It is all ready for the Baff from Ozpetek to “Il Pretore”

 The B.A. Film Festival reaches the twelfth edition, from this year with the stage management of Stefano Della Casa, it is a small but competitive festival which takes place in a city that loves cinema: in the area of Busto Arsizio is concentrated the highest number of Cineforum in all of Italy, and in Busto Arsizio the Cinematographic Institute Michelangelo Antonioni has been operative for years, school of excellence in the preparation to cinema work, and it is also in operation a Film Commission that has as aim the local attraction of cinematographic and television production.

             Stefano Della Casa says: “The imminence of the Expo 2015 will find in the BAFF a strategic attention. The slogan “not only bread” that characterised the 2014 edition wants to be a precise contribution that will be deviated in a lot of ways, because culture is an important part of the Made in Italy. We want to make the BAFF a pop festival, a “party” open for everybody and not only for work personnel, a moment which keeps together in-depth analysis and pleasure of film, entertainment and culture, lived by the public as a friendly manifestation, pleasant and welcoming. A big space will be given to meetings that will be open to everybody and will involve great masterpieces of the history of cinema, but also coming soon films. It will be a festival the wants to tear down the wall, and about one of these we have decided to do a decisive step: the Made in Italy exposition, load-bearing axis of the news section, will present films, fiction, documentary, animation and video-art. In this way, the BAFF wants to openly declare that it believes that we have overcome the division among the different way to narrate.”

            The actress Claudia Potenza will be the sponsor of the festival this year, performer of different Italian production, among which “Basilicata coast to coast and Una piccola impresa meridionale of Rocco Papaleo and Magnifica Presenza di Ferzan Ozpetek, in TV in 2011 was with Checco Zalone in Resto Umile World Show.

             The twelfth edition of B. A. Film Festival marks for the event a new beginning with a definite change of perspective. The section Made in Italy, load-bearing axis of the selection with news and previews, abandons the usual structure of contest for full-length films, to characterize instead as a wide showcase for cinematographic works and not only, selected for their artistic interest. Made in Italy, will see the attendance of important names that will be protagonists of projections, meetings and Master classes. To open the Festival and to inaugurate the section, Saturday 29 March, will be a great author of the Italian cinema Ferzan Ozpetek, that will meet the public to talk about cinema and it will introduce the projection of his latest film Allacciate le cinture. The director Stefano Tummolini will introduce his second work, the film L’estate sta finendo, a reflection on the sense of responsibility of today’s young people.

             Among the previews, Il Pretore (from April 3 at cinemas) of Giulio Base with Sarah Maestri, Francesco Pannofino and Eliana Miglio. They will be present in the theatre the director Giulio Base and the performers Francesco Pannofino (who on April 2 will hold a master class), Sarah Maestri and Mattia Zaccaro Garau. The director Antonio Morabito will meet the public on the occasion of the projection of his latest film Il venditore di medicine: with the attendance of Marco Travaglio, the film tells the scandal of the collusion in pharmaceutical field. And again, in preview the TV movie Una villa per due, of Fabrizio Costa with Giampaolo Morelli. The film is part of the cycle Purché finisca bene, five films for the TV produced by Pepito Produzioni, and it will go on in the air on Rai Uno. In the theatre to present the film there will be the director Fabrizio Costa, the performer Giampaolo Morelli and the producer Agostino Saccà. To point out, among the special events, Elisabetta Sgarbi that will present her latest film to the public Racconti d’amore. Together with her in the theatre there will be the performers Antonio Laudadio, Ivana Pantaleo and Andrea Renzi.

             Hundreds of students in the stalls area to attend the projection, ready to compare, at the end, with authors, actors, scriptwriters, director of the photography, fitters and other professionals of the world of the cinema. This the tested formula of “Made in Italy – Schools”, historical section of the festival of the declared educational mission, proposes to youngsters particularly meaningful film of the contemporary Italian cinematographic panorama. The festival, considered by the guests a useful occasion to investigate tastes and moods of the young public, and to have an unusual point of view on their work, is organized as a contest: to the students is assigned the double role of spectators and judges. This year, the lucky formula, becomes enriched by the Masterclass with names of the level of Marcello Cesena and Francesco Pannofino. 

 "The days of animation cinema" in the festival recall the historical days dedicated to international animation cinema organised in Busto Arsizio in the early ’70. These days strong of this important tradition, continues to explore worlds, processes and languages of animation cinema; hosting meetings with authors and events/performances that  describe the Italian international animation scenario. Enzo D’Alò and Anna Laura Cantone with Maricla Affatato will be guests of the XII edition of the B.A. film festival, on March 30th 2014 at spazio-festival (Piazza San Giovanni), from 4 p.m. It will start with the awards ceremony of the contest for elementary schools; drawing inspiration from the series "Pipi, Pupu e Rosmarina" and from the title of the BAFF 2014, " non di solo pane", the students of primary schools have been invited to invent new stories and adventures for the three characters of whom Enzo D’Alò will choose the winner. After there will be the showing of the special TV programme that will last 22 minutes "Pipi, Pupu e Rosmarina e il flauto magico" and a creative lab with the artist Anna Laura Cantone with title of " Disegna sulle ali della fantasia". The event will be coordinated and presented by the author and producer Maricla Affatato.

"The cinema effect" is always the section of the  festival dedicated to the story of making movies.

The detection of a universe explored through documentaries, portraits, backstage, making of, specials, interviews, unpublished materials. Our mission through the years has been that of building a memory of the Italian cinema that reveal histories, secrets, visions, anecdotes.

Between the materials which will compose the section, will be shown "I tuoi anni 1964", a movie realized with some archive materials of the Luce Institute that presents the most significant facts of the Italian history in the world with a series of "amarcord". It is also in the programme "tutte le storie di Piera", the  docu-movie about Piera Degli Espositi, in which the amazing actress talks about herself, recalling the main events of her life and  her long movie-making and theatrical career.

Her words are alternating to those of friends and colleagues: from Marco Bellocchio to Paolo Sorrentino and the Taviani brothers, Lina Wertmuller and Tornatore. In the theatre the director Peter Marcias will be present.

"The memory of the cinema", one of the news of the twelfth edition of the festival, will consider every year one or more movies and it will present them through the deposition of the showbusiness people who worked  at it or are linked for different reasons. The section is realised  in cooperation with the cult programme of Radiotre Hollywood party: the meetings will be recorded in the audio form to be broadcasted in the section " the cinema at the radio" of the programme (Radio3), and filmed by the students of ICMA, with the purpose to realise some video-lessons for the teachers of the  CUC (the coordination of the teaching of Cinema history), who are interested in this opportunity as a supplementary activity of their classes. This year section includes movies chosen and commented in person by Francesco De Gregori, Marcello Cesena and Giorgio Arlorio.

The first date will be on Monday, 31st March, with Francesco De Gregori who is going to comment on Roman Polansky’s movie,  Rosemary’s Baby.

Another news from B.A. film festival 2014, is the section "the Heroes of printed paper" that wants to be a memory, and a homage, dedicated to great personalities of journalism world and film rating; prestigious names who contributed with their pieces of writing to spread movie culture and to  stimulate, during the years, a constructive debate. The date that is going to become permanent in the next editions, includes conventions, showings and book presentations. The section starts with the memory of Tullio Kezich who was a well-known critic and also scriptwriter, producer, playwright and essayist. On Friday, 4th April, will be shown "I recuperanti" by Ermanno Olmi, script by Tullio Kezich together with Rigoni Stern, and "Noi che abbiamo fatto la dolce vita", pieces of life of men and women who lived "la dolce vita", the "movie that would never had to end," signed by the critic and Fellini’s friend, Tullio Kezich and by the great documentary maker Gianfranco Mingozzi. After there will be a meeting with Alessandra Levantesi and Maurizio Porro.

The last night there will be a great party, with a lot of special guests who will be introduced during the festival. The entrance to all afternoon and night events is free. You can find further information on the new website www.baff2014.it.