For Italian conductor Beatrice Venezi, 2024 kicked off on a decidedly sour note.
On New Year’s Eve the baton-wielding Venezi, a friend of right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, was heckled at the Opéra de Nice by French anti-fascist protesters as she took to the podium.
The incident reflected tensions rippling through European entertainment industry circles as far-right parties sweep to power in Italy and the Netherlands and gain ground across the EU.
Italy took a sharp turn to the right in 2022, when Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy party has neo-fascist roots, emerged the winner in the national elections. Since then her right-wing camp, which denies accusations of nostalgia for fascism, has moved to hold more sway within state-controlled media and cultural institutions such as broadcaster Rai, the Centro Sperimentale film school and the Biennale, the Venice Film Festival’s parent organization.
Scrutiny is being directed at Venezi, an adviser to Meloni-appointed culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano.
On New Year’s Eve the baton-wielding Venezi, a friend of right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, was heckled at the Opéra de Nice by French anti-fascist protesters as she took to the podium.
The incident reflected tensions rippling through European entertainment industry circles as far-right parties sweep to power in Italy and the Netherlands and gain ground across the EU.
Italy took a sharp turn to the right in 2022, when Meloni, whose Brothers of Italy party has neo-fascist roots, emerged the winner in the national elections. Since then her right-wing camp, which denies accusations of nostalgia for fascism, has moved to hold more sway within state-controlled media and cultural institutions such as broadcaster Rai, the Centro Sperimentale film school and the Biennale, the Venice Film Festival’s parent organization.
Scrutiny is being directed at Venezi, an adviser to Meloni-appointed culture minister Gennaro Sangiuliano.
- 2/2/2024
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
If location truly was everything, the Taormina Film Festival would be the biggest in the world.
Here on “Isola bella” (Sicilian for “beautiful island”) you have it all: The sun, the sea and sunsets that look CGI-ed in their beauty (one of the reasons The White Lotus picked the region as a backdrop for its latest season). Above it all, the volcano, Mount Etna, with its bursts of fire and ash adds drama to the proceedings. The landscape is palm trees and prickly pear cacti and all the colors of the Mediterranean. The air smells of basil. The festival screenings take place in the Teatro Antico amphitheater, one of the largest historic Greek theaters in all of Sicily.
It’s easy to see why, back in 1955, organizers decided to set up a film festival here. First in the city of Messina, from 1957 on before moving to the nearby municipality of Taormina.
Here on “Isola bella” (Sicilian for “beautiful island”) you have it all: The sun, the sea and sunsets that look CGI-ed in their beauty (one of the reasons The White Lotus picked the region as a backdrop for its latest season). Above it all, the volcano, Mount Etna, with its bursts of fire and ash adds drama to the proceedings. The landscape is palm trees and prickly pear cacti and all the colors of the Mediterranean. The air smells of basil. The festival screenings take place in the Teatro Antico amphitheater, one of the largest historic Greek theaters in all of Sicily.
It’s easy to see why, back in 1955, organizers decided to set up a film festival here. First in the city of Messina, from 1957 on before moving to the nearby municipality of Taormina.
- 6/27/2023
- by Ilaria Ravarino
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The newly rebooted Taormina Film Festival kicked off on Friday night in the Sicilian city’s landmark Teatro Antico amphitheatre in an unusual but magnificent style with benefit event “Pavarotti Forever”.
Placido Domingo, who was part of the famed The Three Tenors trio with Pavarotti and José Carreras, was among those celebrating the memory of the super-tenor in an event mixing filmed archive material and live performances.
The 82-year-old Spanish star was joined on stage by Italian opera singer Vittorio Grigolo, long tipped as Pavarotti’s successor, and a host of other top classical music stars including Marcelo Àlvarez, Aida Garifullina and Andrea Griminelli.
Talking to Deadline after the concert, Domingo admitted it was emotional singing and then looking up at the big screen to see interviews and performances from the former maestro.
“We have so many amazing memories of our friend and it’s very sad that he can...
Placido Domingo, who was part of the famed The Three Tenors trio with Pavarotti and José Carreras, was among those celebrating the memory of the super-tenor in an event mixing filmed archive material and live performances.
The 82-year-old Spanish star was joined on stage by Italian opera singer Vittorio Grigolo, long tipped as Pavarotti’s successor, and a host of other top classical music stars including Marcelo Àlvarez, Aida Garifullina and Andrea Griminelli.
Talking to Deadline after the concert, Domingo admitted it was emotional singing and then looking up at the big screen to see interviews and performances from the former maestro.
“We have so many amazing memories of our friend and it’s very sad that he can...
- 6/24/2023
- by Diana Lodderhose and Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Barrett Wissman is gearing up for his inaugural edition of the Taormina Film Festival as the newly appointed Executive and co-Artistic Director of the Sicily-set event, running from June 23 to July 1.
Unfolding in the hilltop town of Taormina, famed for its Teatro Antico amphitheatre, views on Mount Etna, and more recently, its appearance in The White Lotus, the event is one of Italy’s oldest and most prestigious film festivals.
Wissman signed up for the role just two-and-a-half months ahead of its 69th edition and is the 15th person to take up the challenge in the last decade, with the festival going through a raft of solo artistic directors and co-artistic director teams.
It’s not quite a baptism of fire for Wissman, however, who has decades of experience in performing arts, social media, festival and events management as the founding chairman of London-based agency Img Artists.
The Texan arts...
Unfolding in the hilltop town of Taormina, famed for its Teatro Antico amphitheatre, views on Mount Etna, and more recently, its appearance in The White Lotus, the event is one of Italy’s oldest and most prestigious film festivals.
Wissman signed up for the role just two-and-a-half months ahead of its 69th edition and is the 15th person to take up the challenge in the last decade, with the festival going through a raft of solo artistic directors and co-artistic director teams.
It’s not quite a baptism of fire for Wissman, however, who has decades of experience in performing arts, social media, festival and events management as the founding chairman of London-based agency Img Artists.
The Texan arts...
- 6/21/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
The 69th Taormina Film Festival boasts an impressive lineup of Italian and world premieres as it seeks to reboot and re-establish its status as a date to watch on the festival circuit. Located in the historical Sicilian town – its visibility recently getting an unlooked for boost with the second season of HBO’s ”The White Lotus” – will be hosting a series of screenings. The outdoor Teatro Antico will provide a suitably antique background for the Italian premiere of “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” with Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies, and Mads Mikkelsen in attendance.
The directorial debut of Italian artist Marco Perego, “The Absence of Eden,” will receive its world premiere. The film stars Perego’s wife Zoe Saldaña, Garrett Hedlund and Adria Arjona. The thriller tells the story of an undocumented immigrant fleeing a drug cartel whose path crosses with a U.S. Immigration...
The directorial debut of Italian artist Marco Perego, “The Absence of Eden,” will receive its world premiere. The film stars Perego’s wife Zoe Saldaña, Garrett Hedlund and Adria Arjona. The thriller tells the story of an undocumented immigrant fleeing a drug cartel whose path crosses with a U.S. Immigration...
- 6/18/2023
- by John Bleasdale
- Variety Film + TV
The Italian premieres of Cannes Film Festival opener Jeanne du Barry starring Johnny Depp and Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny will be among the international highlights of the 69th Taormina Film Festival which gave a taster of its line-up at a press conference in Rome on Tuesday.
Principal cast for James Mangold’s Indiana Jones reboot including Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies and Mads Mikkelsen are expected to be in attendance for the screening.
The event, unfolding June 23 to July 1 in Sicily, is under the new co-artistic directorship of Barrett Wissman this year.
There will also be Italian premieres for Lisa Cortes’s Little Richard: I Am Everything, a documentary about the life and career of the legendary musician, and A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand and One, starring Teyana Taylor.
Italian highlights include the world premiere of the comedy The Worst Days by Edoardo Leo,...
Principal cast for James Mangold’s Indiana Jones reboot including Harrison Ford, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Antonio Banderas, John Rhys-Davies and Mads Mikkelsen are expected to be in attendance for the screening.
The event, unfolding June 23 to July 1 in Sicily, is under the new co-artistic directorship of Barrett Wissman this year.
There will also be Italian premieres for Lisa Cortes’s Little Richard: I Am Everything, a documentary about the life and career of the legendary musician, and A.V. Rockwell’s A Thousand and One, starring Teyana Taylor.
Italian highlights include the world premiere of the comedy The Worst Days by Edoardo Leo,...
- 5/9/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Bella Thorne is headed to the 69th edition of Italy’s Taormina Film Festival (June 24 to July 1) after being invited to guest curate one of its gala evenings with a special program of short films including her own directorial debut Paint Her Red.
The event titled “Influential Shorts” will unfold in the festival’s landmark, open-air venue of the Ancient Greek Teatro Antico, set against the backdrop of Sicily’s Mount Etna volcano.
The event is one of the first initiatives put in place by incoming Taormina Film Festival Executive and co-Artistic Director Barrett Wissman.
The appointment of the entrepreneur, philanthropist and long-time Chairman of cultural arts entertainment agency Img Artists, was also announced by governing body Taormina Arte Sicilia Foundation on Thursday with immediate effect.
“I am excited to be able to recognize Bella’s talent now as a film director and as a curator. Launching such a...
The event titled “Influential Shorts” will unfold in the festival’s landmark, open-air venue of the Ancient Greek Teatro Antico, set against the backdrop of Sicily’s Mount Etna volcano.
The event is one of the first initiatives put in place by incoming Taormina Film Festival Executive and co-Artistic Director Barrett Wissman.
The appointment of the entrepreneur, philanthropist and long-time Chairman of cultural arts entertainment agency Img Artists, was also announced by governing body Taormina Arte Sicilia Foundation on Thursday with immediate effect.
“I am excited to be able to recognize Bella’s talent now as a film director and as a curator. Launching such a...
- 5/4/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
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