Giuseppe Ignazio Loi, wearing an Antonio Marras look, on the red carpet at the Rome Film Fest. The film he stars in, "Life Goes This Way" by director Riccardo Milani , opened the 20th edition of the Festival at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, out of competition. It tells the true story of the struggle of shepherd Ovidio Marras and his daughter (played by Virginia Raffaele) against a large multinational corporation that wants to expropriate their land to build a five-star resort. The cast also includes Geppi Cucciari, Aldo Baglio, and Diego Abatantuono.

Gathered in the audience were leading figures from the worlds of entertainment, fashion, society, and institutions, including Christian De Sica, Roberto Bolle, Fiorella Mannoia, Marco Bellocchio, Maria Grazia Chiuri, Ferzan Ozpetek, Luca Zingaretti, Luisa Ranieri, Michele Riondino, Manuel Agnelli, Luca Argentero, Cinecittà CEO Manuela Cacciamani, and RAI General Manager Roberto Sergio, as well as a large bipartisan representation of politicians.

In a smooth-running ceremony that lasted about an hour (the proPal had announced a small contingent away from the red carpet), Ema Stokholma hosted the event, recalling how Rome is the city "that welcomed me as a teenager, that healed my wounds, and that was a bit of a mother to me." Salvo Nastasi, president of the Fondazione Cinema per Roma, opened the evening with a tribute to Claudia Cardinale: "She represented the strength, beauty, and hospitality of the great Mediterranean tradition," he explained. "In such a tragic moment as the one we are experiencing, her smile, her gaze, and her memorable performances restore that faith in humanity that we are increasingly convinced is about to abandon us." A remembrance that culminated at the end of the evening with a video featuring some of her most beautiful performances, set to the music of the waltz from The Leopard.


The Industry Lifetime Achievement Award went to the great British producer Lord David Puttnam , introduced on stage by director Uberto Pasolini, who said he discovered Italian cinema when he was "just over twenty. And I was struck by it." Italian cinema of the 1940s depicted "a country rediscovering itself, finding itself, regaining confidence in itself. And for this we owe a great debt to filmmakers like Visconti, De Sica, and Rossellini."

Paola Cortellesi, president of the Progressive Cinema competition jury, also took the stage. She recalled how two years ago it was director Paola Malanga who wanted "C'è ancora domani" at the Festival . "With my fellow jury members, we're preparing for 10 days of great cinema and lots and lots of films," she said, playing on the packed program. "Of course, I'm kidding. The Film Festival is wonderful because it involves the whole city and celebrates art, the beauty of cinema, with theaters full of young people."

(Unioneonline/D)

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