Editor

On Sunday September the 7th, at Eleonora Duse Theatre, the 27th edition of AsoloARTFILMFESTIVAL has come to an end. The winning film (Gran Premio Asolo) is “Under Construction”, of the category Architecture and Design, which focuses in the material and moral rubbles of an urban reconstruction process. Special guest of the evening was Ugo Gregoretti, popular TV and cinema director and author, who has been assigned the “Premio alla Carriera Flavia Paulon” (Career Prize). He conquered the audience and the staff for its intelligence and balance. Other important guest was the President of the Province (Treviso) Leonardo Muraro.

The jury, presided by Toni Jop (responsible for the Cultural page of the paper L'Unità) consisted in a multifaceted professional and armonical group. The components were Francesco Gostoli ( architect, town planner and designer), Andrea Dall'Asta (director of San Fedele's Gallery in Milano) and Chiara Gatti (Critic, researcher and curator), Mikkel Maltha (musical supervisor for Zentropa Group, composer for cinema and television), Andreas Miekish ( assembler, director and author of books on cinema).

This year, the festival has registered a certain increment of presences and positive feedbacks. The art exhibitions of Festival Fuori ( opened on August 29 ) have been visited and appreciated by hundreds of people during the whole week. The artists are satisfied of the success and efficiency of the spaces they were occupying. Moreover, because of the pleasurable effect they have on Asolo, it was decided to postpone the closure of the exhibitions, which will be opened for one more month. So, the works by Walter Davanzo, Isotta Dardilli, Paolo Loschi, Claudia Buttignol, Anna Maria Iodice, Flavio Favero, Alberto Condotta e Pietro Callegari are still available! Another interesting initiative has been the “Stampa d'arte con il torchio” (Art Print with old presses). Some students of the Venetian Academy of Fine Arts , together with Condotta and Callegari, have showed to a various audience, how this type of press was put forward in the past.

Following the opening of Festival Fuori, the prizes “Arte e Cultura” (Art and Culture) have been assigned to three main characters of Veneto's cultural world: Susanna Plaino, director of the prestigious school Il Balletto (Castelfranco), Loris Parise, founder and soul of Opera Estate Veneto and Mario Guderzo, great art historian, researcher and director of the Gipsoteca Canoviana of Possagno TV.

The spectators that have followed the screenings of the competing films, were mostly aware and interested in what they were watching. They always asked for further informations about the works. The number of presences in the theater was very high, even in weekly days like Monday and Tuesday, in which there were up to 85 people.

The extra screenings: The Universe of Keith Haring, Sunday August 31 , Focus on Vip Communication, Wednesday September 3 and Poemi Asolani – La vita del maestro G.F. Malipiero Sunday September 7, have had a high number of confluence: an average of 100 people and up to 200 people with the screening of Cenere's restored copy, followed by the awarding of the famous actress Ottavia Piccolo with Eleonora Duse Prize. Ottavia Piccolo, introduced by the cultural Secretary of Veneto Region Angelo Tabaro, gave us a special emotional moment with the reading about “Death at work”, taken from Pratolini's Metello.

The most original happening of the festival was the night of music, words and screenings at the Rocca di Asolo (Asolo's Rock), which happened on the 30th of August, inside the old fortress on top of the town. There have been a unique suggestion, while the tales (by Prof. Farronato) set in the Rock and well read by soprano Olga Scalone, combined itself with the ambient music of Brake Drum Percussions ensemble, in the magic frame of screenings by AsoloArtFilmFestival archive and by Walter Davanzo and Mauro Lovisetto. Not to forget the wonderful view offered by the Rock's upper path.

Interesting and lively moment was offered by the Spritz Art evenings (August 30th and 31st and 4-6 September). Chances for getting together at the aperitif time, in which Toni Jop gave life to improvisations, provocations, and opinions exchanges with great characters of the Art world and cinema, such as Jakob De Chirico and Ugo Gregoretti. The audience could get in touch with artistic and social realities introduced by the Festival and could argue with its guests and operators.

Vip Communication, on September 3rd , has introduced an evening dedicated to auteur cinema, with the screening of La Via del Vetro, Italian Glass Factory – Juan Ripolles, with the director Adriano Berengo, La Mappa, alla ricerca dei misteri dell’arte italiana and Canalazzo - il grand tour veneziano sul Canal Grande. Toni Jop presented the AsoloArtFilmFestival, whereas Vip Communication's event was introducted by the Culture Assessor of Treviso's Province Marzio Favero.


On Sunday Agust 31st , into the caracteristic frame of SS.Pietro and Paolo Convent, has been organized the event called Il romanzo del vino (romance of wine), dedicated to thinking and tasting of wine with the popular winemaker Roberto Cipresso, who cought the chance to introduce its new book called Il Romanzo del Vino.