Press release from The Weird Mob 3 Film Festival
A film festival that offers a snapshot of the effects of immigration on Italians will open at the Cinema Palace in Leichhardt on June 1 running until June 5, 2009.
The Weird Mob 3 Film Festival (www.theweirdmob.com) presents eight feature films and eight short films by Italian directors, dealing with the past thirty year immigration flow to Italy.
The Festival follows two successful editions on similar themes.
The Weird Mob in 2005 was a retrospective on films by Italian-Australian directors spanning three generations, while the 2007 edition concentrated on cinema produced by directors of Italian origin, who had migrated to various countries around the world.
The 2009 Festival deals with migration from East Europe, China, Africa and South America to Italy, where 4 to 5 million migrants now reside. The movies selected analyze the migration experience in which Italians are the “hosts”.
How are Italians reacting to the arrival of new ethnic groups, cultures and religions?
How are the migrants settling in a country with such a rich and ancient culture?
The movies offer an insight, at times humorous and ironic, on another side of Italy, where the Italians, in a bizarre role reversal, must learn to overcome feelings of discrimination, intolerance and to accept the ‘diverse’. The same feelings that the Italians had to face when they were the ones migrating, not too long ago.
A seminar on cinematography of migration will be held on Friday 5 June in the Conference Room of Leichhardt Council. The speakers will present a social analysis of the migration phenomenon and of the dynamics that rule the relations between immigrants and Italians, and how these have been represented by the film industry.
The Festival is part of Sydney Italian Festival (www.sydneyitalianfestival.com ), organized by The Italian Trade Commission (ICE).
What: The Weird Mob 3 Film Festival www.theweirdmob.com
When: June 1-5, 2009
Where: Cinema Palace, Norton Street, Leichhardt
Bookings: 0405 684 150; theweirdmob@gmail.com