L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 26, 2014 www.italoamericano.com L'Italo-Americano 3 1954 - 2014: Taormina Film Fest celebrates its 60th birthday Over the years the festival has hosted many stars of internation- al cinema such as Elizabeth Taylor, Marlene Dietrich, Sophia Loren, Cary Grant, Robert De Niro, Colin Firth, Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Tom Cruise, Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas, among others. Movie stars are obviously attracted by the high quality of this festival, but also by its beau- tiful location and rich history. Taormina in fact was founded on the Sicilian coast by the Greeks in the 7 th century BC and even- tually became part of the Roman Empire. When guests arrive in Taormina, they can immediately sense the culture spreading from every corner of the town all the way up until they step into the fascinating Greek theater: an 8,000-seat 2,300-year-old amphitheater where all the festi- val ceremonies are celebrated offering a stunning view of the Mediterranean. This strong sense of magical and ancient times must have been exactly what Jim Gianopulos, 20th Century Fox chairman and CEO, felt as he arrived in Taormina. In fact, while accepting the Arte Award, the homage the festival offered him to honor his work, he couldn't find better words to describe the deep connection between this town and our mod- ern form of story telling, movies: "I would like to think that my Greek ancestors would be pleased to know that this magnif- icent structure they made is still standing today and being used to celebrate cinema". And then he added, "It's fitting that we cele- brate cinema here, because this is where storytelling began. You would not have Avatar, X-Men, or even Borat if there hadn't Continued from page 1 The World Cup is like a woman. Valentina Losa, the head of the company that man- ufactures the World Cup tro- phy itself, explains in a Vanity Fair interview, "It's loved, desired, and it travels. Every four years, it travels many kilo- meters to arrive wherever the World Cup is held, and at the end, it returns home to retouch its look." Ever since Germany's victo- ry in 1974, the World Cup tro- phy has been produced in Paderno Dugnano, a province of Milan. After the World Cup of 1970 in Mexico, FIFA com- missioned Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga to design the next trophy. Gazzaniga was the artistic director of GDE Bertoni, a trophy and medal manufacturer. "The idea was to create something symbolizing exer- tion, dynamism and the jubila- tion of an athlete in the moment of victory, with all the joy that contains," describes Gazzaniga during an interview with FIFA. This symbolic and dynamic trophy is made of 18 carat gold with a malachite base, and it is 36.8 centimeters high, with a weight of 6 kilograms and 175 grams. It portrays two human figures holding up the world with outstretched arms. The winning teams of the world cup bring home a copy made of ormolu (high-carat gold-mercury added to bronze), while the original trophy, which remains property of FIFA, returns to Paderno for a brief restoration and to add the name of the winner. GDE Bertoni was estab- lished in the early 1940's by Eugenio Losa and his father-in- law Emilio Bertoni to produce medals and sacred objects. Today, Valentina Losa, the granddaughter of its founder, manages her family's enter- prise, along with 12 employ- ees. "A great Italian pride," beams Losa. "Every time the trophy is lifted, all of us at the company feel great joy and pride. Not just because it is something we have made our- selves, but also because the entire world can admire it." As we enter the knockout stages of the World Cup, the world will watch as the win- ning team holds this master- piece: the winner's prize and Italy's pride. JANe HusoN The World Cup: Made In Italy been Seneca and Euripides." This year though, among the many guests the festival hosted (Ben Stiller, Jon Turturro, Dante Ferretti, Matt Dillon), a particu- lar importance was given to women. As reflected in its subti- tle "60 years of women and their impact", to celebrate its 60 th birthday, the Taormina Film Fest decided to honor women and their work in movies, "Women have contributed a lot to the movie business, and sometimes they are not as appreciated as men, and festivals forget to cele- brate them," said Tiziana Rocca, Taormina fest's general manager together with Mario Sesti. Among the "special" guests were Claudia Cardinale, Isabella Ferrari, Eva Longoria, Melanie Griffith, Paz Vega, Carmen Maura and Bo Derek. All these actresses received honors and participated in debates concern- ing women's roles in contempo- rary society and their presence in the movie industry. Moreover a special award, the Taormina Humanitarian Award, was given to Longoria for her work with the Eva Longoria Foundation, which helps Latinas build better futures for them- selves and their families through education and entrepreneurship. "I'm very excited to take part in this year's Taormina Film Festival … celebrating its 60th edition and dedicating this important anniversary to women across the globe, helping them to build a better future," Longoria said. The Taormina film fest also hosted many screenings of movies about to appear in the- aters: the festival opened with DreamWork Animation's "How to Train Your Dragon 2" and went on to other interesting screening like Clint Eastwood's new movie "Jersey Boys" and Charlie Kaufman's "Sinecdoche", in honor of its recently deceased star, Philip Seymour Hoffman. Taormina Fest Honors John Turturro on Final Day. Photo: Serena Capparelli

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