The 2014 Cannes film festival
opened Wednesday with Italy in competition and Marcello
Mastroianni on its official poster.
Italy films are vying for glory in every section including
Palme d'Or and Critic's Week, while the festival will also be
celebrating silver-screen legend Sophia Loren.
Competing for the Palme d'Or is Alice Rohrwacher's The
Wonders, the only Italian film in consideration for the
prestigious award.
"I was told there was a 'good possibility' that I would be
chosen for a section but I was thinking 'A Certain Regard' or
the Director's Fortnight, not the main competition," Rohrwacher
told ANSA in an interview prior to the festival.
The Wonders is Rohrwacher's second film and stars Monica
Bellucci, with an international cast.
Set in the 1990s, The Wonders is the tale of a father's
desire to protect his children from a apocalypse by creating a
secluded environment around them.
His wonderland lasts until they face intrusions from a
teenage boy and a television production led by Bellucci.
"This film is a fable," said Rohrwacher, "but there is no
trace of magic. The protagonists are average people."
Screening at Critic's Week (a section that feature new
talents) is Sebastiano Riso's debut film Darker than Midnight.
Darker than Midnight covers the much-debated subject of
childhood gender expression through the life of an androgynous
14-year-old in Catania searching for identification.
The film is based on the life of Fuxia, born Davide
Cordova, one of Italy's most prominent drag queens.
"I am telling things that people don't want to see, that
they leave to the margins," Riso told ANSA.
Meanwhile Asia Argento is looking for recognition for her
third film Incomprensa in Un Certain Regard, the section
dedicated to young talent and innovative and daring works.
Incomprensa (Misunderstood) is inspired by Argento's own
childhood as the daughter of horror king Dario Argento and
actress Daria Nicolodi.
Actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, most recently a Lars Von
Trier muse, plays the lead role.
Sophia Loren will be honored in Cannes Classics, which
celebrates old-established features and masterpieces from the
history of film in restored prints.
Loren will present a restored 1964 classic Marriage Italian
Style, as well as her son Edoardo Ponti's 2013 film adaptation
of Jean Cocteau's play "The Human Voice", which she stars in as
well.
Also to be presented are Roberto Rossellini's La Paura and
Sergio Leone's classic A Fist Full of Dollars.
Italian filmmakers have strong showing in Shorts with
Fulvio Risuleo's Lievito Madre and L'Avamposto by Leonardo Di
Costanzo .
Loren's celluloid counterpart Marcello Mastroianni is
literally the face of the 2014 festival. A classic portrait of
the actor from a still from the film 8 1/2 is Cannes' official
2014 poster.
The Cannes Festival is an annual film festival which
previews all genres of films, including documentaries and
shorts, from around the world and aims to encourage the art of
filmmaking in all formats.
Founded in 1946, the invite-only festival is considered the
most prestigious film festivals in the world.
The 2014 Cannes Film Festival takes place between May 14
and May 25.
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