The 57th Taormina Film Fest, Italy’s principal summer film event,takes place from June 11 to 18, 2011 in a moment of great tension for the Mediterranean. Since it assumed a Mediterranean identity in 2007, the festival has become a focal point for film culture in the region. This year, we turn the spotlight on three North African countries – Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco – in the midst of enormous social change, whose filmmakers have been quick to respond on the cultural front. The Maghreb retrospective and its guests will be a festival keynote.
As a major showcase for film premières from around the world, Taormina presents just 24 highly selected new features this year in its three main sections. The festival brought good luck to many of last year’s films and participants, like our Golden Tauro winner Dalla vita in poi, which won the Grand Jury Prize in Montreal, and Gareth Edwards’ Monsters, which earned him a job directing a Hollywood blockbuster, not to mention the multiple awards won by our guests Colin Firth and Robert De Niro.
In addition to the famous Mediterranea competition taking place in the 800-seat Fondazione Roma Mediterraneo screening room, the Taormina Film Festcontinues to welcome world cinema in our competitive Beyond the Mediterranean section. Spectacular evening screenings leisurely unfold in the most beautiful film venue in the world, the 2,300-year-old Teatro Antico, one of Sicily’s most important and well-preserved monuments. Following last year’s world première of Toy Story 3 in 3D, which went on to become the highest grossing animated film in history, the festival is proud to open Grande Cinema in the Teatro Antico with another delightful and highly anticipated work of creative animation, DreamWork’s Kung Fu Panda 2, which audiences will thrill to watch projected in the ancient, open-air arena in 3D. Follow this year’s Grande Cinema program as it’s announced on our boxoffice link TICKETS.
Festival prizes include the Golden Tauro for best film, jury awards, audience prizes, and the renowned Taormina Arte Awards, presentedto outstanding members of the international film community. Last year’s winners Robert De Niro, Colin Firth, Francesco Alliata and Marco Bellocchio honored festival audiences with much applauded, SRO Master Classes. And for the second year, the Fondazione Roma Mediterraneo will present its prestigious Dialogue Between Cultures Award to key figures in the region.
Organized by the Taormina Arte Committee with the generous support of the Region of Sicily, Italy’s Ministry for Cultural Activities, the City of Taormina and other important institutional and private sponsors, the festival has continued to grow in importance over the five years I have had the honor to direct it. It has become, in brief, a modern film festival that combines the glamour of its location and stars with top-of-the-charts programming.
We are particularly proud of our growing new section Campus Taormina, where filmmakers and emerging actors talk about their work to film students from Sicily and all over Italy. It is generously supported by Italy’s Ministry for Youth and Minister Giorgia Meloni, who founded the Campus Youth Jury which will award 3 prizes this year. Spazio Taormina, the festival’s new industry area, continues to grow in prestige with the arrival of the European Film Academy.
As a major showcase for film premières from around the world, Taormina presents just 24 highly selected new features this year in its three main sections. The festival brought good luck to many of last year’s films and participants, like our Golden Tauro winner Dalla vita in poi, which won the Grand Jury Prize in Montreal, and Gareth Edwards’ Monsters, which earned him a job directing a Hollywood blockbuster, not to mention the multiple awards won by our guests Colin Firth and Robert De Niro.
In addition to the famous Mediterranea competition taking place in the 800-seat Fondazione Roma Mediterraneo screening room, the Taormina Film Festcontinues to welcome world cinema in our competitive Beyond the Mediterranean section. Spectacular evening screenings leisurely unfold in the most beautiful film venue in the world, the 2,300-year-old Teatro Antico, one of Sicily’s most important and well-preserved monuments. Following last year’s world première of Toy Story 3 in 3D, which went on to become the highest grossing animated film in history, the festival is proud to open Grande Cinema in the Teatro Antico with another delightful and highly anticipated work of creative animation, DreamWork’s Kung Fu Panda 2, which audiences will thrill to watch projected in the ancient, open-air arena in 3D. Follow this year’s Grande Cinema program as it’s announced on our boxoffice link TICKETS.
Festival prizes include the Golden Tauro for best film, jury awards, audience prizes, and the renowned Taormina Arte Awards, presentedto outstanding members of the international film community. Last year’s winners Robert De Niro, Colin Firth, Francesco Alliata and Marco Bellocchio honored festival audiences with much applauded, SRO Master Classes. And for the second year, the Fondazione Roma Mediterraneo will present its prestigious Dialogue Between Cultures Award to key figures in the region.
Organized by the Taormina Arte Committee with the generous support of the Region of Sicily, Italy’s Ministry for Cultural Activities, the City of Taormina and other important institutional and private sponsors, the festival has continued to grow in importance over the five years I have had the honor to direct it. It has become, in brief, a modern film festival that combines the glamour of its location and stars with top-of-the-charts programming.
We are particularly proud of our growing new section Campus Taormina, where filmmakers and emerging actors talk about their work to film students from Sicily and all over Italy. It is generously supported by Italy’s Ministry for Youth and Minister Giorgia Meloni, who founded the Campus Youth Jury which will award 3 prizes this year. Spazio Taormina, the festival’s new industry area, continues to grow in prestige with the arrival of the European Film Academy.
