The 37th edition of Il Cinema Ritrovato concluded last week but its memories live on.
In Silk Stockings (Rouben Mamoulian, 1957), a quintet of melancholic expats freshly returned from a seductive Paris to a drab shared apartment in Moscow start reminiscing about the joys of the high life in the French capital. Soon it turns into a competition in remembering. Getting too intense where disillusioned Marxist-Leninists accuse each other of stealing one another's memories, Ninotchka (Cyd Charisse), fervently dedicated to the equal distribution of all kinds of wealth, steps in and declares: "Comrades, there are enough memories for all of us." Judging from the range and diversity of this year's picks by festival attendees, it seems that we should not be too worried about running out of memories until next June.
Statistics tell me "120,000 spectators" have viewed "470 films [in] seven cinemas," a 12% increase in attendance compared to previous year. Feelings tell me billions of memories have been made.
Nearly 120 participants from 39 countries have picked their "favourite film" at the festival, as well as their "major discovery" this year. Some have accompanied their choices with additional notes. It's a delight to read.
See their picks below.
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| Flute of Krishna (1926) playing at the Jolly |
Antti Alanen (Finland)
Absolute favourite: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)
Major discovery: Amok (Fedor Ozep, 1934)
Annouchka de Andrade (France)
Absolute favourite: Cherike-ye Tara [The Ballad of Tara] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1979)
Major discovery: Cherike-ye Tara [The Ballad of Tara] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1979)
Kaveh Askari (US)
Absolute favourite: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972) + Early Rouben Mamoulian
Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)
Matthew Anthony Barrington (UK)
Absolute favourite: Bellissima (Luchino Visconti, 1951)
Major discovery: Applause (Rouben Mamoulian, 1929)
Miriam Bale (US)
Absolute favourite: Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960)
Major discovery: Un rêve plus long que la nuit (Niki De Saint Phalle, 1976)
Cecilia Barrionuevo (Argentina/Spain)
Absolute favourite: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)
Major discovery: Yam Daabo (Idrissa Ouedraogo, 1987)
James Bell (UK)
Absolute favourite: Black Narcissus (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1947)
Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974) + Prosopo me prosopo [Face to Face] (Roviros Manthoulis, 1967)
Janet Bergstrom (US)
Absolute favourite: Il Grido (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1957)
Major discovery: Renoir, Vigo, Grémillon les éclaireurs de l'ombre (Alain Agat, 2023)
Claude Bertemes (Luxembourg)
Absolute favourite: Lady Windermere’s Fan (Ernst Lubitsch, 1928) / Timothy Brock
Major discovery: Ost Und West (Sidney M. Goldin, 1923) / Donald Sosin
Daniel Bird (UK/France)
Absolute favourite: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)
Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)
Camille Blot-Wellens (France/Sweden)
Absolute favorite: Kawanakajima kassen [Battle of Kawanakajima] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1941)
Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)
Notes: I would add another category, the best screening experience(s): and then I would probably add the Scopitone session (vintage prints, joy and fun - even if we had to shorten the session because of problems with the projector).
Jan Bollen (Belgium)
Absolute favourite: L’Auberge rouge (Jean Epstein, 1923)
Major discovery: The Plot Against Harry (Michael Roemer, 1969-89)
Major rediscovery: Applause (Rouben Mamoulian, 1929)
Notes: Best archival print: Blood and Sand (Rouben Mamoulian, 1941)
Guillaume Boure (France)
Absolute favourite: The Celluloid Closet (Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, 1996)
Major Discovery: Smog (Franco Rossi, 1962)
Lou Burkart (Germany/France)
Absolute favourite: Queen Christina (Rouben Mamoulian, 1933)
Major discovery: Miss Dorothy (Giulio Antamoro, 1920)
Benoît Carpentier (France)
Absolute favourite: La Voix du Rossignol (Ladislas Starewitch, 1923) + Silk Stockings (Rouben Mamoulian, 1957)
Major discovery: Chromo Sud (Etienne O'Leary, 1968) + Rat Life and Diet in North America (Joyce Wieland, 1969)
Notes: aesthetic shock / fun shock
Flurin Casura (Switzerland)
Absolute favourite: Kurutta Ichipeiji [A Page of Madness] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)
Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974) + Layla Wa Zi'ab [Leila and the Wolves] (Heiny Srour, 1984)
Mohamed Challouf (Tunisia)
Absolute favourite: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)
Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971) + Man's Castle (Frank Borzage, 1931)
Peter Christian Rude (Denmark)
Absolute favourite: Ladri di biciclette (Vittorio De Sica, 1948)
Major discovery: Daibutsu kaigen [Dedication of the Great Buddha] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1953)
Notes: At this year’s Il Cinema Ritrovato, I had the great pleasure to revisit a classic I had not seen in the past plus ten years or so, when I first began digging my way through film history as a young cinephile hungry for new impressions: ‘Bicycle Thieves’. Watching it in a newly restored version, in Italy, on the very first day of the festival, together with a large audience, made me feel very lucky. The screening of ‘Dedication of the Great Buddha’ was my introduction to Teinosuke Kinugasa – what a film! Art, labour, spirituality… At times, it reminded me of ‘Andrei Rublev’.
Phil Clark (UK)
Absolute favourite: Suspect (Robert Siodmak, 1944)
Major Discovery: The Mark of Zorro (Rouben Mamoulian, 1940) + Rings on Her Fingers (Rouben Mamoulian, 1942)
Jo Comino (UK)
Absolute favourite: La Captive (Chantal Akerman, 2000)
Major Discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971) + Down and Out in America (Lee Grant, 1986)
Philip Concannon (UK)
Absolute favourite: Ahlam el-madina (Mohammad Malas, 1984)
Major discovery: We Live Again (Rouben Mamoulian, 1934)
Mark Cosgrove (UK)
Absolute favourite: Classe Tous Risques (Claude Sautet, 1960)
Major Discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Emilie Cauquy (France)
Absolute favourite: Nella città l'inferno (Renato Castellani, 1959)
Major discovery: Cherike-ye Tara [The Ballad of Tara] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1979)
Ian Christie (UK)
Absolute favourite: Bellissima (Luchino Visconti, 1951)
Major discovery: La maison du mystère (Alexandre Volkoff, 1923)
Notes: [Also] reactions to the early Powells and teh astonishing 3D of I, the Jury.
Lorenzo Codelli (Italy)
Absolute favourite: Stornellata Romana (Pietro Francisci, 1947)
Major discovery: Hermann Kosterlitz
Francesco Crispino (Italy)
Absolute favourite: Classe Tous Risques (Claude Sautet, 1960)
Major discovery: Kurutta ippêji [A Page of Madness] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)
Paola Cristalli (Italy)
Absolute favourite: One Way Passage (Tay Garnett, 1932) + Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)
Major discovery: Applause (Rouben Mamoulian, 1929)
Major rediscovery: The Woman on the Beach (Jean Renoir, 1947)
Notes: Major better-than-I-remembered: The Golden Boy | Major decadent satisfaction: Wearing Narcisse noir (Ernest Daltroff pour Caron, 1911) at the screening of Black Narcissus.
Paolo D’Andrea (Italy)
Absolute favourite: Bellissima (Luchino Visconti, 1951)
Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Senem Erdine (Turkey)
Absolute favourite: Il Grido (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1957)
Major discovery: Yam Daabo (Idrissa Ouedraogo, 1987)
Bernard Eisenschitz (France)
Absolute favorite: Il Grido (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1957)
Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)
Notes: In spite of efforts on all sides to open up on new nations and neglected side streets of history, I would say the postwar Italian cinema, scattered as it was among subprograms, dominated this edition. And the best surprise was The Stranger and the Fog, no matter how unsatisfactory I found that overambitious film, but even so, for the appreciation of Bahram Beyzai as a first-rate director (after seeing only one other title, and that one years ago, Bashu the Little Stranger, and discovering - a few days ago - a nice debut short, Ammo Sibilou).
Lukas Foerster (Germany)
Absolute favourite: Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)
Major discovery: Infanzia, vocazione e prime esperienze di Giacomo Casanova veneziano (Luigi Comencini, 1969)
Notes: [Of Love Me Tonight] only the censored version survives ... I probably will forever fantasize about what the 15 minutes longer original release version might have looked like. Favorite film print: Photochemical restoration of The Woman on the Beach (Jean Renoir), Library of Congress 35mm print. To think that all restorations could look as beautiful and rich and above all alive as this one. Pains the heart.
Geoff Gardner (Australia)
Absolute favourite: Tire au flanc (Jean Renoir, 1928) + The Golden Coach (Jean Renoir, 1952)
Major discovery: Aloise (Liliane de Kermadec, 1975)
Sara Gazini (Brazil/UK)
Absolute favourite: Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)
Major discovery: Ahlam el-madina (Mohammad Malas, 1984)
Valerio Greco (Italy)
Absolute favourite: Stella Dallas (Henry King, 1925)
Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)
Major rediscovery: Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960)
Notes: I was very moved by the rediscovery of the origins of Tunisian cinema by Albert Samama-Chikli, Wim Wenders' introduction to Yasujirō Ozu's incredibly well-made gangster film Dragnet Girl / Hijosen no onna (1933), the unpredictable avalanche of revelations in 16mm format (notably the home movie versions of Universal horror classics) organised by Cinémathèque16, the brand new restorations of the Dada-Surrealist films by the artist Man Ray and the must-see serial La maison du mystère (1923). Also, I would like to mark the Film Heritage Foundation's brilliant restoration of the tragic Ishanou (1990) by Ribam Syam Sharma, the programme of Russian Divas in Italy, the fun experience with the broken glasses of One Way Passage (1932) and the final dance on the tune of Scopitones' compilation of French songs from the 1960s.
Mania Gregorian (Italy)
Absolute favourite: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974) + Lady Windermere’s Fan (Ernst Lubitsch, 1928)
Major discovery: Surprise (Dave Fleischer, 1923)
Matthieu Grimault (France)
Absolute favourite: Kurutta ippêji [A Page of Madness] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)
Major discoveries: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972) + Yukinojô henge: Daiippen dainihen [An Actor's Revenge] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1935)
André Habib (Canada)
Absolute favorite: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974) + Quién sabe? (Damiano Damiani, 1966)
Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Oliver Hanley (Germany)
Absolute favourite: Ball im Savoy (Steve Sekely, 1935)
Major discovery: Kurutta ippêji [A Page of Madness] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)
Suvi Heino (Finland)
Absolute favourite: Nothing But a Man (Michael Roemer, 1964)
Major discovery: Layla wa zi'ab (Heiny Srour, 1984)
Liz Helfgott (US)
Absolute favourite: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Major discovery: Peter (Hermann Kosterlitz, 1934) and magnificent star Franziska Gaal
Notes: Most blissful screening experience: Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian). 2nd most blissful screening experience: Stella Dallas (Henry King) in the piazza. More major discoveries (sorry, I can't help myself!): two by Bahram Beyzaie, Gharibeh va meh [The Stranger and the Fog] and Cherike-ye Tara [The Ballad of Tara] and Aloïse (Liliane de Kermadec)
Maggie Hennefeld (US)
Absolute favourite: Applause (Rouben Mamoulian, 1929)
Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)
Notes: Page of Madness, Leila and the Wolves, Nella Citta L'Inferno, Dulac's illustrated songs, and Patouillard a une femme jalouse were also major highlights! Plus there were the many must-see screenings I missed, which sadly included Cherike-ye Tara and Peter.
Alexander Horwath (Austria)
Absolute favourite: Hijōsen no Onna [Dragnet Girl] (Yasujirō Ozu, 1933)
Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)
Notes: Absolute favourite plus: IL GRIDO / CEDDO / ONE WAY PASSAGE / CHERIKE-YE TARA / LE CARROSSE D’OR / ROMEO UND JULIA AUF DEM DORFE / APPLAUSE / GREMLINS. Major discovery plus: PANORAMA OF TIVOLI, SHOWING SEVEN FALLS (USA 1903, Edison Co.) / QUIÉN SABE / AL-MAKHDU’UN / ALOÏSE / KING OF COINS (UK 1903, Alf Collins) / IL DONO.
Pamela Hutchinson (UK)
Absolute favourite: Illustrated Records (Germaine Dulac, 1930)
Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)
Alexander Jacoby (UK)
Absolute favourite: Il Ferroviere (Pietro Germi, 1956) + Die letzte Chance (Leopold Lindtberg, 1945)
Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Nick James (UK)
Absolute favourite: Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)
Major discovery: Shirasagi (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1958)
Maria João Madeira (Portugal)
Absolute favourite: Kurutta ippêji [A Page of Madness] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)
Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)
Alo Jõekalda (Estonia/Japan)
Absolute favourite: Il Ferroviere (Pietro Germi, 1956)
Major discovery: Zündhölzer (Uwe Krauss, Peter Gehric, 1960)
Paul Joyce (UK)
Absolute favourite: Lady Windermere’s Fan (Ernst Lubitsch, 1928)
Major discovery: Miss Dorothy (Giulio Antamoro, 1920)
Notes: Ernst Lubitsch’s take on Oscar Wilde’s play as presented in the Teatro Auditorium Manzoni an auditorium with splendid acoustics, all the better to experience the power of Timothy Brock’s new score as conducted by him and played by the mighty Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna. [Major discovery] one of four films, including three new discoveries, covering the Russian/Polish actress' early career, three from Italy in diva style!
Austė Jucytė (Lithuania)
Absolute favourite: Queen Christina (Rouben Mamoulian, 1933)
Major discoveries: Four Pathé films: En Irlande: Excursion à Killarney (Camille Legrand, 1908) + L’Enfant des mariniers (1907) + L’Enlisé du Mont-Saint-Michel (1908) + Puericultura (1910)
Nakanishi Kanako (Japan)
Absolute favourite: Ich denke oft an Hawaii (Elfi Mikesch, 1978)
Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974) + Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)
Daniel Kasman (US)
Absolute favourite: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)
Major discoveries: La souriante Madame Beudet (Germaine Dulac, 1923) + Time of the Heathen (Peter Kass, 1961) + Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)
Triinu Keedus (Estonia)
Absolute favourite: Classe Tous Risques (Claude Sautet, 1960)
Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Nerina T. Kocjancic (Slovenia)
Absolute favourite: Il Grido (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1957)
Major discovery: Cross of Iron (Sam Peckinpah, 1977)
Martin Koerber (Germany)
Absolute favourite: Was soll'n wir denn machen ohne den Tod (Elfi Mikesch, 1980)
Major discovery: The Edge of the World (Michael Powell, 1937)
Bob Krijger (Netherlands)
Absolute favourite: Le Brasier Ardent (Ivan Mozzhukhin, 1923)
Major discovery: Wo Ist Coletti? (Max Mack, 1913)
Notes: Le Brasier Ardent I was my favourite because of the eerie dream scenes in the beginning especially with the accompanying music of Maud Nellissen (I think I'm becoming a fan of her). Wo Ist Colletti? I've chosen as my discovery because I did come across my Max Mack during my research, but I never saw a film of him and I didn't know he was that big. I love these 1910's action films.
Otto Kylmälä (Finland)
Absolute favourite: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Major discovery: Il Dono (Michelangelo Frammartino, 2003) + The Plot Against Harry (Michael Roemer, 1969-89)
Massoumeh Lahidji (France/Iran)
Absolute favourite: Bellissima (Luchino Visconti, 1951)
Major discovery: Blood and Sand (Rouben Mamoulian, 1941)
Manuela Lazic (UK)
Absolute favourite: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931)
Major discovery: Man's Castle (Frank Borzage, 1931)
Notes: The Mamoulian strand was just a delight – to see someone work across so many genres and still manage to have a clear and distinctive voice shine through was so exciting! Mamoulian's playfulness in Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde is particularly striking; the darkest moments are peppered with visual wit and the emotional depth and complexity of what Stevenson was exploring is made very clear. As for Man's Castle, rarely have I seen such a devastating depiction of a man too hardened by life to really live it. Spencer Tracy is at once terrifying and so compelling, much more interesting than either a likeable or an unlikeable character – a broken man.
Albert Lee (Hong Kong)
Absolute favourite: Blood and Sand (Rouben Mamoulian, 1941)
Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Samantha Leroy (France)
Absolute favourite: Schatten (Arthur Robison, 1923)
Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)
Ross Lipman (US)
Absolute favourite: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Notes: Al-Makhdu'un [is] simply an overpowering work that could have been ripped from today's headlines - save that it was made fifty years ago. But if I can extend the "favorite" category to include presentations, I'd like to single out the "City of Smog: Los Angeles in 1962" panel. I love good illustrated lectures, and Luca Celada masterfully prised out the history informing Rosi's gem in a talk that could well be viewed as a coda to Los Angeles Plays Itself, which May HaDuong then brilliantly countered with altering views of the city unsuggested in Smog's tantalizingly subjective view of the city. Together (along with Alberto Gemmi, who contributed a brief restoration overview) they created a panel that was almost a film in itself, and as compelling as the film that inspired them.
Johannes Lõhmus (Estonia)
Absolute favourite: Prosopo me prosopo [Face to Face] (Roviros Manthoulis, 1967)
Major discovery: Layla wa zi'ab (Heiny Srour, 1984)
Jonathan Mackris (US)
Absolute Favorite: Nothing But a Man (Michael Roemer, 1964)
Major discovery: Katherina, die Letzte (Hermann Kosterlitz, 1936)
Neil McGlone (UK)
Absolute favourite: Il Grido (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1957)
Major discovery: Prosopo me prosopo [Face to Face] (Roviros Manthoulis, 1967)
Brian Meacham (US)
Absolute favorite: Silk Stockings (Rouben Mamoulian, 1957)
Major discovery: La maison du mystère (Alexandre Volkoff, 1923)
Notes: [On SILK STOCKINGS] Along with the rest of the Mamoulian strand, this witty, knowing, and underrated musical was a delight to see, especially in such a gorgeous print. Watching Astaire so at ease as the decadent American, and knowing that under that Soviet cloak, Cyd Charisse was just waiting to strut her stuff, made the whole thing an utter pleasure. [On LA MAISON DU MYSTERE] The daily ritual of a 30-40 minute episode of this serial was an unexpected treat. Beyond providing a setting for upstanding Ivan Mosjoukine and villainous young Charles Vanel go head to head, the films are filled with unbelievable stunts, stunning cinematography, and for me, the most potent emotional moments of any film in the festival.
Lidia Merás (Spain)
Absolute favourite: Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960)
Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)
Paolo Mereghetti (Italy)
Absolute favourite: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Major discovery: Nothing But a Man (Michael Roemer, 1964)
Hind Mezaina (UAE)
Absolute favourite: Black Narcissus (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1947)
Major discovery: Queen Christina (Rouben Mamoulian, 1933)
Daniela Michel (Mexico)
Absolute favourite: Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)
Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)
Saskia Mollen (Netherlands)
Absolute favourite: Stella Dallas (Henry King, 1925)
Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)
Olaf Möller (Germany/Finland)
Absolute favourite: Yōsō (Kinugasa Teinosuke, 1963) + Die letzte Chance (Leopold Lindtberg, 1945)
Major discovery: Tant que s'illuminera l'animal stratifié (Jean Lafleur & Robert Desrosiers, 1965)
Ian Mantgani (Ireland/UK)
Absolute favourite: Stella Dallas (Henry King, 1925)
Major discovery: The Plot Against Harry (Michael Roemer, 1969-89) + We Live Again (Rouben Mamoulian, 1934)
Notes: Cinema Ritrovato is such a dazzling embarrassment of riches that it almost feels insulting to the programme to single anything out. Henry King’s emotionally eviscerating version of Stella Dallas, seen in the majestic Piazza Maggiore with a responsive, sensitive new score by Stephen Horne was the screening that led me and those I spoke with to the greatest floods of tears.
The Plot Against Harry was a film I’d never heard of, and a terrific post-noir, pre-Scorsese chronicle of ethnic gangland New York with a pioneering combination of largesse, documentary detail, pathos and wry wit. There were many delightful Mamoulian pictures in the strand devoted to that director, but We Live Again took me the most by surprise - a classic Hollywood adaptation of Tolstoy that threatened to be corny in its opening moments and unfolded as a profoundly moving parable of values and consequence.
On a personal note, let me just say that Bologna is a place where cinema miracles of all shapes and sizes happen, and my greatest one this time around was as follows: I happened to be testing the DCP of my new short film at an off-festival venue, the Theatro Cinema Medica, and none other than master director Joe Dante, in town for his Ritrovato duties, was gracious enough to stop by. Truly special.
Chiara Marañón (Spain)
Absolute favourite: Stella Dallas (Henry King, 1925)
Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)
Jack Miller (US)
Absolute favorite: The Woman on the Beach (Jean Renoir, 1947)
Major discovery: Infanzia, vocazione e prime esperienze di Giacomo Casanova veneziano (Luigi Comencini, 1969)
Anabela Moutinho (Portugal)
Absolute favourite: We Live Again (Rouben Mamoulian, 1934)
Major discovery: Capelli Biondi (1919)
Mosa Mpetha (UK)
Absolute favourite: Black Narcissus (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1947)
Major discovery: African Archives: What Next?
Dominique Nasta (Belgium)
Absolute favourite: Amok (Fedor Ozep, 1934)
Major discovery: Prosopo me prosopo [Face to Face] (Roviros Manthoulis, 1967)
Elliot Newton (UK)
Absolute favourite: Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960)
Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Carlos Nogueira (Portugal)
Absolute favourite: Infanzia, vocazione e prime esperienze di Giacomo Casanova veneziano (Luigi Comencini, 1969)
Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)
Vincent Paul-Boncour (France)
Absolute favourite: Hijōsen no Onna [Dragnet Girl] (Yasujirō Ozu, 1933)
Major discovery: Time of the Heathen (Peter Kass, 1961)
Michał Pieńkowski (Poland)
Absolute favourite: La Sorelle Bartels (1910)
Major discovery: Hotel Splendide (Michael Powell, 1932)
Sabina Pujol (Spain)
Absolute favourite: Cherike-ye Tara [The Ballad of Tara] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1979)
Major discovery: The Movie Orgy (Joe Dante, 1968)
Rym Ouartsi (France)
Absolute favourite: Silk Stockings (Rouben Mamoulian, 1957)
Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Notes: Other favourites are Nella città l'inferno (Renato Castellani, 1959) and La fuga di Socrate (Guido Brignone, 1923)
Esteve Riambau (Spain)
Absolute favourite: Rings on Her Fingers (Rouben Mamoulian, 1942)
Major discovery: La contessa azzurra (Claudio Gora,1960)
Paul Ridd (UK)
Absolute favourite: Silk Stockings (Rouben Mamoulian, 1957)
Major discovery: Time of the Heathen (Peter Kass, 1961)
Notes: Hugo Fregonese last year, Rouben Mamoulian this year. What a thrill it was to fully immerse myself in the work of a forgotten genius of Old Hollywood at Cinema Ritrovato. Astonishing to see his sheer genre versatility and love of cinematic colour, sensuality and formal swagger expressed over decades of diverse work. All these films were just a joy to behold. And in between, seeing films from the last hundred years plus of world cinema, including the mind-blowing psychedelic thriller TIME OF THE HEATHEN, a tonne of silent films and everything in between. It's such a special place to be. Long may it continue.
Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi (Netherlands/Turkey)
Absolute favourite: Katherina, die Letzte (Hermann Kosterlitz, 1936) + Peter (Hermann Kosterlitz, 1934)
Major discovery: L'ombra (Mario Almirante, 1923)
Notes: Franziska Gaal in Peter & Katharina, die Letzte [both by Herman Kosterlitz]. I’d also like to mention Yam Daabo (Idrissa Ouédraogo) and La Valse Excentrique (1903).
Jonathan Rosenbaum (US)
Absolute favourite: Man's Castle (Frank Borzage, 1931) + Queen Christina (Rouben Mamoulian, 1933)
Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)
Giulia Saccogna (UK/Italy)
Absolute favourite: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971) + Stella Dallas (Henry King, 1925)
Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972) + Prosopo me prosopo [Face to Face] (Roviros Manthoulis, 1967)
Eva Sangiorgi (Italy/Austria)
Absolute favorite: City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931)
Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)
Aboubakar Sanogo (Burkina Faso/Canada)
Absolute favorite: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)
Notes: [Other major discovery] Germaine Dulac's proto music videos.
Regina Schlagnitweit (Austria)
Absolute favourite: Classe Tous Risques (Claude Sautet, 1960)
Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)
Major rediscovery: Hijōsen no Onna [Dragnet Girl] (Yasujirō Ozu, 1933)
Beat Schneider (Switzerland)
Absolute favourite: Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)
Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972) + Kurutta ippêji [A Page of Madness] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)
Nuno Sena (Portugal)
Absolute favourite: City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931)
Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)
Anupma Shanker (UK)
Absolute favourite: Ceddo (Ousmane Sembène, 1977)
Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)
Tamara Shvediuk (Russia)
Absolute favourite: The Marriage Circle (Ernst Lubitsch, 1924)
Major discovery: Les Contes des Milles et une nuits (Viatcheslav Tourjansky, 1921)
Josh Siegel (US)
Absolute favourite: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974) + Cherike-ye Tara [The Ballad of Tara) (Bahram Beyzaie, 1979)
Major discovery: Bushman (David Schickele, 1971) + Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Francesco Simeoni (UK)
Absolute favourite: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Notes: My top film and discovery were one and the same this year: The Dupes. A remarkable film, like The Battle of Algiers by way of The Wages of Fear. Timely, urgent and heartbreaking cinema.
Farran Smith Nehme (US)
Absolute favourite: Stella Dallas (Henry King, 1925)
Major discovery: Cry, the Beloved Country (Zoltan Korda, 1951)
Imogen Sara Smith (US)
Absolute favourite: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Major discovery: Cherike-ye Tara [The Ballad of Tara) (Bahram Beyzaie, 1979)
Notes: Even more than in past editions, nearly all the films I saw this year were completely new to me. I was stunned by The Dupes, with its ruthless shift from lyrical impressionism to stripped-down nerve-shredding suspense, and by the otherworldly, impassioned visions of the Beyzaie films. Among my other favorite were a wealth of feminist and women-centered films: the brilliant, harrowing Aloise; the warm humanist comedy Speriamo che sia femmina; and the great women’s-prison drama Nella citta l’inferno, with Magnani at her Magnaniest. The “woman’s film” was exalted in Stella Dallas, and I relished weeping in the piazza with my friends. I saw almost all of the German exile comedies—Peter was the highlight, with the magnificent Franziska Gaal—and they reminded me of John Lahr’s remark about the importance of frivolity as a defiance of suffering. I allowed myself just one old favorite, One Way Passage, which revealed its visual elegance, wit, and gallant spirit anew in a beautiful restoration. It was my last screening, and a perfect one: as Kay Francis says of a Paradise cocktail, “Always the most precious, the last few drops.”
Pauline Soh (Singapore)
Absolute favourite: Biruma no Tategoto [The Burmese Harp] (Kon Ichikawa, 1956)
Major discovery: Layla wa zi'ab (Heiny Srour, 1984) + Les Femmes Palestiniennes (Jocelyn Saab, 1973)
Esa Salovaara (Finland)
Absolute favourite: Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960)
Major discovery: Banditi a Orgosolo (Vittorio De Seta, 1961) + Ahlam el-madina (Mohammad Malas, 1984)
Notes: All Teinosuke Kinugasa’s films were great.
Juan Soto (Colombia)
Absolute favourite: Stella Dallas (Henry King, 1925)
Major discovery: Kurutta ippêji [A Page of Madness] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)
Federico Striuli (Italy)
Absolute favourite: L'ombra (Mario Almirante, 1923)
Major discovery: Fiamma simbolica (Eugenio Perego, 1918)
Simon Taaffe (Australia)
Absolute favourite: Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)
Major discovery: Il Dono (Michelangelo Frammartino, 2003)
David Thompson (UK)
Absolute favourite: Nella città l'inferno (Renato Castellani, 1959)
Major discovery: Kurutta ippêji [A Page of Madness] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)
Notes: Most missed - The Stranger and the Fog.
Matthew Turner (UK)
Absolute favourite: Nella città l'inferno (Renato Castellani, 1959)
Major discovery: Nella città l'inferno (Renato Castellani, 1959)
Boyd van Hoeij (Netherlands/Luxembourg)
Absolute favourite: Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960)
Major discovery: Ahlam el-madina (Mohammad Malas, 1984)
Leo van Hee (Netherlands)
Absolute favourite: Smog (Franco Rossi, 1962)
Major discovery: Nothing But a Man (Michael Roemer, 1964)
Louise von Plessen (Germany)
Absolute favourite: Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)
Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)
Marjan Vujović (Serbia)
Absolute favourite: The Dreamers (Bernardo Bertolucci, 2003)
Major discovery: Amok (Fedor Ozep, 1934)
Jay Weissberg (US/Italy)
Absolute favourite: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Major discovery: Le Cake-Walk infernal (Georges Méliès, 1903)
Jon Wengström (Sweden)
Absolute favourite: Hijōsen no Onna [Dragnet Girl] (Yasujirō Ozu, 1933) + A Chess Dispute (Robert W. Paul, 1903)
Major discovery: Gharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974) + Kawanakajima kassen [Battle of Kawanakajima] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1941)
Claire West (UK)
Absolute favourite: Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)
Major discovery: Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
Karl Wratschko (Austria)
Absolute favourite: Homeo (Etienne O‘Leary, 1967)
Major discovery: Desperate Poaching Affray (William Haggar, 1903)
Marina Zigneli (Greece)
Absolute favourite: Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931)
Major discovery: Hijōsen no Onna [Dragnet Girl] (Yasujirō Ozu, 1933)
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All the titles:
23 votesGharibeh va Meh [The Stranger and the Fog] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1974)
22 votes
Al-Makhdu'un [The Dupes] (Tewfik Saleh, 1972)
18 votes
Bushman (David Schickele, 1971)
8 votes
Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, 1932)
Kurutta ippêji [A Page of Madness] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1926)
7 votes
Macario (Roberto Gavaldón, 1960)
Stella Dallas (Henry King, 1925)
6 votes
Cherike-ye Tara [The Ballad of Tara] (Bahram Beyzaie, 1979)
5 votes
Hijōsen no Onna [Dragnet Girl] (Yasujirō Ozu, 1933)
Il Grido (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1957)
Nothing But a Man (Michael Roemer, 1964)
Prosopo me prosopo [Face to Face] (Roviros Manthoulis, 1967)
4 votes
Ahlam el-madina (Mohammad Malas, 1984)
Applause (Rouben Mamoulian, 1929)
Bellissima (Luchino Visconti, 1951)
Classe Tous Risques (Claude Sautet, 1960)
Layla wa zi'ab (Heiny Srour, 1984)
Nella città l'inferno (Renato Castellani, 1959)
Queen Christina (Rouben Mamoulian, 1933)
Silk Stockings (Rouben Mamoulian, 1957)
3 votes
Amok (Fedor Ozep, 1934)
Black Narcissus (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger, 1947)
Infanzia, vocazione e prime esperienze di Giacomo Casanova veneziano (Luigi Comencini, 1969)
Lady Windermere’s Fan (Ernst Lubitsch, 1928)
Man's Castle (Frank Borzage, 1931)
The Plot Against Harry (Michael Roemer, 1969-89)
Time of the Heathen (Peter Kass, 1961)
We Live Again (Rouben Mamoulian, 1934)
Blood and Sand (Rouben Mamoulian, 1941)
City Streets (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931)
Die letzte Chance (Leopold Lindtberg, 1945)
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Rouben Mamoulian, 1931)
L'ombra (Mario Almirante, 1923)
Il Dono (Michelangelo Frammartino, 2003)
Il Ferroviere (Pietro Germi, 1956)
Katherina, die Letzte (Hermann Kosterlitz, 1936)
Kawanakajima kassen [Battle of Kawanakajima] (Teinosuke Kinugasa, 1941)
La maison du mystère (Alexandre Volkoff, 1923)
Miss Dorothy (Giulio Antamoro, 1920)
Peter (Hermann Kosterlitz, 1934)
Rings on Her Fingers (Rouben Mamoulian, 1942)
Smog (Franco Rossi, 1962)
The Woman on the Beach (Jean Renoir, 1947)
Yam Daabo (Idrissa Ouedraogo, 1987)
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