The pandemic may have halted many film festivals, including Cinemalaya and Cinema One Originals and the Daang Dokyu film festivals, but MOVIEMOV, the Italian Film Festival, has found a way to run the festival online from April 21 to 26.
The fifth run of the festival, organized by the Philippine Italian Association (PIA), will be held at an online movie theater with a capacity of 300 people per screening, on a first-come, first-served basis.
All films will have English subtitles.
MOVIEMOV will be screening seven films from contemporary Italian cinema and a classic chosen by the PIA and the Film Development Council of the Philippines. They are:
Parents in Progress (2018) by Laura Chiossone follows the story of a single mother hell-bent on making her son’s 8th birthday party perfect, but the son changes everything with an unexpected performance. The film screens on April 21, 9 p.m.
Citizens of the World (2019) by Gianni di Gregorio is the story of three Italians in their 70s who decide to leave their communities and live abroad to try and change their lives, maybe in ways they didn’t expect. The film screens on April 22, 9 p.m.
The story of an elderly gay couple tasked to take care of two children is at the center of Goddess of Fortune (2019) by Farzan Ozpetek, while mystery film The Invisible Witness (2018) by Stefano Mordini follows a man who wakes up beside the dead body of his lover without any idea if he did the crime or not. He is charged with murder while his lawyer tries to find the truth that will set him free.
Goddess of Fortune is scheduled to be shown on April 23, 9 p.m., and The Invisible Witness on April 24, 9 p.m.
The fifth entry in the festival is Laura Luchetti’s Twin Flower (2018), a film about two teenagers on the run from a dark and violent past that rendered one mute. Twin Flower screens on April 25, 9 p.m.
Italian classic film La Dolce Vita (1960) by Federico Fellini is screening on April 26, 5 p.m. The film follows a restless reporter for the society pages of a newspaper who tries to contend with the overdose of his long-time girlfriend while pursuing a wealthy heiress and a movie star. The film is screened in celebration of Mr. Fellini’s centenary. It will screen on April 26, 5 p.m.
The final film of the festival is The Dog Snatch (2019) by Fulvio Risuleo, which follows a group of young dog sitters whose charge, a French bulldog, is stolen by a mysterious character and how they try to get the dog back. It will screen on April 26, at 9 p.m.
Some of the directors of the selected films, including Laura Luchetti, Fulvio Risuleo, and Gianni Di Gregorio, will take part in the event through live social and video contributions in the virtual theater to present their films.
The virtual theater can be accessed via www.mymovies.it/virtual-theatre/moviemov and will function much like a “real cinema,” according to a release, as the viewers can engage in conversation with each other via a chat box.
The screenings are free and do not require registration. For more information, visit the Moviemov Italian Film Festival Facebook page.
