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Italy’s Taormina Film Festival is set for a standout 71st edition with a rich mix of genres – including some potential discoveries – on display, plus a generous dose of star power within a new format that attempts to revive the storied Sicilian event and put it back on the international map.
Marketing guru Tiziana Rocca, who has close Hollywood ties and is a festivals specialist, is back at the helm eight years after she was forced to step down due to political infighting in 2017 following a five-year stint. Rocca’s first move has been to reintroduce a competitive section comprising 10 titles. They will be judged by a jury that, as previously announced, is headed by Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who won an Oscar for her role in “The Holdovers.”
The Taormina competition, unveiled on Thursday, comprises the world premieres of Whoopi Goldberg and Jeremy Irvine comedy “Leopardi & Co” by Italian director Federica Biondi and Sicily-set horror film “Jastimari” directed by Riccardo Cannella. There are also the European bows of James Ashcroft’s nursing home-set chiller “The Rule of Jenny Pen” – for which Geoffrey Rush will make the trek to Taormina – and David Mamet’s dark drama toplining Shia LaBeouf “Henry Johnson,” sans talent in tow. Other Taormina competition entries include Alex Garland’s “Civil War” follow-up “Warfare”; Montenegrin filmmaker Ivan Salatić’s historical drama “Wondrous Is the Silence of My Master”; and Canadian filmmaker Sofia Bohdanowicz’s “Measures for a Funeral,” which follows a graduate student named Audrey as she traces the story of real-life pioneering Canadian violin prodigy Kathleen Parlow.
As previously announced, the fest’s out-of-competition opener is John Wick” spinoff “Ballerina” with director Len Wiseman and actor Norman Reedus in tow. The closer is Italian romcom “L’amore sta bene su tutto” by Giampaolo Morelli.
Other out-of-competition Taormina titles include Neon’s gory love story “Together” from writer-director Michael Shanks; Billy Zane’s dark comedy “Int.Hallway/Night”; Tyler Perry’s World War II drama “The Six Triple Eight” and Michael Zelniker’s doc against deforestation “The Issue With Tissue: A Boreal Love Story.”
“I want Taormina to have two souls: one is more mainstream, because Taormina has an ancient Greek theatre with 2,000 years of history and almost 6,000 seats to fill. The other is movies with more gravitas,” Rocca told Variety. “I also love serving up a mix of genres: drama, horror, comedies,” she added, noting: “I think festivals should have all genres because you need to please different types of audiences while also providing a touch of glamour.”
Held since the mid-1950s in the Sicilian resort known to U.S. audiences as the location of “The White Lotus” Season 2, the summer fest boasts a large open-air ancient Greek amphitheater in the shadow of Sicily’s active Mt. Etna volcano.
The glamour, for starters, is being provided by Martin Scorsese who, as previously announced, is being honored with a career award, as is Michael Douglas. Other announced Taormina fest guests, who will be feted, include Catherine Deneuve, Helen Hunt, Olivia Wilde, Dennis Quaid and James Franco.
Taormina is also paying tribute to Monica Bellucci by celebrating the 25th anniversary of Giuseppe Tornatore’s steamy period drama “Malena” that launched her international career. Bellucci will be on hand for the screening of a restored copy of the film about a 13-year-old boy’s obsession with a small-town siren in World War II Sicily that becomes the sad odyssey of a woman punished for her beauty.
On the industry side, prominent Hollywood producer Charles (“Chuck”) Roven whose long list of impressive credits includes “Oppenheimer,” the “The Dark Knight” trilogy, “Suicide Squad,” “Man of Steel,” and “Wonder Woman” will be honored with a Taormina Achievement Producer Award.
Cannes Film Festival president Iris Knobloch, the former boss of Warner Bros. France and Germany, who is the first female to have been appointed to that role, is expected to make the trek to the Sicilian sea resort to attend a panel on female empowerment in the film industry.
It’s a theme that’s particularly dear to Rocca’s heart. “Thirteeen years ago, when I was first appointed to head Taormina, I became the first female artistic director of a major film festival in Europe,” she says.
“Now I’m back, and I think the return of a woman as artistic director can make a difference.”
English (US) ·