(Via CNW) This year’s Italian Contemporary Film Festival (ICFF) “includes a bright spotlight on features and shorts by Italian Canadian filmmakers,” says Artistic Director Cristiano de Florentiis. With the Festival running for 11 days, June 9th through 19th, in multiple cities (Toronto, Vaughan, Hamilton, the Niagara Region, Montreal and Québec City), you may have a chance to check it out yourself, but meanwhile, here are some of the highlights from Canadian short filmmakers.
Stray Dog, by Michael Mazzuca, takes place on a Christmas Eve that goes very wrong. Giorgio “Pooch” Puccini’s car hits — no, not a stray dog, but a man he was deliberately trying to hit. Only, he got the wrong man, and things just go downhill from there. Mazzuca, based in Toronto, is now working on his first feature film and many other projects.
Oliver’s Bowl, by Frankie Gaddo, also features a man in crisis — midlife crisis, this time. Making its world premiere at the Festival, where it will be introduced by Gaddo, the film is set to be made available online later this year.
Papa Pasquale (Father Pasquale), by JC Little (known online as The Animated Woman), is based on the true story of the Folino family, which it chronicles in animated form. We follow Pasquale from his Italian home to Canada, where he builds a new life and eventually his dozen siblings join him.
Captive Love, by Zack Bernbaum, explores a potentially disturbing story — a woman corresponds with a man who held her captive years earlier, and finally meets him for dinner, triggering memories of the crime, and her emotions around it.