Saverio Costanzo in competition, plus the Taviani brothers and Puccioni. “In memory of myself” by Saverio Costanzo is the Italian movie in competition at the 57th Berlinale to be held from 8th “” 18th February.
Starring Hristo Jivkov and inspired by the novel “Il gesuita perfetto” by Furio Monicelli (Mondadori), the movie tells the story of a young intellectual without a vocation who enters a religious order as a novice.
The Taviani brothers will also be at Berlin, out of competition, in the “Berlinale Special” with “La masseria delle allodole”.
A co-production between Italy, France, Spain, Bulgaria and the United Kingdom, with the contribution of Eurimages, this movie, which bears the Rai Cinema brand, is based on the novel of the same name by Antonia Arslan in which the Armenian genocide by the Turks allied with the Germans in 1915-16 provides the backdrop for a tragic and romantic family story.

Marco Simon Puccioni  (see interview on page 41) will be competing in the Panorama section with “Riparo”. No Italians have been selected for the Forum, the prestigious laboratory showcasing the cinema of the future.
Representing the colors of Italy will be Jasmine Trinca (“Shooting Star”), and two projects at the Co-Production Market, the section created to promote contacts between producers and co-financiers: “Heart of Fire” by Luigi Falorni (nominated for an Oscar in 2006 with “The story of the weeping camel”) and “When Elephants Fight” by Domenico Distilo. Finally, the Berlinale will be paying tribute to Giovanni Pastrone’s masterpiece, “Cabiria”, the first big international success in the history of cinema. Both versions of this extraordinary work will be presented at the festival by the Museo Nazionale del Cinema of Turin which has restored the original silent version of 1913-14 and the talking version of 1931

Cinema&Video International   1/2-2007