TAORMINA – From 12 to 29 July 2024, Taormina returns to being the capital of international cinema with the 70th edition of the Taormina Film Festival. A special edition that celebrates 70 years of the event with a program full of events, films and internationally renowned guests.
The festival will open on Friday 12 July with a special Nastri d’Argento event, dedicated to Italian comedy. Great protagonists of Italian cinema such as Christian De Sica, Carlo Verdone and many others will be present. Many international presences, including Sharon Stone, Nicolas Cage, Bella Thorne, Rebecca De Mornay, just to name a few.
A journey through genres and cultures. The festival programme, curated by Marco Müller, ranges from major Hollywood productions to auteur films from all over the world, with particular attention to Italian cinema and Sicilian cinema. Among the films premiering, Saint Clare (USA) by Mitzi Peirone, Twisters (USA) by Lee Isaac Chung, The Surfer (USA) by Lorcan Finnegan, The Judge and the Boss (Italy) by Pasquale Scimeca, Touch (Iceland/Kingdom Kingdom) by Baltasar Kormákur, The invention of us two (Italy) by Corrado Ceron and Until night does not separate us (Italy) by Riccardo Antonaroli. The heart of the festival will be the Gala at the Teatro Antico, where 7 films will be screened every evening, including 4 world premieres. Among the most anticipated titles, the psychological thriller “The Surfer” with Nicolas Cage, the Italian romantic comedy “The Invention of Us Two” with Lino Guanciale and Silvia D’Amico, and the closing film “Till Night Do Us Part” by Riccardo Antonaroli.
Focus on the Mediterranean and Officina Sicilia
The Palazzo dei Congressi will host the Mediterranean Focus, with a selection of films that tell the realities and contradictions of the Mediterranean world. Among the titles on the programme, “From Ground Zero”, a collective film made by 22 young Palestinian filmmakers, “Shikun” by the master of Israeli cinema Amos Gitai, and “To A Land Unknown” by Mahdi Fleifel, which tells the story of immigrants illegal Arabs in EU countries. Officina Sicilia will instead be dedicated to Sicilian cinema, with a selection of first and second works, rediscovered films and tributes to local directors and protagonists. Among the titles worth mentioning, “Quir” by Nicola Bellucci, “La Bocca dell’Anima” by Giuseppe Carleo, “Three Infallible Rules” by Marco Gianfreda, “Pietra Madre” by Daniele Greco and Mauro Maugeri and “The Thief of Shooting Stars” ” by Francisco Saia.
In addition to cinema, the Taormina Film Fest will also offer a rich program of collateral events, including concerts, theater performances and screenings with live music. Among the events not to be missed, the concert for the centenary of the death of Giacomo Puccini “Tosca – Il ricatto sesso”, the performance of Carlo Crivelli’s soundtracks for the films of Ficarra and Picone, and the theater show “L’amore segreto di Ofelia” with Chiara Francini and Andrea Argentieri. 2024 marks a turning point for the Taormina Film Fest. The Taormina Arte Sicilia Foundation, which has been producing and organizing the event for years, aims to activate new strategies to promote the event in the medium and long term. The aim is to transform the festival into a modern and highly multidisciplinary model, with training actions for young people, meetings and performances that encourage dialogue between the arts.
