Having returned, a very happy Italian movie lover, from Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Lincoln Center in New York, I’ve had time to reflect. I have a few complaints:
The bad:
1) Actors that were promised were not present. Where were Pierfrancesco Favino and Raoul Bova?
2) Getting into the theater was confusing with a very convoluted and unneccessary lottery system for deciding who entered first. This was especially silly because
3) having been to 9 different movies I think it is safe to surmise that attendance was not as good as it should have been. And why was that? I blame the Lincoln Center Film Society. They didn’t announce the festival lineup until less than a month in advance, and finding out details before that was like pulling teeth.
A film festival like this one, with movies that are impossible to find in the US and the directors there to talk about them and in a great city like New York – those theaters should have been full and the screenings sold out. There wasn’t nearly enough publicity and it wasn’t showcased in the special way that it should have been.
The good:
1) Even though actors were MIA, many important names were there. I’m still pinching myself after having seen Ferzan Ozpetek.
2) The selection of movies was, for the most part, very impressive. Posti in Piedi in Paradiso was a weak choice, but since Carlo Verdone has always been a big supporter of Open Roads, it’s probably only fair.
3) I shouldn’t really be complaining at all; how lucky am I to have the opportunity to have this Italian film festival every year? It’s a wonderful opportunity to see Italian films in a movie theater, with popcorn and fountain drinks, that I would not have unless I was in Italy.
I Love Italian Everything 