In 1954 a group of intellectuals and movie buffs decided to organize a film festival in one of the most beautiful regions of Italy, Sicily. Today after 60 years the Festival di Taormina (Taormina Film Fest) has just finished celebrating it’s anniversary in the spectacular setting of the Greek town of Taormina.
Over the years the festival has hosted many stars of international cinema such as Elizabeth Taylor, Marlene Dietrich, Sophia Loren, Cary Grant, Robert De Niro, Colin Firth, Marlon Brando, Charlton Heston, Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Tom Cruise, Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas, among others.
Movie stars are obviously attracted by the high quality of this festival, but also by its beautiful location and rich history. Taormina in fact was founded on the Sicilian coast by the Greeks in the 7th century BC and eventually became part of the Roman Empire. When guests arrive in Taormina, they can immediately sense the culture spreading from every corner of the town all the way up until they step into the fascinating Greek theater: an 8,000-seat 2,300-year-old amphitheater where all the festival ceremonies are celebrated offering a stunning view of the Mediterranean.
This strong sense of magical and ancient times must have been exactly what Jim Gianopulos, 20th Century Fox chairman and CEO, felt as he arrived in Taormina. In fact, while accepting the Arte Award, the homage the festival offered him to honor his work, he couldn’t find better words to describe the deep connection between this town and our modern form of story telling, movies: “I would like to think that my Greek ancestors would be pleased to know that this magnificent structure they made is still standing today and being used to celebrate cinema”. And then he added, “It’s fitting that we celebrate cinema here, because this is where storytelling began. You would not have Avatar, X-Men, or even Borat if there hadn’t been Seneca and Euripides.”
This year though, among the many guests the festival hosted (Ben Stiller, Jon Turturro, Dante Ferretti, Matt Dillon), a particular importance was given to women.
As reflected in its subtitle “60 years of women and their impact”, to celebrate its 60th birthday, the Taormina Film Fest decided to honor women and their work in movies, “Women have contributed a lot to the movie business, and sometimes they are not as appreciated as men, and festivals forget to celebrate them,” said Tiziana Rocca, Taormina fest’s general manager together with Mario Sesti. Among the “special” guests were Claudia Cardinale, Isabella Ferrari, Eva Longoria, Melanie Griffith, Paz Vega, Carmen Maura and Bo Derek. All these actresses received honors and participated in debates concerning women’s roles in contemporary society and their presence in the movie industry.
Moreover a special award, the Taormina Humanitarian Award, was given to Longoria for her work with the Eva Longoria Foundation, which helps Latinas build better futures for themselves and their families through education and entrepreneurship. “I’m very excited to take part in this year’s Taormina Film Festival … celebrating its 60th edition and dedicating this important anniversary to women across the globe, helping them to build a better future,” Longoria said.
The Taormina film fest also hosted many screenings of movies about to appear in theaters: the festival opened with DreamWork Animation’s “How to Train Your Dragon 2” and went on to other interesting screening like Clint Eastwood’s new movie “Jersey Boys” and Charlie Kaufman’s “Sinecdoche”, in honor of its recently deceased star, Philip Seymour Hoffman.
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