SPECIAL EVENTS

THE 2013 ITALIAN FILM FESTIVAL: ONLY FIVE WEEKS LEFT TO OPENING NIGHT!

With the 2013 Academy Awards still fresh, it could not be more appropriate talking a about Italian cinematography. The Italian Film Festival celebrates its seventh anniversary in Atlanta from April 11th to the 14th with a brand new alliance with the Atlanta International Film Festival and a move for the seven films in competition for the Best Film Award to the historical Plaza Theatre located at 1049 Ponce De Leon Ave NE Atlanta, GA 30306.  Many of you have vivid memories of the gems of the latest Italian production brought to you every year.  In its seventh season, the Festival is a creation of Claudio Di Persia.  This amazing initiative is the peak of the Italian cultural events in this city.  Ciancia has been a proud sponsor of the Festival since year one.

The Festival is now under the great wing of the Atlanta Film.  This new status of the Festival calls for new sponsorships and, for the first time, for paid entry, via tickets that will be purchased individually at the event.  Passes for the entire festival will also be available, only for Ciancia Members, at a significant discount.   While Ciancia is at this time involved in facilitating this transition via new sponsors, we are appealing to your individual support, which can be as easy as marking your calendars from April 11 through April 14.  Short of traveling to Italy, this is the best way to remain in touch with the best production of Italian Cinema in Atlanta.  We hope to see you in large numbers.  This time, there will be a party, on Sunday, after the last show, with location TBA.

Please mark your calendars and plan on attending all or as many as you wish:

11-Apr Thursday 7:30
12-Apr Friday 7:30
12-Apr Friday 9:30
13-Apr Saturday 5:30
13-Apr Saturday 7:30
13-Apr Saturday 9:30
14-Apr Sunday 5:30
14-Apr Sunday 7:30 
14-Apr Sunday 9:30 Closing Party Reception, location TBA

FULL PROGRAM AVAILABLE SOON at: www.cinemaitaly.com

NOTES BY THE EDITOR

The artistic director and founder of the Festival, Claudio Di Persia - a true leader and a philanthropist - has been promoting the Festival for years. There are significant changes this year.  Without the sponsorship of Georgia State University, whose directors, in all fairness to their international agenda, have chosen to represent other cultures, the Festival is now free to pursue traditional corporate sponsors – an operation which was not possible prior to 2013 due to strict academic regulations.  This opportunity in disguise may eventually give the Festival the independence that parallel artistic institutions have conquered over the years.  Bear in mind that these are independent institutions: they are not publically financed.  They depend on our support. Under the wing of the Atlanta Film Festival, the Italian Film Festival is changing location, from the grand Rialto Theatre to an equally iconic Atlanta theatre: the Plaza Theatre on Ponce de Leon.  This is a more intimate environment, which is expected to enhance the interaction among the participants.  However, due to the high costs of production and lack of large sponsors, the Festival is no longer free. Ciancia members will be able to purchase discount passes for the entire Festival – look below for rules and schedule. To our members and to all Italophiles, this is a significant cultural event, if not the most relevant, as it features the best seven films produced in Italy in the past 12 months.  It would take a quite expensive trip for us to go see them, and even then, they would be spread over a number of locations.   Hungry as I am for cultural involvement, I am typically diving into the festival, from start to finish.   Full immersion may not be possible to all of you, but your participation and support of the arts will be rewarded with guaranteed personal enjoyment. I am urging you to mark your agenda right now, April 11-14, and come this year to support this outstanding event!  Cinematography is art on the screen, and it must be seen in a theatre. AGP

FESTA DELLA REPUBBLICA 2012
Those who missed the Italian motorcycles exhibit at the MoDA in March will be able to return to it, entirely as our guests, on the 150th anniversary of the Italian Republic – marking the time that Italy’s first government was formed. We have been very prolific ever since, forming up to two governments a year – please, allow some self deprecation. Held on Saturday, June 4, 2011, this evening is organized by Ciancia, by the ICE (the Italian Trade Commission) and the IABC (the Italian-American Business Council). Numerous sponsors have made this event possible. We are grateful for their generous contribution.

The current Italian exhibit at the MoDA is a reminder of the class and amazing attention to details that heralds and distinguishes most Italian design – sleek, sexy, inspiring, well organized and elegantly displayed, it features legendary motorbikes. It shows an evolution of the design and technology that, from rather rural, humble origins, took engines which were first developed as propulsion for soil roto-tillers to masterpieces, like the mythical 500 c.c. MV Augusta of Giacomo Agostini, still the longest world-record holder. From the revolutionary Bimota to the stunning 1098 Ducati, a monster which Honda, Suzuki and Kawasaki can only chase on technical circuits, dozens of spectacular models will make you drool, even if you would never dare riding one.

It may be the streamed lines of motorcycles hulls, or the way a human body becomes one with the machine, the prowess of riders like Valentino Rossi, that triggers human imagination, but these characters have certainly contributed to the sex appeal of bikes - suggesting not only independence from the establishment, but an expression of unbridled individualism. The minimalist context of the MoDA proves that Atlanta is ready for its place among the major capitals of the world. After all, this is the birthplace of the Civil Rights movement, the place where Delta, Home Depot and IBM have their headquarters, the place where Coca Cola was invented, the place where musicians like Curtis Mayfield, James Brown and the Allman Brothers, changed the course of musical history.

The MoDA is located in Midtown at 1315 Peachtree Street, NE. For the MoDA website click here. Again, the date is June 4, 2001 – mark your calendars, folks! The invitation below is required at the entrance – we do not mind if you print two of them and bring a couple of close friends. We look forward to seeing you: Fabrizio Giustarini, Tito Mazzetta e Giancarlo Pirrone.