The Earthquake in Abruzzo at the Festival dei Popoli
Sunday November 14
The second day of the Festival dei Popoli, will take place at Cinema Odeon and Spazio Uno.
At 10:00 am at Cinema Odeon (Piazza Strozzi), the world premiere of Richard Blanshard’s “Restoring Genius: Bronzino,” a look at the restoration of Bronzino artworks for the exhibit dedicated to the artist at Palazzo Strozzi. Dr. James M. Bradburne (General Director, Palazzo Strozzi Foundation), Antonio Natali (Director, Galleria degli Uffizi) and Cristina Acidini (Curator, Polo Museale). The film, commissioned by Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, follows the restoration process – executed by Florence’s Opificio delle Pietre Dure and private restorers – of works of art in anticipation of this important exhibit in Florence.
Alle ore 11.30 al Museo Marino Marini verrà inaugurata la mostra "Notations (For the end of time) di Peter Mettler. La mostra va a completare la retrospettiva che il 51° Festival dei Popoli dedica all’artista svizzero-canadese.
At 3 pm our retrospective on Peter Mettler kicks off with “Picture of Light,” a documentary about a 3,000 mile train trip to Churchill, Manitoba, the far northern edges of Canada and the civilized world.
At 5 pm, part of the feature length film competition, Naomi Kawase’s “Genpin” will be screened, a film about a clinic deep in the woods of central Japan where an elderly doctor teaches his patients the philosophy and practice of natural birthing.
At 7 pm, part of the short film competition, the world premier of Luc Bellon’s “Sur les paves, l’altai,” a look at the squares and clubs of Paris where a band of Mongolian musicians captivate audiences, both passersby and tourists and the more sophisticated audiences in late night clubs.
Later, the world premiere of cult director Aleksandr Sokurov’s “Il nous faut du bonheur” about a Russian woman who, many years ago, decided to move to Kurdistan for love. Far from her country, the woman has withstood pain, warfare, and the murder of her loved ones.
In the evening (starting at 9 pm), the festival presents two premieres. First, the Italian premiere of Lou Reed’s directorial debut, in collaboration with Ralph Gibson, “Red Shirley” (Free Style section). In, the documentary Reed interviews his hundred year old cousin, Shirley, nicknamed “Red.” After fleeing Poland before the Nazi invasion, Shirley moved to New York where she became a champion of workers’ rights. Still fighting for workers’ rights, she became involved with the then nascent civil rights movement. Jewish, communist and anti-Zionist, Shirley is the living memory of another America that Lou Reed interrogates with tenderness and respect.
Later (9:30 pm), the world premiere of Italian director Paolo Pisanelli’s “Ju tarramutu” (international competition) about the night of April 6, 2009 in Aquila. The film shows the devastating earthquake through the testimony of the town’s residents, still in disbelief about what happened. The documentary depicts the most media-blitzed and mystifying city in Italy and its thousand transformations, linking stories about people, places, and construction sites, the “jackal” laughter of businessmen that drew protests when the earthquake had long stopped making headlines.
At Spazio Uno (Via del Sole), the second day of the Festival dei Popoli begins at 10:30 am with the re-screening of “My reincarnation” by Jennifer Fox. At 3:30 the section “Voices from a Inner Space” will begin with the screening of “Premier jour. Le combat” about a teacher’s first day of school, “Siamo italiani” by Alexander Seiler, about the living conditions of Italians who emigrated to Switzerland in the early Sixties (the film will be presented by Frédéric Maire); “Premier jour – La vente” by Fernand Melgar (Italian premiere) and “Chronique paysanne en gruyere” by Jacqueline Veuve about an unconventional Swiss woman.
For the “Panorama italiano” section (new this year), at 7:30 pm, Giovanni Buccomino’s “La Valle della Luna” will make its world premiere; the film is about a group of people who decide to escape the conflicting dynamics of Italian life and become voluntary exiles in the Valle della Luna, a bit of land in Sardinia forgotten by time. After the screening of Fernand Melgar’s short film “Premier jour. L’ordination,” there will be the screening of Daniel Schmid’s “Il bacio della Tosca,” about a retirement home for old opera singers.