The 21st edition of the Ravenna Nightmare Film Fest was presented today at the MAR, a festival full of news, which looks to its own territory without forgetting its international vocation. This edition will offer many intersections with music and open to the world, with guests known to the audience such as Federico Zampaglione (director and founder of Tiromancino), Alex Infascelli (director, among many other things, of Mi chiamo Francesco Totti) and Brando De Sica (director, actor and screenwriter, son of Christian).
As director of the Ravenna Art Museum Roberto Cantagalli stated during today’s press conference "the RNFF is a reference point for the city's culture, just as the Congress Centre is for independent cinema. Hosting the presentation here at the MAR has an additional meaning, framing the museum as an open space, a place for the public and the convergence of different artistic languages”.
For its opening on Saturday 11 November the morning screening will be dedicated to schools and kids with a movie from Visioni Fantastiche: Manodopera by director Alain Ughetto. Through a meticulous work of historical reconstruction, Ughetto recounts the journey of his grandparents from Italy to France, tracing a moving and delicate portrait of the world of the defeated and exploited. The Opening day will continue with a special guest for all genre cinema and music lovers, Federico Zampaglione. After screenings at the Sitges Film Festival and the Trieste Science Fiction Festival, the director and musician will present The Well, his latest feature film, also with a talk on special effects. The film is set in an ancient Italian village, where a young art restorer wants to restore an enigmatic medieval painting to its former glory.
The 14th of November will have a performance of the State Conservatory of Ravenna with a live soundtrack of the medium-length film La guerra e il sogno di Momi by Segundo de Chomón (1917), under the direction of Maestro Paolo Marzocchi. This will be followed the fim of Mimì - Il Principe delle tenebre by Brando De Sica, which we had the honor to include in our programme after our participation at the prestigious Sitges Festival.
Music, Literature, Film. This will be the paradigma that will shape the 17th of November. Out Medal of Honor will be bestowed on Alex Infascelli, musician, writer, director. During this event he will introduce his latest book Now, Here, Nowhere and documentary Kill Me If You Can.
With the support of the Clust-ER, Creative Cultural Industries Association, our Festival has become stronger; this alleance allowed us to meet two international giants such as the Catalan Sitges Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, that was a great inspiration for us (we watched Enter The Clones Of Bruce and He Went That Way in the USA). Furthermore, the digitisation process carried by our administration led to the improvement of Nightmare Legacy, the streaming platform, which from this year will be hosted by MYmovies One.
The Feature Film Competition will host five titles: My Mother's Eyes, 5 Outlaws, Zaman Dark, Come Home and It Remains. The chosen movies represent the dark side of cinema with remarkable inventiveness, through different shades of disquiet and referring to different genres. Our jury will be a delegation of the Italian Syndicate of Film Critics.
The same variety and multiplicity can be found in the International Short Film Competition. The selection, which can be seen on the afternoon of Saturday 18 November, ranges from the most classic horror to stop-motion animation, and even touches on slightly trashy comedy.
As part of the section Showcase Emilia-Romagna, a window on the young talents of our region, we will be proud to show a film that had its premiere during the Berlinale 2023. Le proprietà dei metalli (The Properties of Metals) by Antonio Bigini is a portrait of a young boy who manifests paranormal powers, eventually attracting the interest of science.
Two pillars of the cultural life of our city will be represented during our festival: Ottobre Giapponese will focus through their movie selection on the hidden side of Japan, showing a side of the History made by the losers. Last but not least, Incontri Letterari will have three afternoon events at the Chalet.
