31 October | Chuck Palahniuk to take the stage for a Close Encounter titled “American Gothic”

A surreal, non-conventional and controversial cult writer, Chuck Palahniuk will take the stage tomorrow, Tuesday October 31^st, for a Close Encounter titled “American Gothic”, during the 12^th Rome Film Fest. The author – who rose to international fame with his first novel, “Fight Club”, which became a worldwide best-seller following the extraordinary adaptation for the screen by David Fincher – will speak to the audience about the horror films that excited and disturbed him most.
There will be four screenings from the Official Selection.
At 7:30 pm, Sala Sinopoli will hold the screening of Mademoiselle Paradis by Barbara Albert, the director of Periferia Nord and Fallen, both presented at the Venice International Film Festival. The Austrian director brings to the screen the story of Maria Theresia “Resi” Paradis, eighteen years old, a blind pianist with remarkable talent. Resi literally lost her sight from one day to the next when she was only three years old. After countless medical experiments doomed to failure, her hyper-protective parents turned as a last resort to the controversial “miracle doctor” Franz Anton Mesmer, for whom curing the girl could be a source of fame and wealth. Mesmer’s treatment appeared to bring almost immediate results. Unfortunately, Resi soon began to realize that as her sight returned, her musical talent vanished.
At 10 pm, also in Sala Sinopoli, the screening will feature The Only Living Boy in New York by Marc Webb, the acclaimed director of the diptych Amazing Spider-Man and 500 Days of Summer, nominated for two Golden Globes. The hero of the film is Thomas Webb, a recent graduate searching for his place in the world. Everything starts to change after he discovers that his father is having an affair with a very attractive young woman. As he tries to separate them, Thomas ends up in bed with her, triggering a series of events that will completely change his life and his convictions.
At 10:30 pm, Sala Petrassi will hold the screening of Skyggenes dal (Valley of Shadows) by Jonas Matzow Gulbrandsen. At the center of events, set in a small village lost between the sea and the mountains in Norway, young Aslak has to deal with a tragic event he can’t quite understand. “I always wanted to make a movie that reflected the mind and the perspective of a child. I began to explore this world when I was making my first film Darek – explained the director. In Skyggenes dal I wanted to go even further, making a film in which everything was filtered through the eyes of a six-year old child. The thoughts and consideration of a child are beautiful and fascinating”.
The daily programme of the Official Selection will end at 9:30 pm in Teatro Studio Gianni Borgna with Hikari (And Then There Was Light) by Tatsushi Omori. The film is about Nobuyuki, a family man and Mika, a fascinating actress, who share a past and a crime that appeared to be buried until the day that Tasuku, the only witness, suddenly reappears threatening revenge.
The “Everyone’s Talking About It” section will feature a screening of Hostages by Rezo Gigineishvili (Sala Petrassi at 8 pm), the true story of a group of young people who hijack a civilian airplane in 1983 with the intent to escape to Turkey. When an unexpected circumstance forces the plane to land without crossing the border of Turkey, the plan fails, triggering the violence that turned into a national tragedy.
At 5 pm, Sala Petrassi will hold the screening of Borotalco, shown in the version newly restored by Infinity to celebrate the thirty-fifth anniversary of its release in theatres. One of Carlo Verdone’s most famous and often-quoted films, the third film by the Roman director was an important turning point for him. The film abandoned the episode structure of his previous feature films, shaping that irresistible blend of comedy and melancholy that would distinguish Verdone’s future films. At 4:30 pm, Verdone will be joined on the red carpet by the star Eleonora Giorgi and by Gaetano Curreri, the beloved leader of the musical band “Stadio”, with two historic members of the band Ricky Portera and Fabio Liberatori. In the theatre, the three musicians will offer a short performance before the screening.
Two films from the Riflessi section will be presented at the MAXXI: the documentary Tracce di Bene by Michele Sansonna (at 7:30 pm) is based on a lost confession by an artist which emerges from oblivion: Carmelo Bene talks about himself to his friend Giancarlo Dotto, transformed into the voice-over of an imaginary autobiography. This will be followed at 9:30 pm by the screening of Lo chiamavano Spencer, a road movie documentary with and about Bud Spencer, alias Carlo Pedersoli.
Starting at 9:30 am at the MAXXI, the twelfth Rome Film Fest will host CINEDAYS of Rome City of Film, an encounter on the theme “Creative Cities: impact, policies and forms of cooperation”, in collaboration with Economia della Cultura and the Coordination of the creative Italian cities in the Unesco network. Following the introduction by Piera Detassis, president of the Fondazione Cinema Per Roma and Antonio Monda, Artistic Director of the Rome Film Fest, the panel will begin the discussion of the impact of creative cities, moderated by Lucio Argano (Senior Partner PTS Consulting and Università degli studi Roma Tre): exchanging their views will be Chris Bailey (Guild of Media Arts of York), Annalisa Cicerchia (Istat and Economia della cultura Roma) and Paola Dubini (Università Bocconi Milano). The second part will explore the policies of cities with a vocation for cinema, with speakers Roberto Cicutto (Luce Cinecittà srl), Felice Laudadio (Scuola Nazionale di Cinema CSC), Giorgio Gosetti (Casa del Cinema Roma / Associazione Festival italiani di cinema), Giancarlo Leone (APT), Francesco Rutelli (ANICA), Luciano Sovena (Fondazione Roma Lazio Film Commission). The moderator will be Massimo Locatelli (Università Cattolica Milano). The last part of the conference will analyze the forms of cooperation between creative cities. Discussing the issue will be Francesca Martinese (Bologna – City of Music and Coordination of Italian Unesco Creative Cities), Costanza Ferrarini (Parma – City of Gastronomy), Luigi Ratclif (Turin – City of Design), Vittorio Salmoni (Fabriano – City of Crafts and Folk Art), David Wilson (Bradford City of Film). The moderator will be Marcello Minuti (Consultant for culture and innovation Luce Cinecittà srl). Presenting the conclusions will be Silvia Patrignani (Ministry for the Cultural Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism –Unesco Office). 
The Rome Film Fest collaborates with several important institutions in the Capital. For the second year in a row, it returns to the Rebibbia prison: at 4 pm, in the Auditorium of the Rebibbia Nuovo Complesso, there will be a screening of Una questione privata by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, in the Official Selection of the Rome Film Fest (free admission with reservation required while seats last: info and reservations www.enricomariasalerno.it).
The Rome Film Fest comes for the first time to the MediCinema movie theatre at the Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli, thanks to the collaboration that began this year with the Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli and Medicinema Italia Onlus: at 4 pm there will be a screening for patients and their families of Terapia di coppia per amanti by Alessio Maria Federici with Pietro Sermonti, Ambra Angiolini and Sergio Rubini.
The 12^th Rome Film Fest will also be at the Teatro Palladium, thanks to the important collaboration with Università Roma Tre. The four screenings in the lineup will be held on Tuesday October 31^st and Thursday November 2^nd, with free admission while seats last.
The first screening is scheduled tomorrow evening at 8:30 pm, with the musical 42nd Street by Lloyd Bacon, presented at the Rome Film Fest in the “Films of our lives” section: this famous movie is about a director who must stage a variety show in America during the economic crisis. It will be followed, at 10 pm, by the screening of Moravia Off by Luca Lancise, seen at one of the pre-opening events of the 2017 Rome Film Fest: the documentary borrows the poetics of the great Italian author, one of the most important writers of the twentieth century, to generate stories taking place around the world, from Africa to Egypt, from Poland to China, from Germany to Iran, from France to South Korea.
The following is the programme of repeat screenings around the city. Sala Sinopoli will hold a screening of C’est la vie! (Le sens de la fête) by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano (at 5 pm), while at the Teatro Studio Gianni Borgna the screening will feature In Blue by Jaap van Heusden (at 3 pm). Three events are scheduled at the 3 and Google Cinema Hall: Please Stand By by Ben Lewin (at 6 pm), Mademoiselle Paradis by Barbara Albert (at 8 pm) and The Only Living Boy in New York by Marc Webb (at 10:30 pm). The MAXXI will host The Hungry by Bornila Chatterjee (at 2:30 pm), while the My Cityplex Europa will feature The Movie of My Life by Selton Mello (at 3:30 pm), Love Means Zero by Jason Kohn (at 6 pm), Insyriated by Philippe Van Leeuw (at 8 pm) and I, Tonya by Craig Gillespie (at 10 pm).
Alice nella città, the independent and parallel sidebar at the Rome Film Fest, will present Please Stand By by Ben Lewin (at 11 am) in Sala Sinopoli, while the 3 and Google Cinema Hall will feature the screenings of Brigsby Bear by Dave McCary (at 9:30 am), exclusive scenes from Il ragazzo invisibile by Gabriele Salvatores (at 11:30 am), followed by End of Summer by Quan Zhou, and in the afternoon Blue My Mind by Lisa Brühlmann (at 3 pm). The Cinema Admiral will host La recita by Guido Lombardi (at 8:30 pm), followed by L’Età imperfetta by Ulisse Lendaro, while the Scuola Amaldi will feature the screenings of Sister by Ursula Meier (at 9 am) and Play by Ruben Östlund (at 11 am).