottanni- Il mondo ai miei piedi, 18 – The World at my Feet directed by Elisabetta Rocchetti
Boris – Il Film directed by G. Ciarrapico, M Torre and L Vendruscolo
20 sigarette, 20 Cigaretesd directed by Aureliano Amadei
Corpo Celeste, Heavenly Body directed by Alice Rohrwacher
What a great selection of films would really love to be there for the Q&A afterwards, Moretti is a character.
Nanni Moretti has taken Cannes and the world by storm this year, his latest film Habemus Papam, We Have a Pope has so far been sold to 36 countries, that is by anyones standard a massive success. Moretti broke down in tears after the film was shown last week to an impressed audience in Cannes where it is in competition, there was a 10 minutes standing ovation and Moretti was feeling the love for sure, as he openly cried. Habemus Papam, We Have a Pope will open on the 7th September 2011 in France followed by Germany, Japan, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Israel and many other cool interesting places. Some Italian journalists slated the film and have as always played down Morettis huge International success, however I think you will agree 36 countries speaks volumes, leaving most other films in its wake. Morretti has always struggled with his compatriots, he is a little bit like Marmite, you either love him or hate him one thing is for sure you cannot ignore this mans massive success.
At last it has been released, the long-awaited film by Nanni Moretti “Habemus Papam”, “We Have a Pope”. A Black Comedy of the kind not often seen in Italy; I was ready with my lightly salted popecorn (sorry could not resist) and loosely fitted clothing, barely resisting bringing my slippers, ready to spend the evening in blessed company. Well let me set the scene for you; Aci Reale, Sicily the film broke down as in lights being turned on 3 times during showing, a mobile went off 4 times, same person who noisily went outside to talk, then returned just as noisily to tell his friend about the conversation, one brave man said “zitti” to no avail, murder however wrong was tempting and really would have been the only solution, then we had the 8 minute intervallo with adverts, I kid you not. I rather enjoyed the film but then I am not Italian, not Catholic and I just love Nanni Moretti.
Director : There are an awful lot that can be said and written about Nanni Moretti, you either love him or hate him, one thing is for sure he is known by everyone in Italy and his films are doing extremely well, not only at International Film Festivals, they are also released independently abroad. I was at the BFI in London when The Caiman was first screened, Moretti had flown over to participate in a Q & A usually a 30 minute affair led by Adrian Wotton, as we all know Festivals are often running late and when Moretti realised he would only have 15 minutes on stage, he decided to do a striptease, he started by removing his belt, then unbuttoning his trouses very slowly, then began taking them down……… I saw genuine fear in Wotton’s face, Moretti then stopped and laughed, he has balls our Italian director although we did not actually see them.
Moretti grew up in Rome and had two passions in his teenage years, his love for the Cinema and his unquenchable thirst for water-polo, he was for a period of time playing for the National Youth Team. Moretti was and still is very much anti Berlusconi and many believe that the film Il Caimano, The Caiman was about our beloved Italian PM and that it played a major role in him losing the election back in 2006. Moretti owns his very own cinema in Trastevere a quint area of Rome it is called Cinema Nuovo Sacher and is worth a visit if you are around those parts.
Moretti has produced, written screenplays, acted and directed many films here are those he is best known for : Caro diario, Dear Diary 1993 – Aprile, April 1998 – La stanza del figlio, The Son’s Room 2001 and Il caimano, The Caiman 2006.
Habemus Papam, We Have a Pope was shot in Rome and Cinecitta, the Vatican refused access to the Sistine Chapel which had to be recreated in Cinecitta studios also, the beautiful Palazzo Farnese, currently housing the French Embassy was used during filming.
Cast : Nanni Moretti, Michel Piccoli, Margherita Buy, Roberto Nobile, Jerzy Stuhr, Massimo Dobrovic, Franco Graziosi, Leonardo Della Bianca
Synopsis : We start by following the election of the new Pope by the Cardinals gathered from all over the world, they must remain inside the Vatican without access to the outside, until such time as the new Pope has been presented to the people even mobile phones are confiscated. Most of the Cardinal’s are praying that they will be passed over for the job and some look keen too keen. Our new Pope Melville (Michel Piccoli) has been elected Habemus Papam, We Have a Pope, a reluctant Pope with a mountain of self-doubt, deep depression and worried about the enormity of his responsibilities, a pope as it turned out would rather have been an Actor. We are on the balcony, the people are on Saint Peters Square in their 1000s, Billions are watching on TV, when the anguished cry from Melville rings out and frankly all hell breaks loose. Enter psychiatrist Brezzi (Nanni Moretti) the best in his field so good that even his wife also a psychiatrist divorced him for that reason alone.
The new Pope is offered first help by Brezzi, then outside help in the form of Brezzi’s ex-wife (Margerita Buy). Melville does not return to the Vatican after the first visit, leaving the “Spin Doctors” in chaos, instead he roams the streets of Rome unrecognised, I am sure there is a story very much like that of a rich prince or king doing the same. There are trials and many tribulations to follow before the end. I think Moretti was gentle with the Church and the Vatican, yes he mentioned what we all know that inside the Vatican petrol is cheaper, they have medicines which are not offered to the people of Rome as they are too costly, however as a whole I think they got of lightly. Habemus Papam, We Have a Pope has like all Morettis films opened to mixed reviews, it is in competition at this years Cannes Film Festival opening on the 11th May 2011.
Nanni Moretti will be bringing his latest film to The Cannes Film Festival opening on the 11th of May 2011 “Habemus Papam”, “We have a Pope” where it will be in competition with Paolo Sorrentino’s film “This must be the place” , “Questo e il posto” staring Sean Penn.
It would be nice to think that Italy had the only two entries into this years Cannes Film Festival, that is sadly not so although I think we have two great films, so herewith a list of the other entries in the competition :
Pedro Almodovar – La piel que habito , The skin I live in
Bertrand Bonello – L’Apollonide Souvenirs de la maison close , House of Tolerance
Alain Cavalier – Pater
Joseph Cedar – Hearat Shulayim, Footnote
Nuri Bilge Ceylan – Bir Zamanlar Anadolu’da , Once upon a time in Anatolia
Jean-Pierre et Luc Dardenne – Le gamin au vélo, Boy with a bike
Aki Kaurismaki – Le havre
Naomi Kawase – Hanezu no tsuki
Julia Leigh – Sleeping beauty
Maiwenn – Polisse
Terrence Malick – The tree of life
Radu Mihaileanu – La source des femmes , The Source
Takashi Miike – Ichimei, Hara-Kiri: death of a Samurai
Lynne Ramsay – We need to talk about Kevin
Markus Schleinzer – Michael
Lars Von Trier – Melancholia
Nicolas Winding Refn – Drive
May the best man win, as long has he was born in Italy.
There is an Italian short being shown too, I know they are often forgotten so lets hear it for Pasquale Marino, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografi and his film (17 minutes) L’estate che non viene, Till the Summer Comes.
Habemus Papam, We have a Pope, due to be released here in Italy on the 15th April 2011 is the latest offering from Nanni Moretti. I am so looking forward to this release as I understand it to be a Drama in Moretti’s own words “Contains a painful core,but wrapped in a light tone”, that does not sound like comedy to me and I am very much on the look out for Italian Films without the usual mindless comedy thrown in.
Habemus Papam, We have a Pope, is the announcement made by the senior Cardinal on presentation to the people of a new Pope at Saint Peters Square once a new pontiff has been chosen.
We follow the newly elected pope played by the french actor Michel Piccoli he is beleaguered by self-doubt, depression, deep rooted fear of responsibility, he did not wish for the this job, enter Moretti as his psychiatrist offering help and advise to this fragile man.
I am missing Silvio Orlando, who although perhaps a little too young to be a Cardinal should have had a role , I understand that the role played by Jerzy Stuhr the Polish actor/director and close friend of Moretti got the part instead…….uhmmmm.
Parallels are of course already being drawn with Pope Benedict and his troubled papacy, overshadowed by pedophilia and the coverup, of which he appear to have been involved, rumbles on. Interesting to see how the Vatican will react to this film. The Sistine Chapel was recreated in Cinecitta, as Moretti was denied access to shoot in the Vatican, many scenes are shot in Palazzo Farnese currently housing the French Embassy, awesome building.
The Odessa International Film Festival is just round the corner and will be opening its doors on the 15th July 2011, it will be running for a full 8 days showing an aray of International Films. Odessa has gone rather unconventional this year where Italy is concerned, Odessa has been kind enough to screen three Italian entries, lets hear it for Odessa” hip hip hurrah”, now how they chose which of the three should be in competition however is a little bit suspect, I am putting it out there that Cetto La Qualunque has put money where his mouth is and demanded a place, Cetto gets what Cetto wants, no matter what. Yes, a surprising choise to enter in competition, when you are also screening Habemus Papam, We Have a Pope, I think you will agree.
