Great success for Sardinia at the prestigious Bari Film Festival.
At the awards ceremony held last night at the Petruzzelli Theatre, the Bif&st crowned "Su Maistu" as the best film of the festival. The work, dedicated to Luigi Lai, the founder of the launeddas movement, is now 93 years old but still actively engaged. The work was directed by Cagliari-born Gianfranco Cabiddu, one of the leading exponents of the seventh art and no stranger to international recognition, including the David di Donatello and the Golden Globe in 2017 for "The Stuff of Dreams."
The festival's popular jury, composed of 25 jurors and chaired by director Alessandra Lancellotti, awarded the prizes in the "For Italian Cinema" section, recognizing this masterpiece by Cabiddu.
The jury of the competition dedicated to Italian cinema, including feature films, medium-length films, fiction films and documentaries in Italian premiere, motivated its choice as follows:
A documentary exploring the life of Luigi Lai, the great master of the launeddas, the oldest instrument in the Mediterranean. By transforming "circular breathing" into a collective catharsis, he allows us to witness a "gallop of a hundred horses." The oral transmission of ancient folk wisdom is captured in a poetic work that sublimates the role of cinema in preserving humanity's intangible heritage.
The film will have its national premiere screening tomorrow, Sunday, March 29, at 11 a.m. at the Teatro Massimo. The director, the cast, and, of course, Maestro Luigi Lai will be in attendance, and many prominent figures from the music, film, and institutional sectors will be there to celebrate.
A life spent for the principal instrument of traditional Sardinian music that Luigi Lai, with his students and many other established performers, has succeeded in making appreciated throughout the world by involving leading international artists to whom he introduced it and included it in many epochal recordings.
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