Cinephiles from all over the world, come to Bologna. And so it was. The balance of the festival «Il Cinema Ritrovato» reels off unprecedented data this year, 130 thousand visitors10 thousand more than last year. Not counting the Monday reruns of films with Marlene Dietrichnot to mention the restorations in the square proposed until Sunday 7th. With 5,700 accreditedmany young people, coming from 72 countries, compared to 5 thousand from 51 countries in 2023. Dominating, distinguished by passes, shoppers and ordinance programs, the landscape of the center of Bologna, between Arlecchino, Jolly, Modernissimo, Lumière and Piazza Maggiore.
Long lines for “last minute” entries
A babel of cultures ready to unite under the umbrella of a truly universal language such as that of cinema. The suspicion of an even more participated 38th edition had been there even before the beginning, with the platform of reservation per i places in the hall under stress due to the sea of inflows. The confirmation came from the lunghe file «Last Minute» accredited people ready to line up in an orderly fashion under the sun just to get into the hall, even when they hadn’t managed to find a seat with online reservations.
In piazza Chazelle, Aronofsky, Wenders, Payne
“I had only seen the photos, but being here, in person, in this square, is a completely different emotion.” This is the comment of the American director Damien Chazellein Piazza Maggiore both on Saturday and Sunday. A stage that saw the presence of other great figures of international cinema such as Darren Aronofsky, Wim Wenders e Alexander Payne. With less glamorous approaches but immersed in that heavenly spirit of cinephilia that every year inebriates Bologna for 10 days, crowning an entire year of all-round activities of the city’s Cineteca. A spirit shared these days also by Marco Bellocchio, Costa-Gavras, Volker Schlöndorff, Thierry Frémaux, Nicolas Seydoux, Juho Kuosmanen, Stephanie Rothman and the Syrians Mohammad Malas and Ossama Mohammed.
The pearl of Cinema Modernissimo
This year, then, there was also the presentation of the last jewel of the Cineteca, the awaited Cinema Modernissimo with the new entrance designed by Mario Nanni. Here too, record numbers, with 12 thousand spectators discovering the historic hall brought back to life. On the other hand Gian Luca Farinellidirector of the Cineteca, had also written it in the ponderous catalog of the festival, over 450 pages: «Without the public that has crowded the Lightwithout the international audience of Cinema Ritrovato that certified it the authoritythe Modernissimo would not exist». A rediscovered theater, «the fruit of an international community that believes in cinema and its history. This is no small thing, especially in a year in which the human value of coexistence and the word peace seem to have been lost».
The replicas
The programme included restored classics, divas such as Marlene Dietrich and Deplhine Seyrig, and unknown works by Japan, Ukraine and the Global South. A strong request, coming from the public, is to try to increase the number of reruns. This is perhaps not a feasible path, given the very fast pace of the festival, which at this point passes the baton to the evenings in the square, until Ferragosto. With more unmissable gems, already on Tuesday evening at 9.45pm Tirez sur le pianiste, the second film, restored, by Francois Truffaut.
