The upcoming 71st edition of the Taormina Film Festival in Italy promises an exceptional lineup, blending various film genres and showcasing potential new finds. Additionally, the event will feature a significant amount of celebrity presence as it adopts a fresh format aimed at rejuvenating the iconic Sicilian festival and restoring its global prominence.
Tiziana Rocca, a marketing expert with connections in Hollywood and expertise in festivals, has returned to lead the organization after a hiatus of eight years caused by political disputes in 2017 following a five-year tenure. Rocca’s initial action is to revive a competitive category featuring 10 films. These movies will be evaluated by a jury, as previously announced, with Da’Vine Joy Randolph, who won an Oscar for her role in “The Holdovers,” serving as its head.
The Taormina competition, revealed on Thursday, features several highly-anticipated premieres. These include “Leopardi & Co,” a comedy starring Whoopi Goldberg and Jeremy Irvine directed by Italian filmmaker Federica Biondi, as well as the Sicily-set horror film “Jastimari” helmed by Riccardo Cannella. Additionally, the European debuts are scheduled for James Ashcroft’s chiller “The Rule of Jenny Pen,” which will see Geoffrey Rush in attendance, and David Mamet’s drama “Henry Johnson,” starring Shia LaBeouf but without any announced cast members.
Other entries in the Taormina competition include Alex Garland’s follow-up to “Civil War” titled “Warfare”; Montenegrin filmmaker Ivan Salatić’s historical drama “Wondrous Is the Silence of My Master”; and Canadian filmmaker Sofia Bohdanowicz’s “Measures for a Funeral,” which follows a graduate student named Audrey as she explores the story of real-life pioneering Canadian violin prodigy Kathleen Parlow.
Earlier mentioned, the opening film outside of competition for our festival is the “John Wick” spinoff titled “Ballerina,” directed by Len Wiseman and starring Norman Reedus. The closing film will be the Italian romantic comedy “L’amore sta bene su tutto,” directed by Giampaolo Morelli.
Additional non-competitive films presented at Taormina feature diverse genres. These include “Together” by writer-director Michael Shanks, a gruesome romance from Neon; Billy Zane’s darkly comedic “Int.Hallway/Night”; Tyler Perry’s war drama “The Six Triple Eight”, set during World War II; and “The Issue With Tissue: A Boreal Love Story” by Michael Zelniker, a documentary advocating against deforestation.
Rocca expressed her desire for Taormina to embody two distinct personalities. One side would cater to the mainstream audience, given its ancient Greek theater steeped in 2000 years of history and able to accommodate nearly 6,000 spectators. The other side would focus on more serious films,” she explained further. “She also mentioned her preference for offering a variety of film genres at these festivals – drama, horror, comedies. She believes it’s crucial to cater to various tastes while maintaining an air of sophistication and glamour.
Since the mid-1950s, this summer festival has been taking place in the Sicilian resort famously recognized by U.S. viewers as the setting for “The White Lotus” Season 2. Notably, it features a vast open-air amphitheater with Greek architecture, nestled under the imposing presence of Mount Etna, an active volcano in Sicily.
Initially, the charm comes from Martin Scorsese and Michael Douglas, both of whom are set to receive career awards, as previously announced. Other esteemed guests at the Taormina festival who will be celebrated include Catherine Deneuve, Helen Hunt, Olivia Wilde, Dennis Quaid, and James Franco.
Taormina is honoring Monica Bellucci by commemorating the 25th anniversary of Giuseppe Tornatore’s passionate period drama “Malena,” which propelled her to international stardom. Bellucci will be present for the showing of a restored version of the film, which tells the story of a 13-year-old boy’s infatuation with a seductive enchantress in Sicily during World War II, and ultimately unfolds as a tragic journey for a woman who suffers due to her beauty.
In the professional realm, renowned Hollywood producer Charles (“Chuck”) Roven, known for his extensive list of hit movies such as “Oppenheimer,” the “Dark Knight” trilogy, “Suicide Squad,” “Man of Steel,” and “Wonder Woman,” will receive the Taormina Achievement Producer Award.
Iris Knobloch, the newly-appointed president of Cannes Film Festival and former head of Warner Bros. France and Germany, is anticipated to travel to the Sicilian coastal retreat for a discussion focused on women’s empowerment within the movie industry.
This theme holds a special place in Rocca’s heart. ” thirteen years ago, when I was initially assigned to oversee Taormina, I became the first woman to serve as an artistic director for a significant film festival in Europe,” she states.
“Now I’m back, and I think the return of a woman as artistic director can make a difference.”
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2025-06-05 16:47