Brazil hosts 8½ Italian Film Festival in over 20 cities

The 8 ½ Italian Film Festival is celebrating its 12th edition in Brazil with a program of 11 films, including new releases and classics, which will be shown in more than 20 cities from June 26 to July 2. The event will feature award-winning film editor Jacopo Quadri as a guest.

Quadri won the most important award in Italian cinema, the David di Donatello, for Best Editing in "The Great Ambition", by Andrea Segre. He also edited "Felicità", by Micaela Ramazzotti, and "Fuori", by Mario Martone, released at the last Cannes Film Festival. All of them are in the 2025 program, which will be shown in cities such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Brasília, Salvador, Fortaleza, Recife, Porto Alegre, Curitiba and Caxias do Sul.

Among the highlights of the festival is the acclaimed feature film "Vermiglio", by Maura Delpero. The film, which explores complex family and social dynamics amid the challenges imposed by World War II, premiered at the Venice Film Festival last year and received several awards, including the Grand Jury Prize (Silver Lion). In addition, it was nominated by Italy to compete for one of the spots at the 2025 Oscar for best international film.

Another highlight is the feature film "La Vita Accanto", by Marco Tullio Giordana, which made its world premiere at the last Locarno Festival, in a screening outside the official competition.

The program also includes works by two debut directors, Margherita Vicario, with "Gloria!", and Micaela Ramazzotti, with "Felicità". The first, an international Italian-Swiss co-production, is a hymn to female freedom and the transformative power of art, reinterpreting the past with an irreverent and contemporary perspective.

"Felicità" is a dramatic comedy that follows Desirè on a challenging quest to break the cycle of violence and family abuse and to protect her brother, in a mix of lightness, humor and seriousness.

The event also pays tribute to actor Marcello Mastroianni, in celebration of the centenary of his birth, which was celebrated in September. To this end, the exhibition displays restored copies of classics such as "La Dolce Vita" and "8 ½", by Federico Fellini.