Film review: The Summer of Festivals: Il Cinema Ritrovato & TIFF
The months of July and August are full of festivals that take place physically, some of them delayed from earlier months, a great window for events after a long winter and spring and before an uncertain-looking autumn. Excited to join and…
Ioana Moldovan · Journalist
· Updated · 3 min read
The months of July and August are full of festivals that take place physically, some of them delayed from earlier months, a great window for events after a long winter and spring and before an uncertain-looking autumn. Excited to join and reunite with old friends and colleagues, I hit the road and ticked off the two highest on my list
Il Cinema Ritrovato (“cinema re-discovered”), in the Northern Italian town of Bologna, has been around for thirty-five years. Having taken place between 20 and 27 July and organised by Cineteca di Bologna, it is the most important festival dedicated to film restoration, and shows older films restored by specialised centres and labs, but also newer fare. Most of its participants return every year, and the new ones swear to do the same, because there is no red carpet, no competition, no fancy stuff, just cinema, from morning to midnight. And it is a delight.
This year’s homage to US director George Stevens had its hits (Woman of the Year, with Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy) and lesser-known treasures (I Remember Mama, Something to Live For) while the tribute to Romy Schneider showed some of her most moving roles in Claude Sautet’s films (The Things of Life, César and Rosalie). In Bologna you can catch classics restored in all their glory (Otto Preminger’s perfect Anatomy Of a Murder, François Truffaut’s timeless The 400 Blows), discover great noir stuff like the fabulously-titled
