Nov 16, 2015
SFFILM
San Francisco, CA — New Italian Cinema, presented by the San Francisco Film Society; New Italian Cinema Events of Florence, Italy; the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco; and the Consulate General of Italy, San Francisco, wrapped up a five-day run dedicated to celebrating the rich cinematic tradition of Italy and bringing the country’s newest directors and films to audiences in San Francisco. At a special Closing Night presentation, Jonas Carpignano’s Mediterranea was selected to receive the NICE City of Florence Award.
“This is a real honor and I am happy that the film resonated so much with the audience in San Francisco,” said Carpignano. “I’m looking forward to sharing it in Florence. And of course, thanks so much to the San Francisco Film Society for their support of this film throughout its development.”
The NICE City of Florence Award was decided by audience ballots from San Francisco screenings of films in competition and announced at the Closing Night award ceremony Sunday, November 15 by Rod Armstrong of the Film Society and Viviana del Bianco of New Italian Cinema Events. The festival also gave special recognition to Matteo Bini and Giorgio Pasotti’s I, Harlequin, to acknowledge the film’s extraordinary audience support and immense cultural value.
This year’s New Italian Cinema opened on November 11 with sold-out screenings of the Taviani brothers’ Wondrous Boccaccio and Paolo Sorrentino’s Youth, and closed on Sunday with a rousing presentation of Nanni Moretti’s Mia Madre. Attendance was excellent throughout the festival, with the Vogue Theatre filled to capacity for eight screenings throughout its run. Notable filmmaker appearances included Matteo Bini, co-director of I, Harlequin (Io, Arlecchino); Marco Pontecorvo, director of Partly Cloudy with Sunny Spells (Tempo instabile con probabili schiarite); and Alessia Scarso, director of Italo (Italo barocco).
New Italian Cinema is presented in collaboration with New Italian Cinema Events (nicefestival.org) and the Italian Cultural Institute, San Francisco; and the Consulate General of Italy. Additional sponsorship is provided by BAIA; Cloud4Wi; Comune di Firenze; Fondazione Sistema Toscana; MiBACT; and Regiona Toscana. Special support provided by John and Karen Diefenbach. Media sponsors are KQED, SF Weekly, San Francisco Examiner and SF Evergreen.