Italian Contemporary Film Festival Runs in Rio August 25th – 31st

By Chesney Hearst, Senior Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Celebrating contemporary Italian audiovisual productions, the Istituto Italiano di Cultura di Rio de Janeiro will present the ‎8½ Festa do Cinema Italiano (The 8½ Festival of Italian Cinema) from Thursady, August 25th through Wednesday, August 31rd. The festival will feature the screenings of seven films in two locations in Rio de Janeiro: the Espaço Itaú de Cinema in Botafogo and the Espaço Rio Design in Barra da Tijuca.

The films that will screen as part of the festival in Brazil are:”Amor Eterno” (The Correspondence), “As Confissões” (The Confessions), “As Consequências do Amor” (The Consequences of Love), “Loucas de Alegria” (Like Crazy), “Meu Nome é Jeeg Robot” (They Call Me Jeeg Robot), “Não Seja Mau” (Don’t Be Bad), and “Pare Quando Quero” (I Can Quit Whenever I Want).

This year will mark the 9th edition of the 8½ Festival of Italian Cinema. A truly international event, the festival opens in Brazil following runs in multiple cities in Portugal including Lisbon, Porto, Loulé, and Caldas da Rainha and in Luanda, Angola and Maputo, Mozambique.

In Brazil, the festival will take place concurrently in the seven Brazilian capital cities of São Paulo, Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Porto Alegre, and Rio de Janeiro.

In all of the Brazilian cities on all of the days of the festival, two films will screen on each night, with the first at 7PM and the second one following at 9:30PM.

Sydney Sibilia’s 2014 comedy “Paro Quando Quero” (I Can Quit Whenever I Want) will start the festival at 7PM on August 25th, followed by Paolo Virzì’s 2016 drama/comedy “Loucas de Alegria” (Like Crazy), the official opening film of the festival.

Claudio Caligari’s 2015 drama “Nao Seja Mau” (Don’t Be Bad) will open the night of August 26th, followed by Roberto Andò’s 2016 drama/thriller “As Confissões” (The Confessions).

Gabriele Mainetti’s 2015 superhero film “Meu Nome é Jegg Robot” (They Call Me Jeeg Robot) will open the night on August 27th, followed by Giuseppe Tornatore’s 2016 romance/drama/thriller “Amor Eterno” (The Correspondence).

Paolo Sorrentino’s 2004 thriller/drama “As Consequências do Amor” (The Consequences of Love) will open the night on August 29th followed by a repeat screening oat “Paro Quando Quero.” Repeat screenings of the previously mentioned films will continue through August 31st.

For complete programming and additional information, see the 8½ Festa do Cinema Italiano website.

What: 8½ Festa do Cinema Italiano
When: August 25th through August 31st with sessions at 7PM and 9:30 PM.
Where: Espaço Itaú de Cinema – Praia de Botafogo, 316 – Botafogo
Espaço Rio Design – Av. das Américas, 7777 – Barra da Tijuca
Entrance: R$10 – R$20