"Cinema in urban spaces", or "Eyes on the city" as a reflection of the human condition. These are two of the reviews to mention at the 43rd edition of the Laceno d'oro. The Avellino film festival ends on December 9th and with the short films presented it raises its gaze on the environments of real life.
An artistic contribution to understanding cities, their inhabitants, their problems. A selection of works of extraordinary topicality that crosses the debate on the quality of life and social transformations. In short, an experiment to be followed with interest.
The Laceno does not end with these two reviews, of course. It is one of the oldest manifestations of cinema, born of a collaboration between the writer James D'Onofrio, the journalist and screenwriter Marine Camillo, with the support of Pier Paul Pasolini. To give it continuity, today, is the Imagination Film Culture Circle, directed by Tonino Spagnuolo. During the six days of activities, which began on 3 December, there are also three competitions dedicated to feature films by young talents and the Laceno d'oro Doc, reserved for documentaries of all kinds. The artistic spaces are truly limitless and the setting of the "green Irpinia", although we are in the middle of winter, is very suggestive. Two exhibitions curated by the magazine «Cinema Sud» display period photos, playbills and posters with the special «Leone Factory» retrospective dedicated to the thirtieth anniversary of the death of Sergio Leone. The anniversary falls next year but the organizers wanted to anticipate everyone with over 30 beautiful photos from the family archive. The master had roots in these parts, however. His father Vincenzo Leone was born in Torella dei Lombardi. Just a few kilometers from Avellino, which he wanted to celebrate its international fame. We still mention the exhibition "The long journey of Italian cinema", the history of our cinema from 1936 to 1956 and "Spazio Campania", with 17 local productions.
Going back to urban spaces, what the organizers are saying is sobering. Creative efforts outlining a mapping and redefinition of daily perimeters are worth presenting to the public. Film is a tool for rethinking the relationship between construction and the environment, man and the landscape. The cinematographic story cannot ignore the context in which the plot takes place. The setting is the premise of the screenplay and the narratives become convincing only if they are real. A poor neighborhood, a chaotic city, a devastated land, a brutalized square with actors and a camera are worth much more than a slogan or a collection of signatures. Especially in times of great transformations.
