The fifth edition of the Italian Film Festival Ireland returns to Galway from Saturday, April 25.
It presents a rich and eclectic programme of contemporary Italian cinema to audiences in Dublin, Cork, Galway and Limerick.
Organised by the Italian Institute of Culture in collaboration with New Italian Cinema Events (NICE ), and supported by the Embassy of Italy in Ireland, the festival aims to strengthen cultural exchange through Italian cinema.
This year’s programme presents a carefully curated selection of films that have been featured at major international festivals, including the Venice Film Festival, the Cannes Film Festival and the Rome Film Festival.
For Galway audiences, the programme opens with La valle dei sorrisi at the Eye Cinema on Saturday, April 25 at 6pm.
Set in the picturesque village of Remis, a teacher uncovers a disturbing ritual hidden behind apparent collective happiness. The film is follwed by a Q&A with the director Paolo Strippoli. At 20:45, Duse, by Pietro Marcello, portrays Eleonora Duse’s return to the stage between war and fascism, transforming performance into resistance.
On Sunday, April 26, at 4pm, Primavera, by Damiano Michieletto, unfolds in 18th-century Venice, where a young violinist’s talent is awakened by Antonio Vivaldi. Later, at 6.30pm Fuori, by Mario Martone, follows writer Goliarda Sapienza through prison and friendship that restores her voice. The programme closes with Città di Pianura (at 8.45pm ), by Francesco Sossai, a road movie across the Venetian plains where chance encounters reshape lives.
All films will be screened in Italian with English subtitles.
Tickets and info at www.nicefestival.org
