Here’s good news for Filipino moviegoers. They will have the chance to watch nine critically acclaimed Italian films in the coming second edition of the Italian film festival in Manila.

Aside from that, there will be a free series of masterclasses on critical areas of the creative process, such as cinematography, sound and special effects, festival founder and director Ruben Maria Soriquez announced at the recent launch of the festival.

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Now called “Italian Cinema From Venice to Manila,” the festival will run from Nov. 14 to 18.

The following movies, also participants at the 74th Venice International Film Festival, will be screened: “Ammore e Malavita” (musical, 2017), “Una famiglia” (drama, 2017), “Hannah” (drama, 2017), “The Leisure Seeker” (adventure, comedy, 2017), “Il colore nascosto delle cose” (romance, 2017), “Brutti e Cattivi” (comedy, 2017), “Gatta Cenerentola” (animation, 2017), “Il deserto rosso” (classic, drama, 1964) and “Novecento” (classic, drama, 1976).

“We are thankful to be given the opportunity to be able to watch these Italian films,” said FDCP Chair Liza Diño—the guest of honor at the festival launch. “I don’t think they are shown in other territories. They don’t do this in Singapore, Malaysia, or in Thailand. The sensibility of most Southeast Asian countries is very Hollywood.”

The Italian movies will be shown in three different venues: at the Central Square in High Street, Taguig, where the festival will open on Nov. 14; and at the Greenbelt Mall in Makati and U.P. Town Center in Quezon City the following day (ticket price is at P150).

“Both aspiring and established filmmakers will get to learn from our Italian experts,” Soriquez said of the free masterclasses.

The lecturers are composer-music producer Franco Eco, cinematographer-producer Davide Mancori and director-VFX designer Paolo Bertola.

The classes will be held in three venues: Cinematheque Center and the School of Design and Arts of Saint Benilde in Manila, and Film Institute of UP Diliman in Quezon City.

A production tour is also being organized with the objective of strengthening Philippine-Italian film industry ties, said Soriquez.

With the aim of exploring possible cooperations, Italian independent producer Giorgio Vignali will visit six local production houses, namely, the Cinematheque Centre and RSVP in Manila; Viva Films in Pasig City; ABS-CBN in Quezon City; and CMB, GWARD and See Thru Pictures in Quezon City.

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“Showing to the Italian producer the advantages of shooting in the Philippines could open the door to future Filipino-Italian and international coproductions,” noted Soriquez.

The festival is an event organized by the Italian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines and the Philippine Italian Association, along with the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) under the auspices of the Embassy of Italy in Manila.

“We’ve been very myopic in terms of our audience. It’s good that, now, world cinema is coming to us,” Diño pointed out.

As the country celebrates the centennial anniversary of Philippine Cinema, the FDCP chief posted this challenge: “What’s next for our cinema? It’s [to conquer] the world. Our market has always been limited, except for the few films that are traveling in festivals; but this is because the stories are very local and it’s this kind of sensibility that the festival audience is looking for.”

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