Maurizio Guarini of Goblin to perform live score to silent classic Dante’s Inferno during 2019 edition of ICFF Vancouver

Award-winning contemporary films to be screened alongside Italian classics at VIFF Vancity and Rio Theatres at this year’s Italian Contemporary Film Festival in Vancouver. Winner of nine David di Donatello awards, Dogman, and the incredible story of the birth of Rome, Romulus & Remus: The First King, among the incredible lineup of classic films, including Dante’s Inferno, to be presented in June.
Vancouver film lovers can expect another great edition of the Italian Contemporary Film Festival, this June, with an inspired selection of films spanning decades.
ICFF presents its 8th edition this year and will once again take place in Vancouver, in continuing collaboration with the local Italian Community.
Between June 7th, and the 23rd, ICFF – presented by IC Savings – will co-present with the Rio Theatre and VIFF Vancity Theatre, screenings of several Italian feature films, documentaries and shorts, in the framework of the Italian cinema promotional programme sponsored by the Italian Government “Fare Cinema 2019”, and in partnership with the Consulate General of Italy in Vancouver and with the generous support of Il Centro – Italian Cultural Centre in Vancouver.
Among many classic films being presented at the Rio Theatre, ICFF 2019 in Vancouver will feature Dogman, the acclaimed drama by Italian director, Matteo Garrone; a film awarded nine David di Donatello, the Italian equivalent of the Oscars, including Best Picture.
It’s a story of revenge and how it becomes not so much an inevitable or necessary catharsis for one small man, but rather an attempt at redemption, however illusory.
Romulus & Remus: The First King/Il primo re by Matteo Rovere, who reconstructs the legend of twin brothers who founded the city of Rome in an epic battle depicted on the big screen, will screen for one night only at VIFF Vancity Theatre on June 12th at 7:30PM.
A rare and remarkable presentation of Dante’s Inferno will be held at the Rio Theatre on June 16th with a special live performance of the score by Maurizio Guarini, keyboard player of progressive rock band, Goblin.
Other classic screenings will include The Last Emperor/L’ultimo imperatore by the late maestro Bernardo Bertolucci; a masterpiece depicting China before and after World War II and the arrival of Mao’s Cultural Revolution.
It is the winner of nine 1988 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.
Two versions of the supernatural horror Suspiria will be screened at Rio Theatre in Vancouver; both the original 1977 version by acclaimed director Dario Argento, and the 2018 version redefined by Luca Guadagnino. Another famous Argento horror will be screened; the bloody thriller Deep Red, which in 1975, terrorized audiences in Italy and all across Europe.
Homage will be paid to film genius Federico Fellini with the screening of La strada, which won the inaugural Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Malena and Cinema Paradiso, the heartwarming film which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1989, will be screened at Rio Theatre on June 20th.
Both films are directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. The compassionate and heartfelt drama by Carolyn Combs, Bella Ciao!, filmed in Vancouver’s eclectic Commercial Drive neighbourhood, is a film about displacement, home, isolation and solidarity. The film, starring Tony Nardi and Carmen Aguirre, will be screened on June 17th at Rio Theatre. Artistic Director and Co-Founder of ICFF, Cristiano de Florentiis, says “We are proud to host this segment of our festival in Vancouver, a city so integrated in the cinematic industry and so important to North-American film production, and also a city with an incredibly strong Italian community. It is truly a privilege to be present in Vancouver and to host the festival during the Italian Heritage Month.” For the entire program schedule in Vancouver, and for more information on how to purchase tickets, please visit www.icff.ca, call toll free at 1-833-929-3475, or visit the box offices at Rio Theatre and Vancity Theatre.