festival spotlight on IncluCity

 

The Italians do it in style, and that extends to their film festivals. At least in Toronto.

The ICFF, once the Italian Contemporary and since morphed into the multicult IncluCity, has weathered the ice age of Covid and the onslaught of Neflix and other streamers to survive and perhaps thrive. Unlike many fests, IncluCity doesn't chase world or even city premieres, but focuses on experiential programming. In plain language, this means giving audiences a good time watching movies, specifically on big, cushy sofas out in the open, under the stars as they nurse a Moretti or Campari-infused negroni and a chocolate. 

An example of sponsorship branding

The brand names are key, since IncluCity has managed to attract a range of sponsors to pay for filling the main street and a square inside the historic Distillery District of Toronto. Forget speakers. How it works is ticket-holders listen to a movie through headphones. The picture is surprisingly sharp, the sound clear and the sofas comfy. When it rains, the screenings move indoors.

A ticket runs $35-60 and includes a sample of pasta you can eat on the spot, plus a box of dry pasta from sponsor Barilla, a negroni or beer, a chocolate from Bari and a coffee from Lavazza. A ticket can include a sample from one of the Distillery shops, like a bar of orange and cinnamon-scented soap from Gentil Uomo one night. The price will be too high for some, reasonable to others. Also factor getting here, either by car, bus (not subway), bike or walk. (I bike.) All in all, this is the most satisfying way to watch a movie outside a 3D IMAX and perfect on a summer's night.

Movies run the gamut, from drama to comedy and kids, from good to meh, and released sometime in the past year. As mentioned, these are not premieres, so the screenings offer audiences a fun way to catch a flick they missed. As a bonus, the film's directors and stars introduce each film either in person, like Atom Egoyan, or by video.

 

An example of good is Weekend Heroes, a light German drama about a father who takes his autistic son to football (soccer) games around Germany so he can settle on a team to cheer. The father is at times too nice and the son at times is a little tyrant. Well, that's the point: teach the audience about autistic behaviour, though the movie begs the question, Are parents nurturing such kids or feeding their dysfunction? The performance by the actor playing the autistic son, Cecilio Andresen, is superb.

 

Another fine film was shown at the smaller Moretti Theatre, Il padre d’Italia and introduced by diretor-writer in person, Fabia Mollo. Mollo spoke on a panel with other filmmakers about adaptatig novels to films. The translation of his 2017 film is The Father of Italia, not the country, but a baby. That baby is carried by a carefree, but reckless young woman who sings in a band. She hooks up a gay mensch and they make an unlikely duo, searching for the baby's father in this road movie. The strong performances by the leads, particularly Isabella Ragonese, and a good script make this two-hander worth watching. The film has heart without lapsing into corniness, though the ending felt a little unresolved.

Tips for viewing: True, there's some audio bleed through your headphones from the surrounding patios if you sit at the edge of the smaller stage. Better is the larger Trinity Theatre, because the neighbouring shops are closed during screenings and the sightlines are good.

IncluCity offers programming beyond movies, including a wine tasting, and concludes July 26 with a gala honouring Isabella Rossellini. The latter is a pricey but lavish affair including an Italian dinner, which has been delicious in past years.

 

Completely free is a small, but fascinating exhibition of legendary director, Federico Fellini. On display in the box office mere steps from the Trinity Theatre screen are scripts, drawings, director chairs and even the great man's desk. IncluCity organizer, Dominic Sciullo, is displaying a sample of the collection that he's finding a home for. I certainly wish him well and would love to see more.

IncluCity (officially Lavazza IncluCity Festival) runs through July 26 in the Distillery and surrounding venues.

IncluCity fest returns to Toronto, bigger than ever

 by Allan Tong

The ICFF is back, or shall I say the Lavazza IncluCity Festival, organized by the ICFF? Once Toronto's Italian film fest, IncluCity has rebranded in recent years into a multicultural (and multi-disciplinarian) visual arts festival. The core remains Italian films, but IncluCity has expanded its tent to include even Jewish and Chinese cinema, not to mention painting, opera, fashion and this year horror films. All in all, IncluCity will screen more than 50 feature films drawn from 26 countries.

From June 27 to July 22, the center of IncluCity will be the Distillery District with screenings taking place in oversize, plush seats beneath the stars (rain or shine) on this historic district's cobblestone avenue. It is, without a doubt, the most gorgeous setting to watch a film. 

There's a lot to unpack with IncluCity 2023, and here are the highlights:

ICFF film reviews: The Treadmill & On Our Watch

 

The Treadmill (Tapirulàn)

Directed by Claudia Gerini

Written by Fabio Morici with Claudia Gerini and Antonio Baioccio (story)

ChinoKino score: A-

 

On Our Watch (E Noi Come Stronzi Rimanemmo A Guardare)

Directed by  Pif

Written by Michele Astori & Pif

ChinoKino score: B 

The Italian Contemporary Film Festival returns to Toronto's big screens in 2022 following an absence during the pandemic. The ICFF coped well by offering a fine selection of drive-in movies, but this year returns to the cinema proper as well as to home computer in a hybrid model. Directly and indirectly influenced by the pandemic, two of the best films involve technology, The Treadmill and On Our Watch.

The Treadmill stars Italian's renown Claudia Gerini who also directed and co-wrote. She plays a therapist named Emma who treats "clients" via videophone (a la Zoom) while she runs on a jogging machine. Why? It's good for her body and mind. 

 

She offers comfort to a depressed artist, persuades an abused wife to flee her abusive husband and helps a teenage boy accept his homosexuality despite living in a strict Catholic family. She listens and empathizes, even when a suicidal man insults her. Here, technology bridges patient with therapist, but therapist also uses technology to distance herself from others.

Emma herself reveals her own vulnerabilities when a long-lost sister tracks her down and begs her to see their dying father. Emma shuts her down and wants nothing to do with that man. Emma resumes jogging on her treadmill, but she can't flee anywhere.

Though a lot of the action on screen happens in Emma's condo, The Treadmill keeps moving and never feels stuck. The audience sticks with Emma from the first frame and follows her as she treats her client-patients as well as heal her own family rift. Gerini portrays Emma with natural ease, offering her character complexity and authenticity. All supporting characters are fleshed out and feel real. Gerini carries the film, which she scripted with writer Fabio Morici and Antonio Baioccio who conceived the story. The Treadmill is superb and marks a fine directorial debut by star Gerini.

On Our Watch takes a lighter, slightly comedic view of technology through Arturo, a mid-manager at a company who unsuspectingly introduces the algorithm which renders him redundant. Overnight, Arturo loses his job and girlfriend, and resorts to delivering food on his bike at a tech behemoth called FUUBER. Think Uber Eats and Foodora, but also Facebook, Google and Amazon all rolled into one suffocating megatech that tracks its users' lives across the internet. 

Wisely, Fabio De Luigi plays Arturo deadpan. The satire is already in the script on screen and director Pif controls the comedy to avoid it tipping into silliness. There is no shortage of mayhem. Anything that can go wrong for Arturo delivering food, goes badly. He pays FUUBER for a virtual girlfriend, rents a room to a real-life roommate who has his own digital problems, and keeps getting penalized at his job. He can't catch a break in this digital world. Eventually, Arturo gets fed up with FUUBER enslaving him, and crosses the ocean to find the real woman behind his virtual girlfriend.

In doing so, Arturo rips the mask off FUUBER and exposes its totalitarian grip on him and countless others. The end of the film takes a jarring dramatic turn and suffers from preachiness, but this is foregivable. On Our Watch is a witty, observant warning of the perils of digital privacy.

 

Stars Cortellesi and Gullotta shine at the opening weekend of ICFF

Story by Allan Tong

Photos by Sally Warburton

The Italian Contemporary Film Festival opened at Toronto's TIFF Bell Lightbox Thursday night with star Paola Cortellesi (above) presenting the crowd-pleasing comedy, Qualcosa di nuovo (Something New) (see here for review). Ms. Cortellesi also stars in Mamma o Papa? (Mom or Dad?) playing at the ICFF.

Indivisibili tops this year's Italian film festvial, ICFF

Indivisibili

by Allan Tong

After a decades-long slumber, Italian cinema may finally be waking. It's too soon to call this a golden age or even a revival, but recent films such as They Called Me Jeeg, which dazzled last year's Italian Contemporary Film Festival, and ones this year--starting tonight through June 16 in cities like Toronto, Vaughan and Montreal--offer hope.

Sure, the ICFF boasts a healthy share of mainstream comedies, such as tonight's opening gala, the crowd-pleasing Qualcosa di nuovo (Something New), but the festival has included some films that offer unique voices and imaginative stories.

Something New at this year's ICFF

by Allan Tong

You gotta love the Italians for opening their film festival, the ICFF on June 8 in Toronto, with a romantic comedy about two older women and a younger man.

In Qualcosa di nuovo (Something New), best friends Lucia (Paola Cortellesi, above right) and Maria (Micaela Ramazzotti, above left) fall for the same younger man, Luca (Eduardo Valdarnini, above center) without knowing it. Luca's finishing high school, and Paolo and Micaela have finished past marriages. They feel exhilarated being with 19-year-old Eduardo, but also uneasy. Sure, the sex is fantastico, but when they try to relate to him outside the bed the differences between them emerge: divorces, children, career. Things don't help when the two good friends discover they're seeing the same younger guy.

Directed by Cristina Comencini, Qualcosa di nuovo is a breezy comedy, a crowd-pleaser and a decent choice to open this year's ICFF. Lucia and Maria offer some dimension, though Luca remains a callow, young man interested only in getting laid. The comedy is more cute than cutting, squarely in the tradition of mainstream Italian cinema. Cortellesi shines, offering some vulnerability to her Lucia. She will grace the red carpet at the ICFF opening gala in Toronto on Thursday, June 8 at 7:00 pm with further screenings in Montreal and Vaughan.

The Italian Contemporary Film Festival returns to Toronto with De Sica honours

by Allan Tong

The line-up of the sixth ICFF (The Italian Contemporary Film Festival) was unveiled at Toronto's Ritz-Carlton earlier today, highlighted by Christian De Sica (above), son of iconic director and actor Vittorio De Sica (The Bicycle Thief), who will receive the ICFF’s Lifetime Achievement Award. De Sica will also present his latest films, Poveri ma ricchi (Poor but Rich) and Fraulein/Una fiaba d’inverno. Past recipients include Al Pacino, Roberto Benigni and Claudia Cardinale. The ICFF will also his present is father's classic comedy, Matrimonio all’italiana (Marriage Italian Style) and host a live talk, In conversation with Christian De Sica, where he will discuss his and his father's work.

As in recent years, the ICFF will take place in several cities at once. A total of 180 screenings will grace screens from June 8-16 at Toronto's TIFF Bell Lilghtbox as well as in Vaughan, Hamilton, Montreal, Québec City and Vancouver. To honour Canada's 150th birthday, the ICFF will host From Bello to Beautiful: The Art and Impact of Italian-Canadian Cinema, seven days of free screenings starting with Noelle’s Journey, a documentary by Peter Gentile about two immigrants who left southern Italy for a new life in Canada.

ICFF review: All Roads Lead to Rome

 Italian screen legend, Claudia Cardinale, delivers a sharp, sardonic performance in All Roads Lead To Rome (Tutte le strade portano a Roma), but even she can't save this romantic comedy which screens tonight in Toronto at the ICFF (Italian Contemporary Film Festival).

Cardinale plays 80-year-old Carmen who secretly plans to wed her one true love in Rome against the wishes of her son, Luca (Raul Bova). However, the focus lies on Maggie (Sarah Jessica Parker), a cheery, but daffy divorced mum who tries to re-connect with her rebellious (obnoxious, really) teenage daughter, Summer (Rosie Day) with a trip to a gorgeous Tuscan village that she frequented as a youth. Maggie runs into her old flame, Luca, and Summer wants to return to her sleazy boyfriend in New York who's battling drug charges.

They Called Me Jeeg astonishes at ICFF

by Allan Tong

The best film of this year's Italian Contemporary Film Festival is They Called Me Jeeg (Lo chiamavano Jeeg Robot).

To label Jeeg as Italy's first superhero action film is incomplete. It's also a dark comedy with a twisted romance. Enzo (Claudio Santamaria) is a small-time crook who falls into radioactive waste during a cop chase. He's a lonely wanker who eats endless pudding and has no friends. During a botched drug deal which slays a fellow criminal, Enzo discovers these super physical powers that let him survive a fall off a high building and to shove refrigerators across rooms with his bare arms.

Enzo literally robs an ATM by ripping it out of the wall and steals using his newfound powers. That ends when gang leader Zingaro (Luca Marinelli) comes looking for his drugs and cash, and he strong-arms Alessia (Ilenia Pastorelli), the mad daughter of Enzo's fellow criminal. Enzo winds up protecting--and falling in love--with the poor, deluded Alessia who believes Enzo is the hero of a Japanese anime called Steel Jeeg Robot. She's been lost in her own world ever since her mother died years ago and/or her father started molesting her.

Funnyman Zalone opens the ICFF in Toronto

story by Allan Tong

photos by Sally Warburton

"Thank you for the orgasm," declared Italian funnyman, Checco Zalone.

Love and laughter at this year's ICFF

by Allan Tong

From June 9-19, Italian cinema rules Toronto and Vaughan (with screenings in Hamilton, Quebec City and, new this year, Niagara Falls) with the Italian Contemporary Film Festival. The ICFF offers another entertaining year of movies, mostly drawn from Italy with a few from Canada, but this year the overall program skews towards comedy and romance.

Colossal Failure of the Modern Relationship at ICFF and NIFF

by Allan Tong

In all my years of reviewing films, I've never come across one movie that played back-to-back festivals in the same region. The Colossal Failure of the Modern Relationship is previewing tonight at the Italian Contemporary Film Festival then screening tomorrow night at the Nigara Integrated Film Festival.

CFMR features an Italian-Canadian cast, and takes place in Niagara wine country, which justifies its appearance at these two very different fests.  [Disclosure: I know Sergio and he once recommended actress Lina Giornofelice for own of my films. Ms. Giornofelice appears in CFMR.]

CFMR is technically a romantic-comedy, but it's more like an Eric Rohmer film, an exploration of relationships and modern manners driven by dialogue with a touch of comedy. The story revolves around dull middle-aged wine writer, Freddy (Remedy's Enrico Colantoni), who takes his long-time lover Cat (Krista Bridges) on a weekend trip to a Niagara winery to revive their tired romance. Because he's on assignment, Freddy's self-absorbed boss, Richard (David Cubitt), and his young girlfriend, Amy (Brooke Palsson) join them. Problem is, Freddy and Amy have no idea that Cat has been sleeping with Richard.

Italian fest opens with biopic of Oriana Fallaci

by Allan Tong

This year's Italian Contemporary Film Festival (ICFF) opens Thursday night in Toronto and Vaughan with L'Oriana, a biopic about Oriana Fallaci, one of the most fearless and celebrated journalists of the 20th century.

The Florence-born Fallaci was known as a formidable interviewer, getting heavyweights such as Henry Kissinger to admit Vietnam was a "useless war" and having the gall to calls Iran's Ayatollah Khomeini a "tyrant" to his face.

Fallaci was a passionate personality who survived war zones and covered world politics with an intensity that this film, directed by Marco Turco, succeeds in capturing. Fallaci is a natural subject for the silver screen. Her words spring to life on screen and its through her words that her fiery intellect shines like a laser beam. Vittoria Puccini nicely balances Fallaci's ferocious drive and compassion.