A trip down memory lane between reconstructions of scenes that have passed into history and new cinematic narratives: from Aug. 8 to 11, the square in Palazzo Adriano, the main natural film set of the Oscar-winning film “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso,” will host the first edition of the “Paradiso Film Fest.”
The festival organized by the town of Palazzo Adriano offers a sensory and artistic journey into the world and secrets of cinema and music, with live sounds and performances in the streets, cinema under the stars and documentary screenings. Mountain treks and urban walks are also planned to get to know all the places of “Cinema Paradiso” with an itinerary dedicated to film lovers.
Artistic direction is by jazz musician Pierre Vaiana. The composer and soprano saxophone specialist will bring to the event his experiences and curiosity that have accompanied him around the world, from America to Africa where he spent many years of his life, and to Sicily, where he studied the songs of Sicilian carters.
As in the past, and as in Tornatore’s film, the famous square will be transformed into an arena to share the excitement of open-air cinema: screenings of the many valuable independent productions, diverse in style and content, will be a cue for reflection on the themes of migration and inequality. Also unmissable is the screening of “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso”: thirty years after the unforgettable film’s theatrical release, an immersive, multisensory experience in the very square that enchanted the Bagheria director. Special guests of the event are actors Marco Leonardi and Agnese Nano: the interpreters of the characters of Salvatore and Elena will return to the small town in the Palermo area to attend the screening of the film in its restored version and reveal the most curious behind-the-scenes details of the moments they experienced on the set.
Reenactment of the scene of “U strattu”
Also in Umberto I Square (Sunday, Aug. 11), the setting that served as the backdrop for the picturesque scene of “U strattu,” the ancient art in which the women of the village worked tomatoes exposed to the sun on wooden boards. An installation dedicated not only to the citizens who lived with director Tornatore and his cast of actors in the late 1980s, becoming part, if only for a few months, of the fascinating world of cinema, but also to photography enthusiasts and instagrammers who will want to enter the scene and immerse themselves in a photographic tour to capture the re-enactment and share it in real time.
Concerts
Also enlivening the four days are the notes of the “Paradiso Folk & Jazz Festival” scheduled for Saturday starting at 9 p.m.00: saxophonist Pierre Vaiana, in a duet with Ghent (Belgium) guitarist and composer Artan Buleshkaj, will bring his musical project “Amuri e Spiranza,” accompanied by musicians Jona Patitò on mandolin and Salvatore Pecoraro on guitar, while the Tetra Kordes Quartet will offer pieces ranging from baroque to contemporary, capable of expressing the great timbral-expressive potential of plucked instruments at their best. Also on stage will be singer-songwriter Marco Corrao’s “Terra di Meraviglie,” a blend of Sicilian folk and blues, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern music: the concert of unreleased songs from his latest albums “Storto” and “Liggenni” will feature Giorgio Rizzo on percussion, Fabrizio Francoforte on drums, Francesco Cardullo on bass and Chiara Minaldi on piano.
And then again a tribute to the square that for its beauty and history attracts visitors from all over the world, “La Piazza è mia – Piazza in festa”: an afternoon of musical processions with the traditional Sicilian fanfare sung by the historic Alessandro Scarlatti band of Palazzo Adriano, the gathering with harnessed mules through the streets of the town, organized in honor of the festivities of SS. Crucifix, and the repertoires of carter songs interpreted by Giovanni di Salvo, member and leader of the Cantori di Bagheria, among the last heirs to the tradition of the elaborate and archaic songs that accompanied the hard work of Sicilian carters.
Screenings in the square
From Thursday, Aug. 8, the festival will host a series of different screenings of independent Italian and foreign films and documentaries to reflect through the camera’s gaze on major social and current issues.
It starts with the documentary film “Image from the Real,” by Sicilian director and writer Luciano Accomando: the film, which has already received several awards for its ability to convey knowledge on the topic of immigration and integration, dispelling false myths and prejudices, tells the success stories of five women and seven men who emigrated to Sicily and have been able to redeem themselves and have contributed to improving the communities they are now part of and in which they are fully integrated.
Opening the evening on Friday, August 9, will be the screening of “Dallas in Prizzi,” the documentary work directed by Sicilian director Luca Vullo and produced by American psychiatrist Dave Atkinson. The film chronicles the artistic, human and cultural exchange that arose from the meeting of a group of artists who left from Dallas, Texas, and chose Prizzi, the highest village in the Sicilian hinterland, to create murals as a tribute to the community.
This will be followed by the short film and animation festival curated by “Tracce Cinematografiche Film Fest”: the international short film festival in Neptune will offer an unprecedented look at the condition of those traveling along the riskiest migration routes: from “Fantassùt,” by Canadian filmmaker Federica Foglia, on the plight of refugees in Idomeni and other camps on the Greek-Macedonian border, to “Elmando,” directed by Romanian director Anton Octavian and sponsored by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), focusing on a migrant’s journey from Congo to Europe.
Palimpsest of shorts:
“Elmando” by A.Octavian / S.Joieux (Romania/Italy)
“Fantassut” by Federica Foglia (Canada).
“La casa de li trenta scrusci” by Diego Monfredini (Italy).
“Ailan” by Jubrail A. Rahman (Iran).
“Winter Ramarro” by Julia Gromskaia (Italy).
“A Beautiful Mistake” by Collective Direction (World).
“Night Armour” by Carolina Giammetta (Great Britain).
“Malatedda” by Diego Monfredini (Italy).
“Acabo de Tener a Sueno” by Javi Navarro (Spain).
“The Long Way Down” by Yasser Howaidy (Dubai).
“Ngutu” by Daniel Valledor (Spain).
“Mama” by Eduardo Vieitez (Turkey).
Below is the full schedule of appointments:
THURSDAY, Aug. 8
– 9 p.m.: Opening of the Paradiso Film Fest;
– 10 p.m.: Meeting with the author, presentation and screening of the documentary film “Image from life” by Luciano Accomando – Umberto I Square;
FRIDAY, Aug. 9
– 6-9 p.m.: “The Places of Cinema Paradiso” guided tour to discover the ancient village of Palazzo Adriano (starting pointTourist Office, Umberto I Square);
– 9:30 p.m.: “Today as yesterday,” presentation and screening of the film (collective screenplay)
– 9:45 p.m.: Meeting with the author, presentation and screening of the documentary film “Dallas in Prizzi” by Luca Vullo – Umberto I Square;
– 11 p.m.: Review of short films on migration by “Tracce Cinematografiche Film Fest” (Neptune) – Umberto I Square;
SATURDAY, Aug. 10
– 5:00 p.m.: Inauguration of the permanent photo exhibition dedicated to Joseph Walter Canzeri, a distinguished son of Palazzo Adriano, with the participation of his wife Mrs. Tricia Novak Canzeri – Premises of the Bourbon Castle, Real Casina salita;
– 10 p.m.: Presentation of the film “Re Minore” written and directed by Giuseppe Ferlito;
– 10:30 pm: PARADISE FOLK & JAZZ Festival (1st edition) – Umberto I Square:
- Pietro Vaiana: “Amuri e Spiranza,” with Artan Buleshkaj (guitar), guests Salvatore Pecoraro (guitar and voice), Jona Patito (mandolin), Giovanni Di Salvo (voice), Alosha (Sicilian dancer)
- Tetra Kordes Quartet;
- Marco Corrao “Land of Wonders;
SUNDAY, Aug. 11
– 9:30 a.m.: trekking on foot along the paths of the Monti Sicani Park; meet at Umberto I square;
– 10 a.m. (until sunset): “U strattu,” the ancient art of tomato processing, a re-enactment of one of the most famous scenes from the Oscar-winning film “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso .”
– 3-7 p.m.: “The Places of Cinema Paradiso” guided tour to discover the ancient village of Palazzo Adriano (Departure point Tourist Office, Umberto I Square);
– 6 p.m.: “The Square is Mine” Square in celebration:
- Sicilian carts and performance by the “Singers of Bagheria.”
- Ancient gathering through the streets of the town for the Holy Crucifix with the mules of Palazzo Adriano;
- “The band through the streets of the country,” procession of the “Alessandro Scarlatti Band” of Palazzo Adriano;
– 10:00 p.m.: Presentation and screening of the film “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso” – restored version – filmed in the Old Town of Palazzo Adriano – Piazza Umberto I; the screening will be attended by the film’s actors Marco Leonardi and Agnese Nano.
