Lapping up the hospitality at the Gala Opening Night of the 12th Cathay Pacific Italian Film Festival, MELODY NIXON previews the coming attractions ahead.

THE GLITTERING range of free imported drinks waylaid any bother over ticket prices for the opening night of the Italian Film Festival in Wellington this week. Coincided with the launch of an inaugural Italian Film Photography exhibition – this year the illuminating works of Philippe Antonello are on display in the Paramount’s foyer – the festival opener provided a satisfying range of treats. The second winner of the annual festival scholarship was announced, and Canterbury raised Pericles Dailianis will follow in the fresh footsteps of Paolo Rotondo to internships in Italy’s Due A and the National Museum of Cinema. Sadly there was no screening of the short film that won Dailianis the scholarship – an addition to the evening which was well received last year.

The opening film My Best Enemy provided the kind of robust conflict-comedy that Italian cinema is becoming renown for, and Nicolini’s restaurant enticed viewers afterwards to what is purportedly the best mortadella-and-gorgonzola-filled supper in the business. In soma, the festival is off to a smooth start, and Italo-philes should look out for the gold hidden amongst the romantic comedies of its programme. The Caiman, a Moretti-directed examination of Berlusconi’s tyrannical rule, is not to be missed. Along the Ridge stirringly exposes of the psychology of Italian familial relationships, and Viva Zapatero! – sadly the festival’s only documentary this year – promises to be a hearty dose of David vs Goliath in the world of political censorship – a pertinent theme given the New Zealand government’s recent legislation on the banning of satire.