The Italian film industry, much like a Fellini dream sequence, tends to arrive in full drama: sweeping gestures, decaying architecture and someone in oversized sunglasses chain-smoking while quoting Sartre. But every once in a while, it loosens its collar, takes off the metaphorical silk scarf and lets a few new voices through.
MovieMov – Italian Film Festival is one such moment. From May 3-6 at House Samyan, nine films will be screened, each one quietly poking at convention without ever slouching in its seat. Subtitled in English and Thai, they come armed with just enough introspective angst to derail any plans for light entertainment.
Among them, a double offering devoted to Tiziano Terzani – journalist, philosopher and reluctant mystic – reminds us that introspection doesn’t have to be a luxury. Tiziano Terzani, Il Viaggio Della Vita (The Journey of Life) opens the festival, painting a textured portrait of a man who managed to make even war correspondence sound poetic. It closes with Anam Il Senzanome (Anam the Senzonome), an achingly tender piece drawn from Terzani’s final interview – less a conclusion than a soft unravelling of his worldview.
There will be guests, of course. Not in the red-carpet sense, but more like people who matter. Documentary filmmaker Mario Zanot will appear alongside Terzani’s daughter, Saskia, in what promises to be a quiet homage rather than a publicity parade. Joining them: Silvia D’Amico, whose performance in Il Mio Compleanno tugs at the raw edges of modern identity, and Alessandro Tonda, director of Il Nibbio, a film best watched with one hand on your chin and the other bracing for impact.
Among the offerings
- Il Tempo Che Ci Vuole (The Time It Takes) by Francesca Comencini.
- Family by Francesco Costabile.
- Il Mio Compleanno (My Birthday) by Christian Filippi.
- Mani Nude (Bare Hands) directed by Mauro Mancini.
- La Casa Degli Sguardi by Luca Zingaretti.
- L’orto Americano (The American Backyard) by Pupi Avati.
- Il Nibbio (The Negotiator) by Alessandro Tonda.
- Vermiglio by Maura Delpero.
- Diamanti (Diamonds) by Ferzan Ozpetek.
These films are the kind that lingers. The kind that refuses to let you switch off your brain and coast. Consider it a brief detour from the algorithm, an invitation to sit still for a moment – and feel something.
Admission is gloriously free, but tickets are handed out an hour before each day’s screenings, so expect the punctual and the painfully cool to queue early.