Io Isabella, the first female cinema festival of the south of Italy

5th INTERNATIONAL WEEK OF THE FEMININE WEEK AND THE CREATIVE DOCUMMENTARY


Io Isabella, the first female cinema festival of the south of Italy and the second most important documentary festival of all the country, celebrates its first fifth years of life.

During almost a week and till the 10th of august 2009 the public will enjoy of the highest quality cinema in one of the most beautiful places of the south of Italy: Maratea, region of Basilicata. The sportive port, surrounded by typical and southern balconies and craggy mountains, turns into a cinema hall where everybody, children and adults, are invited to enjoy of good cinema. Feminine cinema, documentary cinema.

The coveted Onde d´Oro will be given today, the 9th of august at 21 hours, when the public and the jury will have already watched circa 20 premiers from 5 different continents.

Io, Isabella- International Film Week distinguishes itself of other cinema meetings by its very special vision of cinema: quality Italian, European and World Premieres where the feminine talent of their directresses is top valuated. Artists all over the world send their own works to be selected and compete in three sections for the Onda d´Oro: best film, best “opera prima” and best documentary.

The “Discret fascination of the documentary” is an open section for men and women. The directress of the festival, Livia Ponzio, is the person in charge to present all the premieres to the filmfans of Maratea. Ponzio says: “There are a lot of women who every year study in cinema academies of all over the world, but there are very few who have the opportunity and the financing to turn their vision into a quality work”.


The program of this year keeps faithful to the aim of bringing together quality and entertainment. Saturday was one of the greatest nights of the festival. The calabrian hip-hop singer Kenzo presents with the directress Elena Fiorenzani his new videoclip “Sacco o Vanzetti” inspired in the real story and film about the two Italian anarchists who were condemned to death penalty without real proofs. It has been the result of a year of conversations and collaborations which began exactly one year before in Io Isabella, where both artists had the chance to meet each other. Saturday the youngest and most rapper night: breakdancer artists danced under hip-hop rhythm after the showing of a videoclip and a documentary about this worldwide phenomenon which bring together music, dance and plastic art.

Every night the festival has tributed one of the greatest actress of the Italian cinema: Maria Luisa Ceciarelli, aka Monica Vitti. Her mysterious and penetrating sight made of her the muse of the very famous Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni and in 1977 worked under the orders of Luis Buñuel in The Phantom of Liberty.

As in befote editions, national, European and World Premiere will be in Io Isabella. Breathe, of the young dutch directress June te Spenk, will be presented to the rest of the world from Maratea. Europe will watch by first time how much changes the life of people hit by a ray: Act of God, by Jennifer Baichwal, will be one the most important premier of the festival.

Five films from the USA has been and will be presented: Baghdad High of the CNN journalist Laura Winter; Blessed is the Match, Roberta Grossman, in Italian Premiere; Crude of Joe Berlinger (director of the documentary about Metallica. Some kind of Monster) and the 2009 Oscar winning film Smile Pinki of Megan Mylan.