University of Richmond to host first-ever Italian Film Festival

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- The University of Richmond is celebrating Italian cinema in March with the inaugural Italian Film Festival.

The inaugural Richmond Italian Film Festival will run for three days from March 21 to March 24. According to the University, it will be held at various locations on the University's campus, including the historic Byrd Theatre in Richmond's Carytown.

“Italian cinema is going through an era of international rebirth, both from a critic and audience point of view,” said festival organizer Luca Peretti, an Italian and film studies professor at the University of Richmond. “It’s exciting to showcase some of Italy’s greatest contemporary filmmakers for the first time in Richmond, a city with a growing film culture.”

The festival will include several recent and critically acclaimed films and one restored film, with several being screened in Richmond for the first time.

(Photo Courtesy: Lauren Anesta)

Parthenope Poster (Photo Courtesy: Lauren Anesta)

La Chimera Poster (Photo Courtesy: Lauren Anesta)

There's Still Tomorrow Poster (Photo Courtesy: Lauren Anesta)

Stonebreakers Poster (Photo Courtesy: Lauren Anesta)

The following are the current scheduled films:  

• "C’è ancora domani" by Paola Corellesi (2023)
• "Parthenope" by Paolo Sorrentino (2024)
• "La chimera" by Alice Rohrwacher (2023)
• "Stonebreakers" by Valerio Ciriaci (2022)
• "Smog" by Franco Rossi (1962)

The university will also host panels featuring university experts and special guests throughout the festival, which includes:

• Valerio Ciriaci, director of the film "Stonebreakers"
• Ira Deutchman, independent film producer
• Elettra La Duca, director of the Italian Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C.
• Damiano Garofalo, film studies professor at Sapienza University of Rome
• Isaak J. Liptzin, producer at Awen Films

“What strikes me about the University of Richmond is its strong international culture,” Peretti said. “The Richmond Italian Film Festival will have its home at a university that is eager to watch and discuss more international films. We hope precisely that interest in these films can keep growing thanks to our festival.”

For more information, visit the Richmond Italian Film Festival's website.