Author: Massimo Volpe

A conversation with Silvia Giulietti

TORONTO – I had the privilege of sitting down in Toronto with Silvia Giulietti, Producer and Director of “Fellinopolis”, “Legal Death” and “Luchino Visconti’s Hidden Angels” – to name a few of her works. Giulietti was one of the first women – if not the first – in Italy to work on a film set as a Camera Assist, camera operator and eventually Director of Photography.

Ancient Rome returns to Hollywood

TORONTO – It’s been twenty-five years since Russell Crowe wooed audiences as a Roman General-turned-slave, and now Hollywood is returning with a sequel to the Oscar winning epic. Unfortunately none of Gladiator II was shot in Italy, due to logistics. This comes as no surprise to Tarak Ben Ammar, the head of Italy’s biggest Film Distributor (Eagle Pictures), who recently warned that Rome’s Cinecitta’s studio space is booked a year in advance. 

Scenic Puglia backdrop for #1 Netflix Movie

TORONTO – Renato De Maria’s latest film, “Vanished into the Night”, has reached #1 on Netflix in 48 countries since July 15th, and #2 in the US and UK. As a loose remake of an Argentine/Spanish film titled “7th Floor”, it’s mostly unoriginal borrowing directly from foreign source material, and utilizing classic thriller tropes. It isn’t however, without considerable merit.