As part of Italy’s Culture Days in Saigon, the Consulate General of Italy in collaboration with COLAB Vietnam will host the Italian Film Festival 2020 at Galaxy Cinema Nguyễn Du in HCM City’s District 1. Photo courtesy of Consul General of Italy in HCM City

HCM CITY — Italy’s Culture Days in Saigon 2020 will take place from December 18-27, featuring a review of movies and short-film screenings, thematic conversations on design, and a music performance to celebrate the holiday season with an Italian twist.

As part of Italy’s Culture Days in Saigon, the Consulate General of Italy in HCM City in collaboration with COLAB Vietnam will host the Italian Film Festival 2020 at Galaxy Cinema Nguyễn Du in HCM City’s District 1.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Consul General of Italy in HCM City Dante Brandi said the film festival aimed to attract attention to Italian cinema and promote the arts and cultures of the two countries. It would also offer a glimpse of contemporary Italian film production.

Italy will be seen through the lens of six beautiful movies that deal with some of the most relevant themes in today’s Italian society, such as immigration, urban living conditions, and family relationships and resilience in the face of difficulties.

Six movies to be screened at the Italian Film Festival 2020 include Perfect Strangers (2016) by Paolo Genovese, Magari-If Only (2019) by Ginevra Elkann, Sole (2019) by Carlo Sironi, Ginger and Fred (1986) by Federico Fellini, Bangla (2019) by Phaim Bhuiyan and Dafne (2019) by Federico Bondi.

On the occasion of the winter solstice (the shortest day of the year) and following the 2019 edition, the Consulate General of Italy will present the Short Film Day 2020.

Six contemporary Italian short films will be screened at the Consulate General of Italy in HCM City, depicting the most interesting national productions of this genre.

The event is held in cooperation with the Italian Short Film Center and will be open to an audience of Vietnamese students of Italian language, the Vietnamese-Italian alumni community, and to lovers of short films.

Six short movies to be screened at the Short Film Day include Il Nostro Tempo (2019) by Veronica Spedicati, Lunedì (2019) by Massimo Fallai, Mezze stagioni (2019) by Bruno Ugioli and Riccardo Menicatti, Passaggi (2019) by Beppe Leonetti, 14 (2019) by Aldo Surricchio and Jiaozi (2019) by Luca Canale Brucculeri.

In the framework of Italy’s Culture Days in Saigon, the design talk “Design: Reconnecting" will be held on December 22 to stimulate a discussion on the dynamics between brand and design, and the way in which design has evolved in the context of current challenges.

Italy is an industrial-design powerhouse and host of the most important international exhibition of premium furniture at a global level, the Salone del Mobile in Milan. 

The country is committed to helping push the envelope of Vietnamese quality design in interior decoration as in other sectors like fashion design, architecture, cultural heritage, and industrial design, according to Brandi.

The Saigon Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO), along with the Consulate General of Italy in Ho Chi Minh City, will pay tribute to the memory and timeless legacy of the extraordinarily talented musician and composer Ennio Morricone, with a tribute concert featuring his music from the films Cinema Paradiso (1988), Once Upon a Time in America (1984), The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1964), The Legend of 1900 (1988), The Mission (1986), La Califfa (1970).

The concert on December 27 will be performed by the SPO semi-classic orchestra and by Jumpforjazz, featuring Nguyễn Tuấn Lộc as a conductor, Lê Minh Hiền as solo violinist, Phạm Ngọc Khánh as vocalist, and Lan Anh as solo pianist. Music arrangements are provided by Maestro Roberto Fiore and Nguyễn Bảo Long.

The event at the Saigon Opera House is held with the support of Asia Music & Performing Arts Education (AMPA), Eurocham and ICHAM. —VNS