Goats. As the International Archeology Festival “Island of the Giants” draws to a close, the first of the three great festivals that will enliven the Mont’e Prama Summer, enriched by a series of shows that sold out in just a few days (Roberto Bolle and Fiorella Mannoia above all), the new open-air theater in the archaeological area of Tharros is ready to experience other unforgettable days and take the public on a new journey through archaeology, art, environment and, of course, cinema. Starting tomorrow, Tuesday 2 July, until Thursday 4 July, the second edition of “Sardinia Archeofilm. International Archaeological Film Festival”.
Anthony Muroni, President of the Mont’e Prama Foundation: «After the extraordinary public success of these days with the International Archeology Festival which saw the second edition of Sardegna Archeofilm alternate on the stages of the four locations of Oristano, Cabras, Abbasanta and Laconi, with around 50 national and international guests, fortunate union with Archeologia Viva, is a further piece of the cultural proposal that the Mont’e Prama Foundation has put in place for the summer of 2024. The dialogue between the different art forms and archeology therefore continues in the new theater at the open of Tharros”.
Piero Pruneti, director of the magazine Living Archaeology (Giunti Publisher): «On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Giants of Mont’e Prama, as Archeologia Viva / Firenze Archeofilm we are particularly happy to propose the great festival of archaeology, art and environment cinema in the extraordinary context of Tharros. The program will allow the public to travel back in time with the cinematographic masterpieces selected worldwide for the “Sardegna Archeofilm 2024” and also through the great names in communication who have been involved. It will be an event to be experienced, created thanks to the cultural initiative capacity of the Fondazione Mont’e Prama».
GIANTS AND MUMMIES. First appointment tomorrowstarting from 9.30 pm, with the screening of the film “The Mysteries of the Giants of Mont’e Prama. Italy, a journey into beauty” of the directors Marzia Marzolla e Massimiliano Griner. The film explores the still unclear aspects of the Giant statues of the homonymous archaeological site in Sinis, Sardinia. While questioning the nature of the place of discovery, perhaps a sanctuary, and the true recipients of the tribute, it narrates the final period of the iconic Sardinian civilization of the nuraghi, when the nostalgia of an ancient people transfigures its own past into myth and legend. Following the second screening: “Grave hunters. The mystery of the painted mummy”British film by the directors Stephen Mizelas, James Franklin. An archaeological discovery that has gone around the world. An extraordinary tomb with a concentration of sarcophagi never seen before in Egypt. The film follows Egyptologists as they try to understand why all these mummies were buried together and what this ancient cemetery tells us about the death of the Egyptians 2,500 years ago.
PIRATES AND MENHIRS. The second day of Sardinia Archeofilm (Wednesday 3 July) opens at ore 20.30 with a passionate dialogue between the directors Paul Pumpkin e Salvatore Cubeddu by title “Sardinia. A place of history, a place of stories”. To the ore 21.30 screening of the French film is scheduled “The true story of the pirates” directed by Stéphane Bégoin. Hollywood has fueled the imagination and transformed pirates into popular icons. But who were these men in real life and how did they become so feared? Beyond literature and fantasy, the research of the team of archaeologists reveals who these fearless adventurers and masters of the sea really were. To follow “Franco Mezzena. Archaeology told with a smile” directed by Nicola Castangia and Andrea Fenu, the winning film from the latest edition of Florence Archeofilm, the mother house of the widespread festival of which Tharros is one of the many stages.
From the meeting between the archaeologist Franco Mezzena, discoverer of the megalithic area of Saint-Martin-de-Corléans in Aosta, with the archaeologist Giorgio Murru, director of the Menhir Museum of Laconi, this docufilm was born where Franco Mezzena talks about his discovery which took place way back in 1969 and, with its luminous smile, takes us on a journey between myth and reality, dragging us into the world of megalithism and the exciting adventures of the Argonauts, Cadmus, Jason and the figure of Hercules, urging, with mastery and profound knowledge, the comparison between the megalithic site of Aosta and prehistoric Sardinia.
VIKINGS AND SARDINIA. Third and final day of the festival Thursday 4 July, 9.30 pm, with the projection of “We call them Vikings,” French film directed by Laureline Amanieux. The film starts with a question: were the Vikings really the barbarians described by the chroniclers of the Middle Ages? The film invites the audience to explore the history of these northern people by focusing on the most recent discoveries, against preconceived ideas. From Denmark to Iceland via France, it meets historians, biologists and archaeologists, enters libraries and museums, and crosses spectacular landscapes in which we still find traces of their passage. The short film will follow “Maria – A Hundred Years” of the director Baptist Origo. At the dawn of the armistice of 1943, the two soldiers Sante Bacci and Nicola Caputo were forgotten by the Italian army on the coast of Sardinia. The radio connections are unsuccessful and Sante is unable to receive the necessary help due to the fever that is consuming his companion. It will be Maria, a young local girl, who rescues her Nicola by taking him to her home and entrusting him to the arcane care of the women of her family. The story will thus bring two worlds closer together which in their meeting will tell of the hopes and uncertainties of a future yet to be created.
PUBLIC AWARD. This second edition of the Festival will also end with the award ceremony of the “Sardegna Archeofilm” award by the public who every evening, as a popular jury, will express an opinion on the films proposed. The selection of films presented at Tharros comes from the film archive of Florence Archeofilm, a festival of archaeology, art and environment organized every spring in the Tuscan capital by the magazine “Archeologia Viva” (Giunti editore). Next edition 5-9 March 2025, Cinema La Compagnia- Florence.
SYNERGYThe International Film Festival of Archaeology, Art and Environment is promoted and organized by Mont’e Prama Foundation in collaboration with Florence Archeofilm e Living Archaeology (Giunti publisher).
USEFUL INFORMATION. It will be possible to use the transport service for people with reduced mobility and disabilities, departing from the square next to the Church of San Giovanni di Sinis.
Admission to the three evenings of the festival is free. You can reserve your place for free at the link: https://tinyurl.com/mw4vpwkx
Info and program on www.monteprama.it
