University of Richmond to Host Inaugural Richmond Italian Film Festival

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND — The University of Richmond will host the inaugural Richmond Italian Film Festival on March 21–24.

Free and open to the public, this series will celebrate Italian cinema through several recent and highly acclaimed films and one restored film from the heyday of Italian cinema. The films include:  

• 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

Several of the films are being screened in Richmond for the first time.

The festival will be held at the University of Richmond at various locations on campus. For the final event, the historic Byrd Theatre in Carytown will screen Smog, a 1962 film by Franco Rossi that was recently restored.

“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.”

Festival attendees are also invited to panels taking place throughout the festival, featuring experts from the University of Richmond in addition to special guests, including:

• 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;
• and Isaak J. Liptzin, producer at Awen Films.

Peretti notes that UR is a natural fit for the inaugural festival.

“What strikes me about the University of Richmond is its strong international culture,” he 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 website.

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