Student Services + Academic Relations for North America

Academic Calendar

Announcements

Articles

Student Clubs

FAQ

Downloads

Advisors

Parents

LdM Video

Lorenzo De' Medici Shows Strong Ties with Italian Film Industry, opening doors for students to work on film projects and festivals

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 31, 2007

Rome, Cortona and Tuscania, Italy ­ A recent flurry of activity has marked Lorenzo de' Medici's strong connections with the Italian film industry as illustrated by new connections with Cinecittà, ACT Multimedia, Film Festivals, and involvement in important films that feature Oscar winners and a "Bond Girl."

ACT, Cinecittà and LdM

Recently, Lorenzo de' Medici was present at the inauguration of the new academic year of film school ACT Multimedia of Cinecittà, which took place at the first-ever Rome Film Festival. Representing LdM at this benchmark event was Academic Director Jonathan Woolfson and Faculty Supervisor Federico Vitella.

LdM and ACT have recently signed a collaborative agreement to benefit LdM students and give them unprecedented access to film projects and Cinecittà studios.

About Cinecittà ("Cinema City")

The Cinecittà film studios have been making movies for more than 70 years. The facilities in Rome are used for film production from training to post-production. Some films that have been made at Cinecittà include: Ben Hur, Cleopata, Roman Holiday, Three Coins in the Fountain, and Martin Scorcese's Gangs of New York. Currently Cinecittà is closed to the public. LdM arranges private tours for students. ACT is the educational arm of Cinecittà.

"Thanks to our collaboration with ACT, we are able to offer our students a fantastic opportunity to develop their cinematographic experience," said Jonathan Woolfson during his speech at the ACT inauguration. "At the same time, thanks to our consolidated network of international collaborations, we are excited to be able to bring the precious Œknow-how' of Italian cinema, as represented by Cinecittà and ACT, to the world."

1^st Production: "Un Fiore di Campo: Margherita da Cortona"

The first production in the LdM/ACT agreement is "Un Fiore di Campo: Margherita da Cortona". This film on the famous courtesan-turned-penitent Margaret of Cortona starrs 007 Casino Royale "Bond girl" Caterina Murino in the lead role and is directed by ACT's own Claver Salizzato. In the crew there are two Oscar winners: Gabriella Pescucci for costumes and Gianni Quaranta for scenography.

"Un Fiore di Campo: Margherita da Cortona" will be filmed in both Cortona and Tuscania, beginning in Spring 2007. LdM students will be fully involved in all aspects of film production.

Film and Cinema at LdM

LdM's involvement in the world of film extends beyond its agreement with ACT. LdM has had film experience in Tuscania before, having collaborated with noted Italian director Paolo Bianchini on another film, "Il Giorno, la Notte, Poi l'Alba: Federico e Francesco." Furthermore, students in the LdM study abroad program from Texas Christian University recently produced a film entitled "Tuscania," which received a 2006 Award of Excellence for a short film. In the development of its film studies program LdM works closely with DAMS, the film department of the University of Florence, with which it has an ongoing collaborative agreement.

LdM and Film Festivals

LdM encourages students to be a part of film festivals and other events in the community to enhance their classroom learning.

In Florence, at the 47^th Festival dei Popoli, the long-running international festival of documentary cinema, LdM offered the "Lorenzo de' Medici Award" in the amount of ¤2,500, to be awarded at the discretion of a jury of student judges also provided by the school. This international jury was composed of LdM students Ayse Tunca, Rose Walker, Sarah Nachum, Steven Nast, and Noriko Kaneko, hailing from as diverse countries as Turkey, Japan, and the U.S.A.

The "Lorenzo de' Medici Award" was presented to Heddy Honigmann of Holland for her film, "Forever," which was described as "Šharmoniously combining art, literature and music to present an original perspective on life and death." Furthermore, Hongimann was said to "possess the gift of enabling her subjects to freely express their own emotions."

The Festival has always asked questions often ignored by the big screen in order to spark debate, analysis and dialogue, as well as providing venues through which the public can interact with expert film makers and personalities from the world of show-business.

Scuola Lorenzo de' Medici was the only school involved in this capacity; this is part of LdM's commitment to providing students with experiences in the community to complement their classroom study.

Please follow the following links for more information on these exciting events, and LdM's involvement in the film community:

• ACT Multimedia/LdM signing: www.actmultimedia.com/news/de_medici/de_medici.html
• TCU "Tuscania" short film award: http://www.newsevents.tcu.edu/216.asp
• Festival dei Popoli: www.festivaldeipopoli.org.