Movie lovers, Cinema Akil, GCC's only independent cinema, is hosting the global film festival, Il Cinema Ritrovato, for the first time in the Middle East. The film festival will take place between 15 and 21 September and is in partnership with the Italian Cultural Institute Abu Dhabi.
Founded in 1986, Il Cinema Ritrovato was initially a modest three-day event; and now, it has become one of the world's major festivals dedicated to screening classics and showcasing the latest restored films from labs and archives around the world.
Cinema Akil will be hosting this festival for the first time in the Middle East, and cinephiles will get to watch seven illustrious heritage films, each digitally restored by Cineteca di Bologna in their state-of-the-art laboratory, L’Immagine Ritrovata. The movies include class archives of Italian, Indian, Moroccan, Iranian, and Angolan cinema, curated by the Festival Coordinator, Guy Borlée.
In terms of schedule, the first film to feature on 15 September will be Director Vittorio De Sica’s 'Sciuscià' (Shoeshine), the first-ever film to win the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. The opening film will be followed by 'Sambizanga', a revolutionary pioneer film chronicling Angola’s awakening independence movement, directed by Sarah Maldoror, one of Africa's first female directors.
Besides these, other films include 'Assunta Spina' featuring iconic Francesca Bertini, 'Chess Of The Wind', depicting an enigmatic murder mystery, 'Signore E Signori', internationally known as The Birds, The Bees and The Italians, directed by Pietro Germi, Ritwik Ghatak’s 'A River Called Titas' and Ahmed El Maanouni’s documentary 'Al Hal-Transes'.
Speaking about the film festival, Butheina Kazim, Founder of Cinema Akil said, “The iconic Il Cinema Ritrovato has been an inspiration to our work at Cinema Akil throughout our journey since we opened our doors. As one of the world’s most iconic film festivals dedicated to classic and repertory cinema, the festival’s programming and the restoration efforts of the Cineteca di Bologna are responsible for keeping humanity’s shared cinema history alive. With the support of our ongoing partners at the Italian Cultural Institute in Abu Dhabi, it is an honour for us to bring this collaboration to Dubai as an affirmation of our commitment to the magic of cinema from across borders and time.”
To Know more about the films, head to Cinema Akil's website.