Valeri, Affleck to feature at youth film festival

(ANSA) - Rome, July 12 - The youth film festival Alice nella Città, which runs parallel to the Rome Film Festival and this year takes place October 17 through 27, in its 2019 edition will shine a spotlight on 98-year-old Italian actress Franca Valeri as well as Oscar-winning actor Casey Affleck.
    Affleck will teach a masterclass on acting at this year's festival and his film Light of My Life will be screened as the festival's opening feature.
    The film, which Affleck both directed and starred in, tells the story of the bond between a father and his 11-year-old daughter.
    The festival will host a tribute to Franca Valeri, in collaboration with the David di Donatello film award, titled "Women in Film Tell the Story of Franca".
    The female narrators tell Valeri's story through their favorite films starring her, and includes actresses Anna Foglietta and Paola Minaccioni and journalist Piera Detassis, who this year became the first-ever woman to head the David di Donatello awards.
    Fabia Bettini, co-director of Alice in Città along with her husband Gianluca Giannelli, said the idea to pay tribute to Valeri came from the idea of introducing her to a new generation.
    "Franca, among other things, loves rock, so much so that even Frankie Hi-Nrg will be there to tell about their collaboration in 2003," Bettini said, referring to the Italian rapper.
    Screenings at this year's festival will include the Dardenne brothers' Le Jeune Ahmed, which won the award for best director at Cannes; as well as a restored version of their 1999 feature Rosetta.
    Director Gianni Amelio will screen a restored version of his first TV feature, the 1970 work The End of the Game.
    Giuseppe Tornatore will also be at the film festival to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his film Cinema Paradiso, which he will discuss with Italian director Mario Sesti.
    Competition categories will include the international section, short films, and Panorama Italia, dedicated to emerging Italian films.
    Among films competing in that category this year will be director Elisa Amoruso's Bellissime, a documentary on four women from one family who are united in their passion for beauty.