CINEMA ITALIAN STYLE 2013: SIFF AND SPECIAL GUESTS TO CELEBRATE THE BEST OF CURRENT ITALIAN FILMS

SEATTLE, WA - November 14 - 21, SIFF presents Cinema Italian Style, its fifth annual festival of the best in current Italian films. The week features 17 extraordinary features and documentaries with some of the biggest names in Italian cinema today, including director Paolo Sorrentino (This Must Be The Place, Il Divo), director Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso), actor Toni Servillo (Il Divo, Gomorrah), actress Jasmine Trinca (The Best of Youth), and more. Bookended by two fabulous parties and with an unprecendented ten special guests in attendance, the week promises to be a celebrationde non perdere! 

The week kicks off on Thursday the 14th with the Opening Night Film, L'Arbitro. Shot in vivid widescreen cinemascope black-and-white, this wildly inventive and funny comedy from director Paolo Zucca tells the tale of the lamest team in the Sardinian third league, and should delight fans of soccer and bizarre Italian feuds alike. After the film, we'll head to the sumptuous Hunt Club at the Sorrento Hotel for Italian wine and hors d'oeuvres from Executive Chef Dan Gilmore. 

Our Closing Night Film on Thursday the 21st is the Italian Oscar contender, La Grande Bellezza, a magnificent love letter to Rome featuring actor Toni Servillo as an aging, charismatic journalist searching for meaning. The film's exuberant party scenes - including a ravishing 6-minute opening sequence -  are juxtaposed by quiet moments and philosophical conversations, all set against the grandeur of the Eternal City. After the film, we'll finish out the week in style at Capitol Hill's La Spiga for wine and Romagnola-inspired hors d'oeuvres from Chef Sabrina Tinsley.  

Throughout the week, our guests will attend post-screening Q&As, visit local schools, and connect at exclusive filmmaker dinners and parties. Carl Spence, SIFF's Artistic Director, says, "There is a renaissance happening within the filmmaking across Italy. We've saved the best of these films for our annual festival and I'm thrilled with the incredible caliber of guests who will be traveling to Seattle. We are excited to share these filmmakers and their extraordinary stories to further entertain, enlighten and enrich the cultural landscape of our great city." 

About SIFF
Founded in 1976, SIFF creates experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary films from around the world with the Seattle International Film Festival, SIFF Cinema, and SIFF Education. Recognized as one of the top film festivals in North America, the Seattle International Film Festival is the largest, most highly attended film festival in the United States, reaching more than 150,000 annually. The 25-day festival is renowned for its wide-ranging and eclectic programming, presenting over 250 features and 150 short films from over 70 countries each year. SIFF Cinema exhibits premiere theatrical engagements, repertory, classic, and revival film showings 365 days a year on four screens at the SIFF Film Center and the historic SIFF Cinema Uptown, reaching more than 100,000 attendees annually. SIFF Education offers educational programs for all audiences serving more than 11,000 students and youth in the community with free programs each year.  

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