· Paolo Genovese among the Festival Jury members

· A full programme of activities to stimulate meeting opportunities between producers, distributors and creatives from Italy and Mexico

· The return of Italian Screens, the first showcase of Italian films candidates for the David di Donatello Awards

 

For the third time, Italy will be the guest of honour at the 38th edition of the FICG | Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara (Guadalajara International Film Festival). It was announced today, 19 February, in the professional space of the Italian Pavilion created by Cinecittà and promoted by Cinecittà, Directorate General for Cinema and Audiovisual, the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and ITA - Italian Trade Agency, during the European Film Market in Berlin.

 

A signal of growing interest and enthusiasm for Italian cinema. From 3 to 9 June the Festival's jury will include the director, screenwriter and writer Paolo Genovese, who will also be the keynote speaker in a special masterclass. The event will also host a full programme of activities and prestigious guests.

 

«It’s with great pleasure that we prepare to be once again 'invitado de honor' at the Guadalajara International Film Festival» explained Roberto Stabile, Head of Special Projects of the DGCA of the MiC at Cinecittà. «Such an honour was already extended years ago and it will be even more exciting for us to return to Mexico coming from that wonderful experience. We’ll try to be up to the task, working on a selection of films of the most recent production, without neglecting a tribute to our history by paying homage to a great maestro. We’ll also bring to Mexico a delegation of high-profile representatives of Italian industry and institutions, and in the Jury of this 38th edition we’ll be represented by Paolo Genovese. A grateful thank you to the friends of the Guadalajara Festival and especially to the Ambassador of Mexico in Rome, H. E. Carlos García de Alba, who does so much to promote cultural and cinematographic relations between our two countries».

 

«It is a privilege for us to once again have Italy as Guest of Honour, the country that has been part of our Festival on the most occasions: the first time was in 2004, when we homage the career of Vittorio Storaro and the Taviani brothers. The second was eleven years later, in 2015, with the participation of Gerardo Panichi as Jury, a retrospective of Bernardo Bertolucci and the screening of more than 50 Italian films. The imprint of Italian Cinema has been and is fundamental in the history of the seventh art. We are sure that this will also be a memorable presence at our Festival» said Estrella Araiza, director of the Guadalajara International Film Festival.

 

This occasion will also see the return of ITALIAN SCREENS, the showcase that will present the best of Italian cinema abroad, born on the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI), Cinecittà for the Directorate General for Cinema and Audiovisual of the Ministry of Culture (DGCA-MiC) and the Academy of Italian Cinema - David di Donatello Awards.

 

Italian Screens is a crucial opportunity to introduce the protagonists of Italian cinema abroad, to build up an audience that appreciates the great productions of the moment and more. The 38th edition of the FICG will see the participation of ten selected Italian producers in a full calendar of panels organised by Cinecittà for the DGCA of the MiC in order to stimulate meeting and networking opportunities between leading professionals, producers, distributors and creatives from Italy and Mexico, and presenting local operators with the best of Italian audiovisual system.