Richmond hosts its first Italian Film Festival
University News
At this inaugural event, the UR community enjoyed film debuts, panel discussions, and a taste of regional cuisine.
“Ciao to all, and thank you for your attention,” said Luca Peretti, UR professor of Italian studies and film studies, as he welcomed the audience to the Richmond Italian Film Festival.
Peretti, who is from Rome, served as curator for the four-day event, organizing the event with help from administrative assistants, faculty members, and three students. Peretti introduced the Richmond community to some of the best Italian films of recent years and one from the country’s golden years of cinema.
“Italian cinema is going through an era of international rebirth, both from a critic and audience point of view,” said Peretti. “It’s exciting to showcase some of Italy’s greatest contemporary filmmakers for the first time in Richmond, a city with a growing film culture.”
There were no empty seats to be found during the festival's opening night.
Opening night drew a large crowd to campus. They were among the first U.S. viewers to watch C’è ancora domani (English translation, There’s Still Tomorrow), a 2023 film that won six David di Donatello awards — the Oscars of Italian film.
“The first night was incredible. So many people came, including many students. Seeing people so engaged and happy was truly special,” he said.
Community member Robin Jones was elated by the new festival. “Film festivals bring the world to us in bite-sized pieces,” she said.
Italian documentary filmmaker Valerio Ciriaci introduced his 2022 film, Stonebreakers, about the conflicts surrounding monuments that arose during the George Floyd protests. The film was discussed in a roundtable led by Richmond filmmaker and UR film studies professor Sonja Bertucci that included the director, along with leadership studies professor Julian Maxwell Hayter and rhetoric & communications professor and associate provost of academic affairs Nicole Maurantonio.
Luca Peretti served as curator for the four-day festival.
Deutchman, who works on the marketing of every Italian film that gets released in the U.S., was asked about streaming. “Folks in Italy believe very strongly that their films belong in theaters,” he said.
When the pandemic shut the door on movie theaters, the foreign language market has not rebounded as quickly as for U.S. films, Deutchman said. “Only five to six Italian movies get released in the U.S. each year in a substantive way.” The others are premiered at smaller venues, such as film festivals.
“Universities and academic centers are a good place to raise funds and distribute films,” Liptzin said.
The final event was a screening of the recently restored version of Smog, a 1962 film by Franco Rossi, at the Byrd Theatre. All the other events took place on campus, many of which included receptions featuring Italian appetizers and desserts.
“What strikes me about the University of Richmond is its strong international culture,” Peretti said. “The Richmond Italian Film Festival will have its home at a university that is eager to watch and discuss more international films. We hope precisely that interest in these films can keep growing thanks to our festival.”