Italian film now has its festival in Beirut: what is its program?

The Italian Embassy in Lebanon and the Italian Cultural Institute, in partnership with the Metropolis cinema, are organizing the first edition of the Italian Film Festival, which will be held from January 24 to February 2, 2025. This first festival augurs well, we dare hopefully, of the new era of Lebanon which has always been fond of Italian cinema, which had also experienced significant growth there until the 1980s.

This new event, born from a reflection by the Italian Embassy in Lebanon in concert with the Italian Cultural Institute on the need to strengthen cultural ties between the two countries, “has a double ambition: to highlight all the diversity of contemporary Italian cinema and revisit some masterpieces of the past which continue to nourish the global cinematographic imagination,” explains the director of the Italian cultural center, Angelo Gioè. Italian films, which were legion in Lebanon, more or less disappeared with the outbreak of the civil war, so it was high time to reinstate them in a cultural landscape where they are widely appreciated, and allow the Lebanese public to discover a current and timeless vision of Italian cinematic culture. Each film offers an overview of social, cultural and economic developments that return audiences to new formats and perspectives. The Mediterranean being the common core of the two countries, which share a history rich in cultural exchanges, many young Lebanese consider Italy as a reference for their studies, particularly in the artistic and cultural fields. “Organizing an Italian film festival here means reconnecting with this tradition while adapting it to the expectations of new generations,” says Angelo Gioè.

Italy is also a strategic partner for international productions and benefits from a prestigious network of film commissions. The festival therefore highlights the opportunities offered by the country as an emblematic filming location and encourages the development of Italian-Lebanese co-productions.

11 handpicked films

The selection of the 11 films proposed, 11 unique signatures, is based on the critical interest they have aroused or on the awards won at international film festivals such as the Venice Film Festival. What do they have in common? Their ability to probe fundamental aspects of the human experience of which they transcend the context to tend towards a universality which touches everyone and to delve into the richness of modern Italian cinema which opens the exploration of new narrative and aesthetic horizons.

The festival will open with the regional premiere of Vermilion, a poignant film directed by Maura Delpero and selected for the Oscars “which perfectly represents the vitality of contemporary Italian cinema for its ability to deal with universal themes with a daring aesthetic. In contrast, we close the festival with a film concert around It’s Piccerellaa masterpiece of Italian silent cinema made in 1922 by Elvira Notari, the first Italian female director and one of the world’s pioneers,” says Angelo Gioè. For the occasion, an original electronic soundtrack, composed by Maurilio Cacciatore, will be performed live during this premiere which symbolizes the meeting point between tradition and innovation. The festival, as the Italian official underlines, aims on the one hand to give a contemporary dimension to the country presented which reflects its societal and cultural changes, and on the other hand, to offer a crucial space for dialogue from which emanates a new outlook which enriches the viewer. “But that’s not all, a festival must also celebrate diversity, create bridges and stimulate curiosity. It is a moment of encounter between art, thought and the public, a sort of living laboratory which teems with ideas and emotions. »

Among the films programmed, Light on earth (Weightless) by Sara Fgaier, a film of rare sensitivity which treats with great delicacy memory loss not only as an individual condition but as a phenomenon which transforms family dynamics. “Through a poetic gaze, this film explores how the fragility of memory can redefine human relationships by revealing buried and often inaccessible emotions,” elaborates Angelo Gioè. Another universe, another sensitivity, Despite by Valerio Mastandrea is a viscerally personal film that addresses a universal theme, the fear of death. Far from being macabre and obscure, this film achieves the feat of treating with lightness a poignant reflection on the human condition. “This approach, both intimate and universal, makes it a deeply moving work,” confides the director of the ICI. The movie IddU offers an immersion in a mafia story and marks the return of directors Fabio Grassadonia and Antonio Piazza, who, after two remarkable successes, revisit the themes of betrayal and inevitable destinies. Confidence by Daniele Luchetti, for his part, strips away the gray areas of human relationships, the reflection on links, the unsaid and the confidences in a staging that is both elegant and impactful.

The other films in the selection are: That summer with Irene (My Summer with Irene) by Carlo Sironi, Family de Francesco Costabile, Life next door (The Life Apart) by Marco Tullio Giordana, A world apart (A World Apart) by Riccardo Milani et Gloria ! de Margherita Vicario,

The festival having been prepared in November, it was almost impossible to invite directors, but it should be long-lasting and become an annual pillar of cultural exchanges between the two countries. “This festival is much more than a celebration of cinema: it is an act of sharing and rediscovery, a space where art can transcend borders and enrich our collective imaginations,” concludes the director of the Italian Cultural Institute. .

The Italian film festival takes place from January 24 to February 2 at the Metropolis cinema.

The program is available here.