From John Banville and Camilla Läckberg to Jennifer Kent and the Manetti Bros.: Noir’s full guest lineup for its 30th edition
After the special pre-opening event on Sunday, March 7, with an entire day devoted to Italian genre films, on Monday, March 8 the curtain rises on the 30 edition of Noir in Festival, which will run until March 13 and can be watched for free all over Italy on the streaming platform MYmovies.it and the festival’s social media channels (Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram).
To celebrate this important anniversary, minus the warmth of our audiences there with us, yet with a packed slate of screenings, talks and master classes all available online, Noir in Festival has definitely not skimped on having marquee names from the international film scene on its program, or leading literary lights in the noir vein. Women are the muses of this edition kicking off on March 8th, International Women’s Day, and the lineup features heavy hitters such as Jennifer Kent, the Australian director whose films Babadook and The Nightingale made people sit up and take notice of one of the most fascinating rising stars in film today (March 8 at 5pm, on MYmovies, Facebook and YouTube). And Swedish crime writer Camilla Läckberg (March 9 at 5pm, on MYmovies, Facebook and YouTube), dubbed “the rock star of Nordic noir”, is our guest this year in a different guise, as creator of the TV series Hammarvik, the first two episodes of which will be premiering at Noir before they air on laF (Sky 135) in May. Two more remarkable women writers join us: Alicia Giménez-Bartlett (March 11th at 6pm, on Facebook and YouTube), and Charlotte Link, with her new bestseller Ohne Schuld [Senza Colpa] (March 12 at 11am, on Facebook and YouTube). Our international A-list is rounded out by our Chandler Award winner John Banville (March 12 at 12 noon, on Facebook and YouTube); best-selling author Anthony Horowitz, also known for his hit TV series Alex Rider (March 11 at 7pm, on Facebook and YouTube); this year’s winner of our Honorary Award, Kurosawa Kiyoshi (March 10 at 5pm, on MYmovies, Facebook and YouTube); and filmmaker Brian Yuzna, who will be receiving our Luca Svizzeretto Prize (March 11 at 5pm, on MYmovies, Facebook and YouTube).
Of course, there’s room on the festival’s virtual stage for Italy’s own key players on the film and fiction noir scene. The Manetti Bros., Noir in Festival veterans, step up for a talk about their films on our closing night, including sneak peaks at scenes from their hotly-anticipated new film Diabolik, thanks to a collaboration with Rai Cinema and 01 Distribution (March 12 at 7:30pm, on MYmovies, Facebook and YouTube). The three creative minds behind the film factories Groenlandia and Ascent Film, Matteo Rovere, Andrea Paris and Sydney Sibilia, will discuss their work and pick up the Special Caligari Prize (March 12 at 4pm, on MYmovies, Facebook and YouTube). Antonietta De Lillo will be one of the speakers at the focus session devoted to Lucio Fulci (March 9 at 11am, on Facebook and YouTube), and will be presenting the premiere of her own film Fulci Talks, an interview with and tribute to the master of genre film Lucio Fulci, treated to a retrospective at Noir this year; while Luca Miniero and Lunetta Savino, respectively director and star of the popular Rai 1 series Lolita Lobosco, will team up for a conversation with the author of the novels it is based on, Gabriella Genisi (March 8 at 11am, on Facebook and YouTube). There’s also an all-female panel on “women in black”, featuring Margherita Oggero, Grazia Verasani, Rosa Teruzzi, Antonella Lattanzi and Francesca Serafini (March 8 at 6pm, on Facebook and YouTube), while three male crime fiction maestros will have their say: Roberto Costantini (March 9 at 6pm, on Facebook and YouTube), Gianrico Carofiglio (March 12 at 6pm, on MYmovies, Facebook and YouTube), and Maurizio De Giovanni (March 10 at 6pm, on Facebook and YouTube).
Also on the literary front, Noir welcomes Nicola Lagioia, author of La città dei vivi, which caused a sensation last year (March 11 at 11am, on Facebook and YouTube); Chiara Lalli and Cecilia Sala, hosts of the acclaimed podcast Polvere, deep in conversation with Gaetano Savatteri (March 10 marzo at 11am, on Facebook and YouTube); and showcases new novels by Paolo Roversi (March 12 marzo at 7pm, on MYmovies, Facebook and YouTube), Silvio Danese (March 8 at 6pm, on Facebook and YouTube), Livia Sambrotta, and Roberto Cimpanelli in his literary debut (March 8 at 7pm, on Facebook and YouTube). Plus there’s a focus session with Federico Greco and Elisabetta Sgarbi going head to head on the Star Wars universe (March 11 at 12 noon, on Facebook and YouTube). Last but not least, two master classes by Adrian Wotton, on John Ford (March 9 at 12 noon, on Facebook and YouTube), and Mario Serenellini, on the screenwriting clashes over Alfred Hitchcock’s Marnie (March 10 at 11 am, on MYmovies, Facebook and YouTube).
Alongside all the conversations and master classes, the Noir in Festival program is rounded out by its ample film showcase: the 6 titles vying for the Caligari Prize for best Italian noir film of the year, assigned by a jury headed by Claudio Giovannesi (and presented at a special marathon on Sunday, March 7, available online for 24 hours, from Saturday at midnight till Sunday at midnight); the screenings of the opening and closing night films, A Bunch of Bastards by Gabriele Albanesi (March 7 at 9pm) and Appearances by Marc Fitoussi (March 12 at 9pm); the special events, the Lucio Fulci retrospective, and obviously, the films in the International Competition in the running for the Black Panther Award assigned by a jury composed of Carlo Degli Esposti, Camilla Filippi and Gianluca Maria Tavarelli, all watchable for free on the streaming platform MYmovies, for 24 hours only, from their scheduled time on the program.
