PLEASE NOTE: EVENT DATE HAS CHANGED
The Italian Cultural Institute, in collaboration with New Italian Cinema Events (N.I.C.E), presents a screening of Io, Arlecchino by Matteo Bini and Giorgio Pasotti.
N.I.C.E. plays an important role in the dissemination of Italian cinema abroad, with particular attention given to Italian younger authors, who are as original as they are often unknown. Over the years, the interest toward Italian cinema has gradually increased, and N.I.C.E.’s rich array of films has been featuring a variety of “genres”: from art-house films to experimental cinema. The mission of this festival is to represent, above all, a showcase for newcomers, but also an opportunity to reaffirm with even greater strength its metropolitan and community identity, while preserving its artistic quality and international connotation.
SYNOPSIS: Paolo Milesi, a successful talk show host, is forced to move back to his hometown when he finds out that his father, Giovanni, has cancer. Giovanni is a well-known actor of commedia dell’arte, who interprets the Harlequin character. Encouraging his father’s troupe toward a final performance, Paolo is forced to take the stage when his dad’s health takes a turn for the worse. The old wounds of his difficult relationship with his father are reopened, and Paolo slowly rediscovers the fascinating world of the commedia dell’arte—a world that will make him question his own superficial existence – and allow him to gain a new respect for his father’s life and work.
Director’s statement:
Io, Arlecchino is a film that tells the story of a dysfunctional father-son relationship against the colourful background of the Italian theatrical tradition of Commedia Dell’Arte. It’s a life-affirming story of the rocky road to self discovery. It’s a film that underlines the importance of tradition as the key to our future, in the words of the composer Gustav Mahler, “tradition is not to preserve the ashes but to pass on the flame.” We have embraced the art of Commedia Dell’Arte and the mask of the ever youthful Harlequin, symbol of positive energy and the original king of reinvention. Prepare to be unmasked, as Harlequin once again peeks into our lives and our hearts.
Directors: Matteo Bini, Giorgio Pasotti
Italy, 2015, 90 minutes
Film in Italian with English subtitles
LOCATION
Embassy of Italy – Auditorium
3000 Whitehaven Street NW
Washington, DC 20008
REGISTRATION REQUIRED
DOORS OPEN AT 6:00PM AND CLOSE AT 6:55PM
MATTEO BINI:
Born and raised in Italy, Matteo was captured by the magical world of cinema since he was ten, when his father gave him a videocamera to play with. After graduating from film school in Milan in 2004, he started working as an editor for Italian TV channels such as RAI, MEDIASET and SKY. After a couple of years he became a freelance editor and in 2006, he co-founded the production company Oki Doki Film. In 2011, he moved to England to attend a Master Degree in Editing at the prestigious National Film and Television School. Here he profoundly developed his storytelling skills and created strong professional relationships with talented people. He graduated in 2013 with a Distinction and received the Christie Award for Most Promising Student of the Year. His experiences so far have gained him the ability of thinking outside the box. He has worked on both documentary and fiction films always bringing a creative and original approach. Io, Arlecchino (I, Harlequin) is his first feature film as a director. The film was shot in Bergamo (Italy) in the summer 2013 and was released in Italy in June 2015.
GIORGIO PASOTTI:
Born in Bergamo, Pasotti started performing martial arts at very young age, practicing karate and kobudo and becoming European and World champion of wushu. A five languages speaker, between 1994 and 1996 he lived in China, where, while studying at the Beijing Sport University, he made his film debut in American Shaolin and appeared in several other martial arts films. Back in Italy, Pasotti continued his film career appearing in art films, blockbusters, television series and commercials. In 2005 he was appointed Shooting Star at the Berlin International Film Festival. The same year, he was nominated at David di Donatello for Best Actor for his performance in After Midnight.