The Italian Program and the Program in Cinema and Media Studies present
Il Cinema Ritrovato ON TOUR
Five Days in a Cinéphile Heaven
MARCH 6-10, 2024
The fourth Mid-Atlantic edition of the restored film festival Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour (Re-discovered Cinema on Tour) takes place from March 6 through March 10, 2024 across the DMV area, and it will culminate again with screenings at the National Gallery of Art. This year's collaborations extended to the Italian Cultural Institute of Washington, to the Cultural Office at the Embassy of Spain, and to the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center.
Il Cinema Ritrovato on Tour is an initiative of the Italian Program and the Program in Cinema and Media Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, and is made in partnership with the Bologna Film Archive, Italy (Cineteca di Bologna).
A festival of restored films at the University of Maryland, College Park and in the DMV area
The festival at a glance
Let's talk conservation
Day 1: Wednesday, March 6 at the Italian Cultural Institute
This year the festival will open on March 6 with a conversation about film restoration at the Italian Cultural Institute of Washington. The conversation will feature conservator Céline Stéphanie Pozzi from the laboratories of L’Immagine Ritrovata (Re-discovered image) at the Bologna Film Archive, and will include two prominent local experts, Dr. Kim Tomadjoglou (Liaison at the Library of Congress and former director of the Archives of the American Film Institute), and Siobhan Crnugelj Hagan (Director of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Movie Image Archive). FREE
Celebrating Luis Buñuel
Day 2: Thursday, March 7 on the UMD Campus (ASY 2203)
On March 7, the festival will celebrate the great Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park (ASY 2203) with the screening of Belle De Jour (1967). Restored in the laboratories of L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, Belle De Jour won the Leone d’Oro in Venice. Italian writer Alberto Moravia once defined it as “one of the rare films that are both entertainment and a work of art.” French poet André Breton said “Buñuel’s view of the mind is more sophisticated and scientifically more accurate than rationalism’s summary division between the conscious and the unconscious.” The film will be introduced by Javier Espada who recently released the documentary Buñuel, a Surrealist Filmmaker (2021) also on view. FREE. More info on the films.
The magic of silent films with live musical accompaniment
Day 3: Friday, March 8 - AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center
On March 8, the festival will move to the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring, MD, for a night of silent movies. The program will feature Crazy to Marry (1921) and Sensation Seekers (1927) with live music accompaniment by Donald Sosin, one of the leading silent film composers in the world, with years of experience performing at major international film festivals. More info on the films.
Celebrating Anna Magnani
Day 4: Saturday, March 9 & Day 5: Sunday, March 10
National Gallery of Art
On March 9-10, this year’s edition of the festival will conclude at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., with a celebration of the Italian diva Anna Magnani. Please join us on Saturday, March 9, for the screening of Una Voce Umana (1948) and L’Onorevole Angelina (1947). And on Sunday, March 10, make sure not to miss Roma Città Aperta (1945), the classic work of Italian Neorealist cinema, in which Anna Magnani offers one of the most notable and celebrated performances of any actor in the history of cinema! More info on the films.
ALL EVENTS ARE FREE BUT REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED FOR NON-UMD LOCATIONS. CLICK ON THE LINKS TO REGISTRATION ABOVE
Every year in Bologna, Italy, the Cineteca of Bologna hosts what has been defined as a “pure heaven for cinéphiles” or Il Cinema Ritrovato.
Get to know the people behind the organization of the festival here in Maryland and the institutions that support us!
Co-sponsored by
The Department of French and Italian; The Department of Spanish and Portuguese;
The School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures; The Center for Literary and Comparative Studies at UMD.
In collaboration with
The National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center, Silver Spring, MD;
The Italian Cultural Institute of Washington; The Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain.
