Cultural Notes By Joelle Petit Adkins

U.S. opening of the traveling exhibition of photographs by MARIO GIACOMELLI (1925 – 2000)

THE ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI CULTURA, LOS ANGELES

OPENING: THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2007 6:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.

 

WHO: Mario Giacomelli is known to be the greatest Italian photographer of the 20^th century. His work reflects upon the human condition, bringing to the spectator that universal feeling of what life is about. Giacomelli hand- printed all his photos, mostly using black and white to stress the contrast between a figure and the background, thus revealing the abstraction of forms. In 1955 Giacomelli began to explore the theme of rural life in La buona Terra (“The Good Earth”, 1955068), a voyage which took him back to the places of his childhood, immortalizing peasant families during their seasonal work in the fields. Perhaps the most celebrated of the series, Scanno (1957-59) is portraying a traditional ancestral world where time seems to have stood still. Many of Giacomelli’s photos are part of New York MOMA permanent collection. In the sixties the artist worked on the project: Io non ho mani che mi accarezzino il volto (“I have no hands caressing my face”), better known as the Pretini series, shown at New York ’s Metropolitan Museum .

WHAT: U.S. opening of the traveling exhibition of 60 photographs by Mario Giacomelli.
 

WHEN: OPENING: THURSDAY, MAY 31, 2007 6:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M.
CLOSING: TUESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2007  

 

 

MARIO GIACOMELLI: EXHIBITION

WHERE: ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI CULTURA 1023 HILGARD AVE LOS ANGELES, CA 90024
TICKETS: FREE!
PHOTOGRAPHY -- MARIO GIACOMELLI: EXHIBITION Opening: Thursday, May 31, 2007 Closing: Tuesday, August 21, 2007
For further information please contact: Francesca Valente, Director 310.443.3250 luppi@iicusa.org

CLAUDIO MAGRIS in California

The USC Center on Public Diplomacy, the Center for International Studies, the USC College Global Cultures Initiative & the Italian Cultural Institute present

 

Literature & Diplomacy:

Bringing Italian Literature to the U.S.

Cooking Class with Celestino Drago

Cooking Class with Celestino Drago

Schedule: March 17th/Saturday/11AM to 2PM 

Fees: $125

Location: Drago Ristorante

 For more information and to register please call 310-443-3250 X110

 

A Prince Named Totò

Dear friends,

This is a very unique set of movie presentation.

Admission is free for all screenings

All films in Italian with English subtitles

Have a great time

Joelle

www.savoirfaire-california.com

 

A Prince Named Totò

Exhibition of Memorabilia

Screenings

Book Presentation

 

 

To commemorate the 40^th anniversary of the death of Antonio De Curtis, known as “Totò,” the Italian Cultural Institute and the De Curtis family present a traveling exhibition which displays unpublished documents on the life and career of this great Neapolitan artist. Born in a working class quarter of Naples in 1898, bearing the title of prince from his father’s family, he was one of the greatest Italian comic actors of the 20^th century, as well as being a poet and song writer. From 1936 to 1967, he acted in 97 films, enjoyed by more than 270 million viewers, a record unparalleled in Italian film history. With his commedia dell’arte mask, similar to those of comedic masters Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, he maintained his unique acting style in both comic and dramatic roles until the end, under the direction of such greats as Alberto Lattuada and Pier Paolo Pasolini. 

 

The exhibition brings together fifty panels tracing Totò’s genius, extending from the stage to variety theater, from the big screen to television. In addition to the photos and documents pertaining to his private life and extraordinary career, there will also be on display musical video-clips and poetry manuscripts (few know that Totò wrote approximately forty songs and more than thirty poems), the book A Prince Named Totò (Rizzoli, 2004) and memorabilia, mostly stage costumes. The event also features the West coast premiere of a documentary, Lei non sa chi è Totò (“You Don’t Know Who Totò Is”), produced by Sky Cinema Classic and Cinecittà Entertainment. The film unfolds between interviews with the great Neapolitan actor and other important figures in his life and clips from his many films. Totò often acted without a detailed screenplay and knew how to give a surreal and irreverent character to his performances, accentuated by his peculiar physical presence like that of a puppet.

 

 

Friday, March 2nd

 

6:30 pm: Reception

 

7:00 pm: Opening of Exhibition and Presentation of the Book A Prince Named Totò

 

8:10 pm: Documentary: Lei non sa chi è Totò

 

9:10 pm: Feature film: L’imperatore di Capri

 

Film Schedule:

 

Monday, March 5th

6 pm: Un turco napoletano

8 pm: Destinazione Piovarolo

10 pm: Uccellacci e Uccellini

 

 

Tuesday, March 6th

6 pm: Siamo Uomini o Caporali

8 pm: I pompieri di Viggiù

 

 

Wednesday, March 7th

6 pm: Destinazione Piovarolo

8 pm: Un turco napoletano

 

 

Thursday, March 8th

6 pm: Destinazione Piovarolo

8 pm: Un turco napoletano

10 pm: La legge è legge

 

 

Friday, March 9th

6 pm: Lei non sa chi sono io

8 pm: L’imperatore di Capri

10 pm: Siamo Uomini o Caporali

 

Admission is free for all screenings

All films in Italian with English subtitles

 

Info

Venue: Istituto Italiano di Cultura,  1023 Hilgard Avenue , L.A. / 310.443.3250 / iiclosangeles.esteri.it

Organized by: De Curtis Family, Kit Inc.

In collaboration with: Italian Cultural Institute, Los Angeles, COM.IT.ES Los Angeles, Italian Heritage Culture Foundation, the Barbera Family, and the Italian Cultural Institute, Vancouver

Free parking available for opening night in the lot adjacent to the IIC

Federico Fellini, La Strada at the Lacma

Saturday, March 3, 7:30 PM
          La Strada          

(1954/b&w/108 min.) Scr: Federico Fellini, Tullio Pinelli, Ennio Flaiano; dir: Federico Fellini; w/ Giulietta Masina, Anthony Quinn, Richard Basehart

Long out of theatrical distribution, La Strada is one of the undisputed classics of postwar Italian cinema, a film of joy, despair, and delicate heartbreak. Giulietta Masina, Fellini's actress-wife, plays Gelsomina, a wide-eyed waif whose simple love for Zampanò (Quinn), a strongman in a traveling circus, is rewarded with indifference and abuse. Without benefit of speech, Masina's face expresses an entire gamut of emotions in a tour-de-force performance that has been compared in its humanity to the work of Charlie Chaplin. Winner of the 1956 Academy Award for best foreign-language film.

For other film listing:  http://www.lacma.org/programs/FilmListing.aspx#bdp

Tickets & Information
$9; $6 for museum and AFI members, seniors (62+), and students with valid ID. Price includes both films in a double bill, except where noted. $5 for the second film only with no advance purchase.

Please note: many programs sell out. Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased at the museum box office. For information call the box office at 323 857-6010. Purchase of a film ticket includes entrance to the galleries.

All programs are subject to change. All films are in 35mm unless otherwise indicated. All foreign-language films are subtitled in English. Many films are unrated and may not be appropriate for younger viewers.

If you would like to subscribe to the Film Department’s e-mail newsletter, please send a message to film@lacma.org.