The two protagonists of THE EIGHT MOUNTAINS share a legendary friendship. Engaging story, stunningly beautiful scenery, unforgettable and impressive life journey of two friends, during over forty years from their first meeting at age eleven.
Nepalese Legend states that the entire world is formed by eight mountains, surrounded by eight oceans, with the highest mountain in the middle. Some people wanderer around the eight mountains, and others are destined to climb the highest mountain. Pietro (Luca Marinelli) and Bruno (Alessandro Borghi) are each exactly those two types of protagonists detailed in the Nepalese Legend.
Movie is based on the popular award-winning novel, LE OTTO MONTAGNE written by Italian author Paolo Cognetti, and is a work of fiction, plus definitely not an autobiographical memoir. Directed by two Belgian directors, Felix van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch. In competition on 18th May 2022 at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, and won the Jury Prize. Highly Recommended.
STARRING – Luca Marinelli, Alessandro Borghi, Elena Lietti, Filippo Timi.
LANGUAGES – Italian, English, Nepali AND with English Subtitles.
DRAMA set in the Italian Alps, Turin and Nepal. 147 minutes.
DIRECTORS – FELIX VAN GROENINGEN, CHARLOTTE VANDERMEERSCH.
Born in Belgium, married couple Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch are both writers. Together they wrote the screenplay for The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012), which Felix directed. Charlotte is also an actress, while Felix is also a director, known for Beautiful Boy (2018) and The Misfortunates (2009).
WINNER Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival 2022
WINNER Best Actor, Best Sound, Nastri d’Argento Awards 2023
WINNER (x4) including Best Film, David di Donatello Awards 2023
FESTIVAL WEBSITE – https://www.italianfilmfestival.com.au/
FESTIVAL VIDEO – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWmh-p6k-PM&
THE EIGHT MOUNTAINS – Official HD Trailer – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgvYqXuFusY&
SPECIAL PRESENTATION – https://www.italianfilmfestival.com.au/films/the-eight-mountains
TICKETS – https://www.italianfilmfestival.com.au/films/the-eight-mountains
FACEBOOK – https://www.facebook.com/italianff/
Movie films premiering 2023 at the 24th annual Italian Film Festival – https://www.palacefilms.com.au/films/italian-film-festival-2023
“FEAST ON A SUPERB SELECTION OF CONTEMPORARY ITALIAN CINEMA AT THE 2023 ST. ALi ITALIAN FILM FESTIVAL”
Palace Cinemas announced the full line up of the of the 2023 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival, showcasing an incredible selection of brand new Italian cinema, celebrating the country’s language, stories and culture. Featuring an eclectic mix of contemporary Italian auteurs, documentaries, a retrospective focus on much-loved Italian cinema legend Massimo Troisi and more, the movie film festival will screen in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and Byron Bay exclusively at Palace Cinemas, Cinema Nova, Palace Nova and Luna Palace cinemas from 19th September 2023.
This is the best of the best movie film festival this year, and the titles do fully cover the widest range of genres, including dramas, comedies, thrillers, crime, corruption, political satires, and of course the always-amazing love stories, and delightful retrospectives.
The 2023 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival will open with the Australian Premiere of THE LAST NIGHT OF AMORE (L’ultima notte di Amore), a stylish Milan-set crime thriller starring the magnificent Pierfrancesco Favino. A major Italian box office hit, the film follows a police lieutenant who is drawn into a web of crime and corruption on the eve of his retirement. 2023 Festival Ambassador Silvia Colloca, multi-talented Italian Australian food writer, actor, TV producer and Opera trained mezzo-soprano, will officially open the festival in Sydney and Melbourne at spectacular Opening Night Gala events, which include after parties.
Direct from the Cannes Film Festival come the three Italian films that were screened In Competition this year. The 2023 Festival Centrepiece is Marco Bellocchio’s KIDNAPPED (Rapito). Based on true events, the gripping historical drama is the story of a young Jewish boy whose abduction by the Vatican fuelled outrage in 19th-century Italy and triggered a global scandal. Alice Rohrwacher’s LA CHIMERA, a captivating fable of lost love set in 1980s Tuscany, follows a young British archaeologist (played by Josh O’Connor) who becomes entangled in an international network dealing in stolen Italian artefacts and in Nanni Moretti’s multi layered new comedy A BRIGHTER TOMORROW (Il sol dell’avvenire), about filmmaking in the age of streaming giants, a film director (Moretti) struggles with his relationship, family and the production of his latest film.
This year’s film festival features three Special Presentations. THE EIGHT MOUNTAINS (Le otto montagne), starring Luca Marinelli and Alessandro Borghi, was awarded the Cannes Jury Prize in 2022 and won four David di Donatello Awards. The epic journey of friendship and self-discovery is set in the breathtaking Italian Alps. BURNING HEARTS (Ti mangio il cuore), is a searing crime story of love and revenge set in Puglia and shot in stunning black and white, which stars Italian singer Elodie in her first acting role. CARAVAGGIO’S SHADOW (L’ombra di Caravaggio) is a lush, historical drama starring the impeccable Riccardo Scamarcio, which explores the struggles of the notorious Renaissance painter as he is investigated by the Vatican. The film won a number of David di Donatello and Nastri D’Argento Awards.
2023 Documentary Highlights include THE CIRCLE (Il cerchio). The winner of Best Documentary at the 2023 David di Donatello Awards, Sophie Chiarello’s film follows the pupils of an Italian primary school for five years, capturing their unique perspective on the world. MAGIC NAPLES (Napoli magica) follows actor/director Marco D’Amore as he sets out on a journey of discovery into the heart of Naples, uncovering myths, legends, the labyrinths of the city and the countless stories of one of the oldest and most fascinating cities in the world. Directed by former Versace model Salvatore Zannino, THE GENIUS OF GIANNI VERSACE ALIVE takes viewers on a deep dive into the creative genius of influential Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace in a celebration of his extraordinary life and career.
The ompanion piece to the festival retrospective focus on Massimo Troisi (detailed below) is Mario Martone’s SOMEBODY DOWN THERE LIKES ME (Laggiù qualcuno mi ama). In this personal journey into the cinema of Troisi, the acclaimed director combines film scenes, interviews with Italian cinema stars and critics, plus previously unpublished materials to explore the life and career of the cinema great.
Roberto Andò’s imaginative and irreverent biopic STRANGENESS (La stranezza) explores the inspiration behind one of modern Italian theatre’s revolutionary works. An Italian box office hit, it stars festival favourite Toni Servillo as Literature Nobel Prize winning playwright Luigi Pirandello on a trip to Sicily in the 1920s, where he is faced with a serious case of writer’s block.
Received idrect from the 2023 Venice Film Festival is THE ORDER OF TIME (L’ordine del tempo), an all-star ensemble drama about the reality of time and the meaning of life, featuring Alessandro Gassmann, Claudia Gerini, Edoardo Leo and Angela Molina. Loosely inspired by the bestselling physics novel by Carlo Rovelli, a group of friends get together in a seaside villa to celebrate a birthday, only to discover it may be their last reunion.
Closing Night of the 2023 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival is the magnificent THE POSTMAN (Il Postino), which remains, after nearly four decades, critically acclaimed and loved by audiences around the world. Co-starring the inimitable Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Troisi’s final film before his untimely passing is an engaging blend of easy humour and sunny romance that explores love, poetry and friendship in 1950s Italy.
The 2023 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival retrospective, presented by the “Italian Institute of Culture Sydney” celebrates Massimo Troisi’s thirty-year career in Italian cinema which began with a successful stint in cabaret, theatre and television. Three of his most significant films will be screened; his debut in I’M STARTING FROM THREE (Ricomincio da tre), a humorous and heartfelt exploration of self-discovery in which he plays a young Neapolitan who moves to Florence; a comedic adventure NOTHING LEFT TO DO BUT CRY (Non ci resta che piangere), starring Roberto Benigni and Massimo Troisi as two best friends who find themselves transported back in time to 15th Century Tuscany and SPLENDOR, a touching story set within the aisles of a cinema named Splendor co-starring Marcello Mastroianni in an ode to the magic of cinemagoing.
Featuring an all-star cast including Margherita Buy and Toni Servillo, THE FIRST DAY OF MY LIFE (Il primo giorno della mia vita) is a film about love and the meaning of life from the director of 2016 smash hit Perfect Strangers, Paolo Genovese. DELTA is a gritty and compelling drama about a struggle between local fishermen and poachers, played by Alessandro Borghi and Luigi Lo Cascio, on the foggy Po River Delta.
Standout thrillers include LIKE SHEEP AMONG WOLVES (Come percore in mezzo ai lupi) starring Isabella Ragonese as a policewoman who has infiltrated a criminal gang in Rome and PROPHETS (Profeti) in which Jasmine Trinca delivers a standout performance as Sara, an Italian journalist kidnapped by ISIS who must navigate the relationship she forms with her keeper Nur, a foreign fighter who was radicalised in London.
Movie Films for families include THE PROPERTIES OF METALS (Le proprietà dei metalli), set in an Italian village in the 1970s where a young boy astounds locals by appearing to bend metal simply through the power of his mind; and heartfelt drama SUPERNOVA (Noi anni luce) led by two young rising stars of Italian cinema, Carolina Sala and Rocco Fasano, as a pair of newfound friends, who embark on a life changing journey.
Affectionate odd-couple drama ORLANDO stars Michele Placido as an elderly Italian farmer meeting his granddaughter for the first time in Brussels; and MY SOUL SUMMER, starring Italian X Factor winner Casadilego, is the tale of a seventeen-year-old girl who meets a famous (older) singer and discovers her own passion for music.
Festival favourite Marco Giallini stars in the delightful comedy MY SHADOW IS YOUR SHADOW (La mia ombra è tua), the story of a young university graduate and a famous reclusive writer set out on a road trip to a fair in Milan, where the writer will break over twenty years of silence to deliver a talk.
To kick off the opening week of the festival, there will be free screenings of short films “10 CORTI ITALIANI” In association with the Centro Nazionale del Cortometraggio in Turin, Italy and presented by the “Italian Cultural Institutes” in Melbourne and Sydney.
The free screenings will take place on Sunday 17th September 2023 in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra and Sunday 24th September 2023 in Brisbane, Perth and Byron Bay at Palace Cinemas. Attendance needs to be confirmed via the ticketing links on their website, where further details are available.
Movie films premiering 2023 at the 24th annual Italian Film Festival –
https://www.palacefilms.com.au/films/italian-film-festival-2023
ALL TICKETS ARE NOW ON SALE and for more information visit – https://www.italianfilmfestival.com.au/
The 2023 ST. ALi Italian Film Festival presented by Palace Cinemas –
Sydney • 19th September 2023 until 18th October 2023 • Palace Central, Palace Norton St, Palace Verona, Chauvel Cinema
