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SCHERMI D'AMORE 2008: LOVE IN PROGRESS

Twelve years of tradition and experimentation, ranging from the classic to the post-modern, from the lessons of great maestros to the innovations of their students: a journey through images to discover the most hidden corners of melodrama, from cross-over to tributes. Schermi d'Amore is, above all, an unrepeatable opportunity to learn more about the most original aspects of romantic cinema; a festival which has always been able to bring forgotten films back into our lives, put the spotlight on new talents on the international cinema scene and, last but not least, explore trends and lifestyles.
 
Now in its 12th year, the Festival (organized by Verona City Council's Department of Culture, with funding from the Ministry of Culture and the Veneto Regional Council, and the support of the main sponsor, Calzedonia) opens with a film which represents its essence: «A subtle and courageous work, even the title of Il y a longtemps que je t'aime - Philippe Claudel's film, which we have chosen to open this year's Schermi d'Amore» says Artistic Director, Paolo Romano, «contains two elements we consider emblematic of our Festival.  The first is time, the passage of time; while the second and fundamental one is love.» A feeling which has been the main theme throughout the past twelve years, uniting the elements of this versatile genre. After all, every story can contain elements of love, whether they are told by great maestros like George Cukor, or in films made by those who are keeping the tradition alive, like  François Ozon.
A parallel journey through all the sections, in which «veterans find themselves side by side with newcomers», continues Paolo Romano, «And that is why our traditional section "Women's Eyes" is missing this year, since its spirit runs through the entire programme from the opening film to the last one on the bill. In fact these two films offer yet another example of symmetry: Claudel's intimate sisters contrast with Justin Chadwick's rival sisters in The Other Boleyn Girl.»

Bringing a fresh element to the Festival, alongside the traditional sections, is a new event relating to new media: «Special attention will be focussed on new forms of expression»,  says the councillor for culture,  Erminia Perbellini, «through MINILab, dedicated to music video production - an industry in which Verona is the national frontrunner - and I Love You Too, an overview of new concepts in film-making in the era of digital production and distribution technology, from the Web to YouTube.»

This tribute to the glorious, now classic, past and attention to the present and the immediate future of love in the movies, will be officially opened by our dazzling godmother, Valentina Lodovini, nominated for a David di Donatello 2008 award as Best Actress for her performance in Carlo Mazzacurati's La giusta distanza (The Right Distance).

LOVE IN COMPETITION
There's a double platform at this year's festival: competing for the prestigious 20,000 euro prize awarded by our main sponsors, Calzedonia, are well-known film-makers alongside new directors whose style is already mature. You'll be able to enjoy experienced, well-established directors as well as début works by young film-makers who use new forms of experimental language, illustrating the way in which melodrama can hide beneath the surface of even the most unlikely genres.
The films will be judged by the Festival's Official Jury, headed by the Italo-American director Peter Del Monte, and comprising the producer Donatella Botti and the actors Anita Caprioli, Cecilia Dazzi and Daniele Liotti.
The following are the films in competition:

Canciones de amor en Lolita's Club (Spain 2007) directed by Vicente Aranda
Chouga  (France/Kazakhstan 2007) directed by Darezhan Omirbayev
La disparue de Deauville  (France 2007) directed by Sophie Marceau
Epitaph  (South Korea 2007) directed by the Jung Brothers
Hallam Foe  (Great Britain 2007) directed by David Mackenzie
Lo mejor de mí  (Spain2007) directed by Roser Aguilar
Never Forever  (South Korea 2007) directed by Gina Kim
La soledad  (Spain 2007) directed by Jaime Rosales
The Tiger's Tail  (Ireland 2007) directed by John Boorman
The Walker  (USA/Great Britain 2007) directed by Paul Schrader

NATIONAL PREMIERES
Opening film: Il y a longtemps que je t'aime (France/Germany 2008) directed by Philippe Claudel
Closing film: The Other Boleyn Girl (Great Britain/USA 2008) directed by Justin Chadwick

CINEMA IS FEMALE: A TRIBUTE TO GEORGE CUKOR
To be rediscovered through the images of the Twentieth Century maestro: the history of cinema and a cinematic legend, the marks of our visual, photographic and cinematographic civilization. An artist who was austere, profound and only apparently frivolous and elegant, George Cukor was a refined "director of women".
On the programme:

Romeo and Juliet (USA, 1936)
Camille (USA, 1936)
The Women (USA, 1939)
The Philadelphia Story (USA, 1940)
Gaslight (USA, 1944)
Adam's Rib (USA, 1949)
The Marrying Kind (USA, 1952)
A Star is Born (USA, 1954)
Bhowani Junction (USA, 1956)
Justine (USA, 1969)
Travels with My Aunt (USA, 1972)
Rich and Famous (USA, 1981)

5 X 2 - TEN FILMS DIRECTED BY FRANÇOIS OZON
Very much at home when painting intimate portraits in his "choral" films, with their classic Hollywood perspective blended with a healthy dose of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, a touch of theatre and the constant inspiration of his film-making idol, George Cukor. The female universe of the French director.
On the programme:

Scènes de lit (France 1997)
Criminal Lovers (Les amants criminels, France 1999)
Water Drops on Burning Rocks (Gouttes d'eau sur pierres brûlantes, France/Germany 1999)
Under the Sand (Sous le sable, France 2000)
8 Women (8 femmes, France 2002)
Swimming Pool (France/Great Britain 2003)
5x2 (France 2004)
Time to Leave (Le temps qui reste, France 2005)
Un lever de rideau (France 2006)
Angel (France/Belgium/Great Britain 2007)

PANORAMA
The ideal space for cult films, top-quality premières and some of the best films fresh from the screens of the major international film festivals. Ranging from classic to (post) modern, the way melodrama can be mixed with other genres is demonstrated by directors from all over the world.
On the programme:

Band of Angels, USA 1957) directed by Raoul Walsh
Party Girl, USA 1958) directed by Nicholas Ray
A Quiet Place in the Country (Un tranquillo posto di campagna, Italy/France 1969) directed by Elio Petri
Don Giovanni (France/Italy/Federal Republic of Germany 1980) directed by Joseph Losey
Effi Briest (Germany 1974) directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder
The Marriage of Maria Braun (Die Ehe der Maria Braun, Germany 1978) directed by R. W. Fassbinder
Ficción (Spain 2006) directed by Cesc Gay
Atlas de geografía humana  (Spain 2007) directed by Azucena Rodríguez
La maison  (France 2007) directed by Manuel Poirier
A Via Láctea  (Brazil 2007) directed by Lina Chamie
Om Shanti Om (India 2007) directed by Farah Khan
Pas douce (France/Switzerland 2007) directed by Jeanne Waltz
La giusta distanza (Italy 2007) directed by Carlo Mazzacurati: A TRIBUTE TO THE FESTIVAL'S GODMOTHER
Nelle tue mani (Italy2008) directed by Peter Del Monte: A TRIBUTE TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE JURY

MINILab
Organized by Paolo Quagini in association with MINI (who will this year again be presenting the winners of the Young Directors Project competition with an award made in association with Ciak and Studio Universal), the unmissable chance to reflect on the relationship between songwriters and the directors who transform their music into images. Taking part will be the band Lost, popular Italian newcomers to the music scene and symbols of the "YouTube generation". There'll also be singer-songwriter Frankie Hi-NRG MC, fresh from the 58th Festival of Sanremo; Gaetano Morbioli, the most prolific Italian music video director; and Cristian Biondani, among the greatest European directors, who specializes in live concerts (R.E.M, Vasco Rossi, Negramaro, Subsonica...). Also on the programme: screenings of the 2007 prize-winners at the Circuito Off International Short Film Festival, including Andrea Jublin's Il supplente (The Substitute), nominated for an Oscar in 2008.
The journalist and writer, Boris Sollazzo, will be chairing the meeting.

SIMULTANEOUS EVENTS
I Love You Too, the new section, organized by Paolo Quagini and Federico Pistono: an overview of art in the era of the Internet and YouTube, dedicated to new audiovisual production and distribution technology. From the revolutionary new style melodrama Four Eyed Monster to the birth of web TV.

Cuori, divise e chitarre. Il cinema musicale italiano degli anni '60  (Hearts, Uniforms and Guitars. Italian musical cinema in the Sixties): The book's editor, Moreno Fabbrica, will be meeting the public at Fnac in Verona.

Piera Detassis, the director of Ciak magazine, will be awarding the Femme Fatale, Feministe Fatale Prize to the actress, Claudia Gerini: a female celebrity who manages to combine sex appeal with comedy, humour and transgression, as well as glamour.

And for the first time ever, you'll be able to follow all the events at the festival on the Schermi d'Amore Web Television, created by Media Group.

For further information: www.schermidamore.it