The poster for this year’s Italian Film Festival USA stop in Boulder. (Courtesy of Dr. Michela Ardizzoni)
On Thursday, April 6, the University of Colorado Boulder’s French and Italian Department will revive the CU stop of the Italian Film Festival USA. It will be the 13th year of the festival’s screenings in Boulder and the first selection of films to be chosen for in-person viewing since the pandemic.
The screenings in Boulder are part of a wider series of contemporary Italian films being shown throughout the month of April in 13 other cities and college campuses across the country.
President and Founder of the Italian Film Festival USA Barbara Klein said that the festival chooses Boulder for two reasons; firstly, because of the quality of the Italian department at CU, but also because Boulder might not be as exposed to contemporary Italian culture as other major U.S. cities.
“Most of the screenings of the festival are not on the coast, like New York City or Los Angeles, because they already have an adequate supply of opportunities,” said Klein. “You have a wonderful, renowned Italian department in Boulder, [so students can have] that opportunity to hear Italian spoken, [or] to see places and learn things about Italian culture.”
Dr. Michela Ardizzoni, an associate professor in the Department of French and Italian and the director of Graduate Studies for the department, says that one of the goals of the festival is to cater to the widest possible audience by diversifying their selection. She said in this way, she hopes to update an antiquated image of Italy in the minds of the audience.
“We try to have a variety of really contemporary films that talk about contemporary issues,” said Ardizzoni. “[We want to] show a different, more modern, more updated, more contemporary view of the country, through the eyes of the country’s new filmmakers.”
There are six films to be featured in this year’s selection: one documentary about the late Italian actress Anna Magnani, two comedies, and three dramas. Each film is contemporary and created by burgeoning Italian directors. All show a unique view of Italian life that Ardizzoni and Klein hope Boulder audiences can carry with them and appreciate for years to come.
“We don’t just want to have the pedagogical goal of teaching about Italy in a certain way,” said Ardizzoni. “[We also want] to entertain our audiences and it’s been pretty successful since the beginning. So we hope people will come back after the pandemic as well.”
Each screening is free and open to the public. All films are shown with original dialogue in Italian with English subtitles. They will take place on various dates through the month of April. Find more information about the screenings here.
Contact CU Independent Arts and Entertainment Editor Lauren Hill at lauren.hill-2@colorado.edu.
