For the last two years, the Italian Cultural Center has brought the cream of contemporary Italian films to the Twin Cities with free screenings at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
It's one of the grassroots programs that makes the Twin Cities such a vibrant film community. Commercial distributors all but ignore Italian cinema nowadays. Thanks to the ICC, we get to enjoy them for a voluntary donation of any amount we choose. It's a heck of a deal.
The schedule of films to be presented in the third annual festival, March 25-27, will be announced soon. Meanwhile there is fundraising to do. To support the film series, ICC is hosting a benefit from 6:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday, March 5 at MCAD. The event will give the guests a rare opportunity to enjoy an exclusive Midwest showing of Federico Fellini's "The Clowns" (1970), a carousel ride of a movie, introduced by yours truly. The poignant docu-memoir has been digitally restored and remastered by RaroVideo, a high-end Italian DVD label incongruously headquartered in Minneapolis! The fundraiser includes wine and antipasti from D'Amico Kitchen, a post-screening discussion and a coffee reception in the lobby. The members are a vibrant, gregarious bunch, and the food is always eccellente. Admission is $65 ($30 tax deductible). RSVP by visiting the ICC website to register. MCAD is located at 2501 Stevens Ave. S., Minneapolis. I hope to see you there.
